Glass Box Diaries

Quick update on my 45L (12 US gallon) tank — now 246 days old 🌿

This setup is currently home to my regular White Cloud Mountain Minnows, two Honey Gourami, and a colony of Amano shrimp.

I still haven’t made a build video for this tank yet, but if everything goes to plan, that should finally be coming next month.

For months, this tank served as my quarantine setup, but I recently decided it was time to turn it into a permanent display and stocked it with regular White Clouds. One thing I love is that it sits right next to my golden White Cloud tank, so I get to enjoy both varieties side by side.

I also added two Honey Gourami, although I’m thinking they may end up moving into my 70L (18 US gallon) tank soon. Finding Apistogramma for that setup has been harder than expected, so there’s a chance the Honey Gourami become the centrepiece fish there instead.

The only shrimp in this tank right now are Amano shrimp, and they’ve done an amazing job keeping algae under control. That said, I’m a huge fan of Neocaridina shrimp and I’m tempted to add a colony here soon — I just can’t decide which colour.

For anyone curious about the scape: the rocks are Black Sky Rock.

PLANT LIST
🌿 Staurogyne Repens
🌿 Pogostemon Helferi
🌿 Blyxa Japonica
🌿 Cryptocoryne Parva
🌿 Lobelia Cardinalis Mini
🌿 Bacopa 'Compact'
🌿 Eleocharis Pusilla

Plant-wise, Pogostemon helferi is the newest addition, while Cryptocoryne parva and Lobelia cardinalis ‘Mini’ have recently made a return after I’d struggled to grow them successfully in this setup before.

I’m also fairly sure the White Clouds are breeding and scattering eggs into the Blyxa japonica at the back of the tank, so there’s a good chance I’ll start spotting some fry soon. There are plenty of hiding places back there, which should give them a decent chance of making it.

#aquarium #fishkeeping #fishtank #plantedtank #plantedaquarium #nanotank

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2 days ago | [YT] | 627

Glass Box Diaries

A Quick Update On My Filterless, Heaterless, Walstad Method Pearlweed Jungle Tank (No CO2)

This is my 25-litre (6.6 US gallon) filterless, heaterless Walstad Method pearlweed jungle tank, and today it’s 739 days old 🌿

How I set this tank up - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8_Bi...
Pearlweed plant care guide - glassboxdiaries.com/plant/micranthemum-glomeratum-…

The tank runs on a topsoil substrate capped with fine gravel and is currently lit by an affordable entry-level Seaoura SR616, running at full intensity for 12 hours a day.

It’s home to my Bloody Mary neocaridina shrimp colony, and they’ve definitely been making the most of the warmer weather, with breeding noticeably picking up. The warmer temperatures have also sent the pearlweed into overdrive — at the moment I’m trimming it every 2–3 weeks, and I expect growth to speed up even more once summer arrives.

One thing people ask me a lot is how the lower pearlweed leaves don’t melt away under such dense growth… and honestly, I don’t really know. Somehow enough light still reaches through and keeps everything healthy.

There aren’t any fish in here yet, but I’ll probably turn this into one of my grow-out tanks for baby Medaka rice fish. I recently added spawning mops to my platinum medaka tank and I’m planning to order eggs from a rarer line next week, so I’ll need some extra space ready for the fry.

#aquarium #fishtank #fishkeeping #cherryshrimp #neocaridina #plantedtank #plantedaquarium #walstad #walstadmethod #shrimptank #shrimpkeeping

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5 days ago | [YT] | 396

Glass Box Diaries

My 160-litre (40 US gallon) planted community tank, with a Peace Lily and Monstera deliciosa at the end, really adds to the jungle look.

I’m thinking of tweaking the setup this coming weekend and moving the tank forward so I can fit more climbing aroid plants behind it, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to reduce the weight enough to do it safely.

#aquarium #fishtank #fishkeeping #tropicalfish #plantedtank #plantedaquarium

5 days ago | [YT] | 529

Glass Box Diaries

A Quick Update On My Filterless, Heaterless, Easy Shrimp Bowl!

This is my 11-litre (3 US gallon) filterless, heaterless shrimp bowl, and today it’s 220 days old. It’s home to a colony of Bloody Mary Neocaridina shrimp that stayed fairly inactive through the colder winter months, but things have started to pick up with the arrival of spring.

My easy-to-follow tutorial on how I set the bowl up - glassboxdiaries.com/cherry-shrimp-bowl/

PLANT LIST

🌿 Rotala Rotundifolia
🌿 Lobelia Cardinalis Mini
🌿 Anubias 'Mini Coin'
🌿 Buce Kedagang
🌿 Eleocharis Parvula

As the ambient temperature in my fish room increased, the shrimp began breeding, and over the last couple of weeks I’ve spotted several tiny baby shrimp around the bowl.

