# new-to-me 38gal



## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

_tank shot from 07/23/18_








~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_the beginning 6/5/15_

I just got this tank used (great price) a 40 gallon tall and stand. 
[_edit 7/24- I just learned that my tank is not a 40, it's a standard 38._]








I'm so stoked to prepare this one for my end goal: angelfish. But for the time being it's going to house my cherry barbs while I wait for the plants to grow (they're probably going to need some recovery time). So far all I've done is scrub things (vinegar and hot water mostly) and filled it up to check the filter ran ok, leveled the stand w/cedar shims, made sure it doesn't leak. I'm soaking a bucket of safe-t-sorb with ferts and baking soda to buffer against pH swings, it's really been stripping the water in the bucket severely- it was below 6 when I first tested, now it's around 7.2. When I've got it to 7.4 or 7.6 and it doesn't drop upon adding new water as I rinse the substrate I'll feel safe to put it in the tank with the fish (if I err in any of this, please let me know! I've never done substrate beyond gravel before)

I don't usually like fake decorations in my tanks anymore, but someone suggested if I move the java ferns under the water flow, they might do better for me, so I think I will tie some of my javas onto the fake root piece this came with and see how they do.


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

Baking soda is used for raising KH which in turn stabalizes PH...true, but commonly
people add 1/4 tsp to the tank(for a smaller size tank) till the KH is where they want it.
But on that PH thing...each type of fish likes it a bit different from other types.
So just not putting in one that has "far left" requirements from the other fish is usually
all that's required. AND ...most pet shops just use de-chlorinated tap from the aria so
any fish you get from there is likely adjusted to that PH. If you live near there it may
be the same water source. I'd check this out because if it's the same water and you
change your tank PH any noticeable amount you may be doing more harm than good.
For most type fish that just giving them a hard time, not a disaster category issue.
Rams and a couple of others are an exception. South American is usually lower PH.
That tall of a tank will need a bit higher amount of light to get to the bottom
effectively...any specific plans on that ? Curiosity mostly because that looks like a
fixture for a T8 bulb. Only very low light plants will be able to grow/w that.
At the top of the "Low Tech" section is a list of plants that will grow in low light.
That is not "very low light" and only some on there will live/w only one T8 bulb.
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Thanks. Yes, it is a T8 fixture, same as I have on my 20gal (but of course will be much farther from the substrate now). My plants are anubias, java fern, aponogeton, rotala indica, vallisneria, crypt wendtii tropica and watersprite. I'm hoping most of those will do okay with low light? or I will lift some plants up by affixing to that fake root piece, or I will put in a bulb with higher output (it has a 17 watt right now).

I had read that the safe-t-sorb will absorb carbonates from the water and thus lower pH initially in the tank, that's why I added some baking soda to alleviate it at first? But I don't want to overdo it. (I have also put a few handfuls of safe-t-sorb in my 10 gallon- this was without presoaking it in anything, and I only added 1/4 tsp there when I saw the pH drop right away. I haven't had to add any more baking soda in that tank- it seems stable now). My tapwater is pretty hard, I just didn't want the safe-t-sorb to be lowering it drastically every time I made a water change... so have I done it the wrong way?

Bump: Oh, and I think I might replace that cover with a glass lid and put a different light source on it altogether.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I definitely want to get a glass cover- I like them so much better on my current 20L and 10. Have been reading this thread http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=153195 and am seriously thinking of getting some dome lights with 13w or 19 watt daylight cfls for this new tank. Especially considering that my 10gal with a cfl desk lamp has been doing nicely with no algae issues at all, much less troublesome than my 20gal (still lit with flourescents).


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

Sounds like you did good on the PH.
The 13W CFL works best on a 10g, but I'd think the 23W(with 3 fixtures) would work well on the 40T tank. IF it's 36" as it looks like it is.
I get a glass store to cut a piece of glass in 1/8" for my tanks. On one(10g) it's 17"x9 and
7/16". Leaves about 1" open on each end for heater cord/feeding etc. And on the other
I got 2 pieces cut to add up to 17" so I'd still have the opening on each end. 10g also.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Yes, I was thinking of using 3 fixtures. I hope to keep the light level about the same for plants as it was in the 20L- medium/low. Do you think 3 23w will do that?

I'm trying to picture it with one solid pane of glass on top- so you have a gap at each short end, instead of a gap in the back? I don't know if that would work with my HOB filter...


