I begun to keep fish around 1975. It was the
average one tank with mixed species thing, occasional discovery of
fry, frustration after occasional disapearing of fry, usually
overcrowded tank with losses. I think the fact that made me take
the whole thing more seriously, was when I saw a Tanganyikan tank
in a public aquarium in Brussels. There was not one plant in
there, but the aquascape was perfect. Rock background, big piles
of rocks covered with algae, white sand, and colonies of
Neolamprologus brichardi of every size swimming around, and you
could not see one piece of equipement. I bought a book. Then I
bought another one. Then I bought another tank. Then it
started...I was living in Belgium at the time. I started reading
magazines, bying more books, more tanks, became member of
aquarist's associations, started breeding...in brief, the aquarium
virus was installed in me for ever.
When I came back to Greece I had to constrain myself in only one
display tank in my work's rest room. I was very disapointed to
discover that the hobby was inexistant in Greece. I kept getting
magazines and soon I put some more little tanks in a closet next
to my main tank. With the arrival of the internet, I was able
again to contact aquarists and talk about my hobby. And thanks to
the internet I finally met a few greek aquarists of the highest
level!
My aproach to aquariums is, and was even before the plant virus,
to make a tank look as much as "natural" as possible.
Equipement must be hidden, plastic plants and ornaments are out of
the question, and fish must be compatible. I like to see "a
piece of nature" in there...
Tolis Ketselidis
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This is the tank of
Tolis Ketselidis, which won the third place in the recent
AGA International Aquascaping Contest . Tolis' tank participated
in the "large tank" category, which is regarded as the
most difficult (it is easier to maintain smaller planted tanks).
Main Tank dimensions (in cm / liters): 140(length) x 60(height) x
40(width) - 336 litres (89 gallons) but counting the
inner dimensions and subtracting light space and gravel, there are
227 "real" litres (60 gallons) there.
Plants in the Main tank: Microsorium
pteropus, Anubias barteri nana, Valisneria americana
"biwaensis", Vesicularia dybuana, Bolbitis heudelotii,
Rotala wallichii, Rotala rotundifolia, Rotala sp.
"Nanjenshan", Ludwigia repens, Ceratopteris
thalictroides, Ceratopteris cornuta, Hygrophila corymbosa
"siamensis", Hygrophila corymbosa "Aroma",
Hygrophila difformis, Hygrophila polysperma "Rosanevig",
Limnophila aquatica, Lobelia cardinalis, Myriophyllum aquaticum,
Myriophyllum tuberculatum, Samolus valerandi, Micranthemum
umbrosum, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Hydrocotyle leucocephala,
Glossostigma elatinoides, Elodea densa, Echinodorus tenellus,
Echinodorus 'Ozelot', Didiplis diandra, Cryptocoryne willisii,
Cryptocoryne balansae, Ceratophyllum demersum, Alternanthera
reineckii, Aponogeton crispus, Bacopa monnierii, Crinum
calamistratum, and Eleocharis parvulus.
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A close up photo of the
center of Tolis' main tank. The careful placing of the plants
(short plants in the front, taller plants at the back, use of
color) created the impression of depth, a characteristic very
much sought after by plant hobbyists. Plants shown in the
picture : blurred front plant: Echinodorus tenellus,
middle: Bacopa monnieri, blurred red plant in the back:
Alternanthera reneckii, very blurred in the background:
Limnophila aquatica
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Water
Parameters and other useful Information (as supplied by Tolis)
Lighting: 6 x 36 watt fluorescent.
Combination of warm and cool daylight tubes.
pH: between 7.0 and 7.2
KH: 5
GH: 8-10
Eheim 2215 canister filter.
DIY CO2
Rena undergravel heating cable,
temperature between 25 and 27c
Substrate: 3,5 lbs First layer pure
laterite and 10 lbs Sera Floredepot topped with 6 cm of 3mm clean
gravel.
Water column fertilisation by
Aqualine Buschke Ferreal. Jobe's fern spikes.
30% water changes every 2 -3 weeks.
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| Photo of two of the "nursery" tanks
of Tolis. This is the place to look for if you want plants for
your own tank. These tanks are usually full of cuttings
from the main tank. You can also see some of the magic
fertilizers Tolis uses. |
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MCH
Short Comment: Tolis is a dedicated fish hobbyist with a deep
knowledge of most hobby aspects. He shares many of the views of MCH
even though he still resists Malawians. Nevertheless, he is a man
with many talents, a man who takes whatever he does seriously . He
is also a member of the Greek Cichlid Club where we first met and
had many useful discussion since then. Photos were taken by MCH
and are shown here under the permission of Tolis Ketselidis. You can
see more photos of Tolis work at www.tolibra.com/fish/ |
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For additional information or some plant chatting
(or cuttings)
you can contact Tolis. See
next page
for more information. |
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