I want to keep the adult population under 10 shrimp, but since I keep shrimp in all of my tanks, it’s easy enough to move any extras into other setups if needed.

For anyone interested in the plants, most of them are doing really well.

The only issue so far has been the lower leaves on the Lobelia cardinalis ‘Mini’ starting to melt, likely because the dense upper growth is blocking light from reaching the bottom.

Right now, the bowl is lit by two USB-powered houseplant grow lights, as I still haven’t upgraded to something more powerful.

The Eleocharis carpet was originally grown under 20-watt Sansi grow lights, but I eventually removed those because they were causing too much algae growth.

I’ll probably either replace the Lobelia with more Rotala rotundifolia or trim and reset it using the topping method to see how it responds.

Aside from that, I’m really happy with how this bowl is progressing and excited to see how it continues to develop over time.

#aquarium #fishtank #fishkeeping #shrimpkeeping #cherryshrimp #neocaridina #shrimpbowl #shrimptank

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1 week ago | [YT] | 276

Glass Box Diaries

A Quick Update On My Planted, Room Temperature Golden White Cloud Minnow Tank!

This is my room-temperature golden white cloud mountain minnow tank, and today it’s 624 days old.

The tank is 45 litres, or 12 US gallons, and it runs with Fluval Stratum as the substrate, a Hygger HG76 light, and an AllPondSolutions hang-on-back filter.

For the most part, the golden white clouds are doing really well, although I did lose one this past month to swim bladder disease. I quarantined the affected fish and tried treating it, but unfortunately it didn’t make it.

Thankfully, it appears to have been an isolated case, as none of the other fish have shown any signs of illness.

The yellow neocaridina shrimp are also doing well, and there are a few pregnant females in the tank right now.

I’ll also be breaking down another tank later today, so I’ll be moving its yellow neocaridina shrimp into this setup as well.

For anyone curious about the plants, I did make one change over the last month. I removed the Hygrophila 53B and replaced it with Lobelia cardinalis, which I’m still waiting to grow in.

Aside from that, the rest of the plants seem to be doing well, and with the warmer months now in full swing, I’m hoping the Lobelia starts filling out the middle section soon.

#aquarium #fishtank #fishkeeping #nanotank #plantedtank #plantedaquarium

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1 week ago | [YT] | 574

Glass Box Diaries

This is my 70-litre (18 US gallon) planted tank, and today it’s 68 days old.

I set this aquarium up with an inert substrate as part of a test focused on water column fertilization for aquatic plants, and so far the results have been really positive.

The tank is currently home to my lambchop rasboras and a colony of skittles neocaridina shrimp, although I’d love to add some amano shrimp in the future as well.

Originally, I planned to make an Apistogramma borellii the centerpiece fish for this setup, but they’ve been surprisingly difficult to find locally. Because of that, I may end up ordering one online instead.

Another option would be moving the two new honey gourami I recently picked up into this tank, which would also give me the chance to add some panda corydoras.

Here’s the current plant list for the aquarium, and it’s worth keeping in mind that most of these plants have only been in the tank for around a month.

🌿 Rotala Blood Red SG
🌿 Hygrophila Polysperma
🌿 Hygrophila Compact
🌿 Lindernia Rotundifolia
🌿 Pogostemon Helferi
🌿 Echinodorus Reni
🌿 Echinodorus Regine Hilderbrandt
🌿 Echinodorus Tricolor
🌿 Cryptocoryne Undulata 'Broad Leaf'
🌿 Cryptocoryne Beckettii Petchii Pink
🌿 Cryptocoryne Lutea Hobbit
🌿 Aponogeton Ulvaceus
🌿 Nymphaea Aquatica
🌿 Anubias Nana Kirin
🌿 Anubias Stardust

The Aponogeton ulvaceus has been growing incredibly quickly and has already produced a huge number of leaves.

The Cryptocoryne undulata has also really impressed me with its growth rate, especially for a crypt, since they’re usually considered much slower growers.

I’ve also added spider plants, a couple of pothos varieties, and a philodendron to the rim of the tank to encourage some emergent growth as well.

One thing I’m not enjoying with this setup, though, is the Centurion wood. It’s already starting to break down, and while I can siphon out the debris, it’s definitely a hassle to deal with — especially since this usually isn’t an issue with woods like spider wood, mopani wood, or corbo wood.

#aquarium #fishtank #fishkeeping #plantedtank #plantedaquarium #tropicalfish #freshwaterfishtank

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 588

Glass Box Diaries

This is my 25-litre (6.6 US gallon) Walstad Method aquarium, and it’s now 743 days old.

My Full Long-Form 2 Year Update Video For The Tank - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqlCQ...

It's filterless, using a topsoil base capped with fine gravel for substrate, and it’s lit by a Seaoura SR616 aquarium light running at full intensity for 12 hours a day.

At the moment, the tank is home to a group of blue lyretail guppies, although they’ll soon be moving to a friend’s breeding setup.

After that, I’m planning to switch things up and stock the tank with Medaka rice fish, which I personally prefer over guppies.

This tank is also home to my oldest colony of cherry shrimp, and they’re thriving.

With the warmer months here, breeding has really taken off, so I’ll be giving some away to another friend to make room for the next generation.

I’ve recently trimmed back the Rotala rotundifolia and Bacopa caroliniana, as they were starting to take over and limit the swimming space.

Rotala rotundifolia, in particular, plays a big role in the tank’s natural water purification due to its fast growth and sheer volume, so it should recover quickly—likely within a couple of months—and will probably need trimming again soon.

#aquarium #fishtank #fishkeeping #plantedtank #plantedaquarium #nanotank #guppy #neocaridina #cherryshrimp

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3 weeks ago | [YT] | 531

Glass Box Diaries

This is my 25-litre (6.6 US gallon) Walstad method tank, designed to be as beginner-friendly as possible—and it’s now 291 days old.

My Medaka rice fish are already in full breeding mode. I’ve had two batches of eggs so far, but unfortunately, the shrimp in the tank have either eaten or damaged them.

To make hatching easier, I’ve placed the water lettuce inside a 3D floating plant ring in the front-left corner. This keeps it within view from my work desk, so I can quickly spot any fresh eggs laid on the roots and remove them before the shrimp get to them.

The shrimp themselves are breeding heavily right now, with several females currently carrying eggs. I’ve got a long-form video planned where I’ll go over the results of this skittles shrimp colony test in this tank. Once that’s published, I’ll be moving a large portion of the shrimp into my much larger 70-litre (18 US gallon) tank.

As for the plants, the Pogostemon quadrifolius has started to fill in nicely after replacing the Limnophila sessiliflora, and its higher nutrient demand should help keep algae under control. The regular Rotala Blood Red and Blood Red SG are both doing well, although I recently trimmed the SG to transfer some into another tank.

Finally, the Helanthium tenellum ‘Green’ carpet seems to be growing much better now that it’s no longer competing with the Limnophila sessiliflora for nutrients.

#aquarium #fishtank #fishkeeping #plantedtank #plantedaquarium #walstad #walstadmethod

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1 month ago | [YT] | 643

Glass Box Diaries

My neocaridina shrimp bowl is just over six months old, and everything is going great!

If you want to see how it was set up:

My article on the bowl setup – glassboxdiaries.com/cherry-shrimp-bowl/
My video on the bowl setup – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnbIT...

The bowl holds around 11 litres (just under 3 US gallons) and runs without a filter, heater, CO₂ system, or fertilizers.

At the moment, I’m using two USB-powered grow lights designed for houseplants, although I’m planning to upgrade the lighting soon.

Right now, I feed one light green label granule of Fluval Bug Bites three times per week. However, after spotting a female carrying eggs, I may increase feeding slightly.

Plant list:

Rotala rotundifolia
Lobelia cardinalis ‘Mini’
Anubias ‘Mini Coin’
Bucephalandra ‘Kedagang’
Eleocharis parvula

#aquarium #fishtank #shrimptank #shrimpkeeping #cherryshrimp #neocaridina

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1 month ago | [YT] | 358

Glass Box Diaries

Here’s a quick update on my golden white cloud mountain minnow tank, which has now been running for 586 days.

The tank holds 45 litres (around 12 US gallons) and uses Fluval Stratum aquasoil as the substrate. It’s lit by a Hygger HG76 light, running at full intensity for six hours each day. This is an unheated, room-temperature setup, with temperatures dropping to around 18°C (64°F) during winter.

The fish are doing well overall, although the dominant male still spends most of his time chasing the others away from the foreground. As a result, the other males and females tend to spawn in the background. Unfortunately, the snails eat the eggs, so I’ve yet to see any fry survive.

Speaking of snails, I’m planning to move some of the pink ramshorns into two new Medaka rice fish grow-out tanks I’ve recently set up. The idea is to turn those into dedicated snail breeding tanks, which will eventually help support the feeding needs of some pea puffers I’m hoping to get later this year.

For the most part, the plants are doing well. However, the Hygrophila 53B has started developing holes in its leaves, likely due to the colder winter conditions. I’m planning to replace it with Lobelia cardinalis, as it’s native as far north as Canada and should be better suited to a cooler, room-temperature setup like this.

My yellow Neocaridina shrimp colony is also thriving, but the snail population is starting to get out of hand again. They may begin to outcompete the shrimp for food, so moving some of them out should help bring things back under control.

#aquarium #fishtank #fishkeeping #plantedtank #plantedaquarium #nanotank

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1 month ago | [YT] | 583