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## sadchevy (Jun 15, 2013)

I use Saf-t-sorb in all my tanks, I have never taken the time to presoak it. Other than dumping it right from the bag into the tank, all I ever do is stir it up and drain a couple times to wash out the fine dust. The stripping of Kh and PH will stop once the Saf-t-sorb has saturated itself. As for fish and plants, I have never seen any ill affects while using Saf-t-sorb this way. Fish adapt to lower readings of water parameters much better than going the other way. 
As for lighting, 3- 23w cfl's is going to be a lot of light. I use 3 of them in brooder fixtures over my 125g and it works out great. If it was me, I would use 2- 13w to start, hung pendant style above the tank. This way you can easily adjust the height of the lights and take advantage of the lights best position for output. Cfl's put out more light when used vertically, like when used in brooder lamps. Home depot and Lowes sells 6500k cfl,s and the clamp on style work lamps fairly cheap. Pack of bulbs and 2 lamps should be about $20. 
Good luck and great find on the tank.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Ok, thanks. I think I will get the clamp types, start with 13watts. Easy enough to switch the bulbs later if need to. I was going to just sit them on the glass top- I'm not very handy with building stuff so not sure how to support suspending them. Maybe my fiancee can help me figure that out (I have to run it by him, if he won't mind the rather industrial look of brooder type lamps sitting over the tank in front room!)

I am switching over from using EI method to this- hoping that I can cease dosing ferts eventually- but wasn't sure how long it takes for the safe-t-sorb to absorb enough nutrients to supply them to the plants- so that's why I soaked some in first.... I also thought to put root tabs down before the substrate, do you think that would be good or will it cause algae problems from having too much nutrients? My aponos and rotala seemed to do better with root tabs given once a month, so I thought to put some in initially to give them a good start re-establishing in the new tank?


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Well nix that idea. my fiancée does not at all like the looks of the clamp shop/brooder type lights. I think for now I will just replace the bulb with higher wattage or get the glass lid and put led strip over it though I'm not sure which kind yet.


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## Proflooney (Feb 20, 2015)

if you just fill the tank with RO water (filled my 40G with 4 trips to the grocery store to fill 10-1 gal jugs the ph is 6.8 kh 0 gh 0 and it allows me to adjust up how I want. if you use controsoil with RO you will be in the low 6's and can adjust up from there


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*Do these light levels correspond...?*

I want to keep light level similar as possible between my old tank and new, so that when I move things over the plants and how I manage them doesn't have to adjust as much. (This is low-tech, low light)

So, if I currently have an 17 watt T8 light 10" above the substrate, will a 30 watt T8 that is 18" above substrate provide the same amount of light to the plants (both daylight spectrum 6500k)? I used simple algebra here: 17/10 = x/18, the variable _x_ being the new wattage I want.


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

When I used HOB filters it worked much better on the end rather than on the back.
Plants need ferts on a regular basis. A few low tech tanks can get by without them at all but with a limited amount of plants.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I never thought to put the HOB on the short end. I could easy get a glass cover that had a gap there... will look into it, thanks.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Well I am still working on getting this set up. 








I rinsed the STS after 10 days soaking in ferts, put it in the tank and filled up, ran the filter and heater for a few days now. It was only cloudy for a few hours, there was also some foamy scum on the water surface but that has cleared also. I checked the pH is staying at 7.8, so the STS is not causing it to drop now. But it only covers the bottom of the tank 1.5" that doesn't look deep enough so I'm getting another bag today and will also cap it with the gravel from my 20gal when I move the inhabitants over in a few weeks.

Last week I emptied the tank and spent an hour adjusting with shims to get it level (it was off 1/8" front-to-back). Noticed last night that if I nudge the tank or stand, it sways a little side-to-side and that makes me nervous. So I am going to get a sheet of 1/4" plywood or something to fasten across the back (right now it's open in the center behind the door). My fiancee suggested just putting a cross-brace but I want something more solid. That means emptying the tank again to move it, of course.

Had trouble deciding on lighting. Don't want to use the T8 hood and read too many scary reviews about T5ho fixtures overheating and catching on fire. I've ordered an LED fixture, the 36" Aquatic Life one. It has 21 6000K White, 21 9000K White, 24 10000K White, 7 Blue, 11 Red and 3 Blue Lunar LED's runs at max 36watts. (I never really wanted a "moonlight" setting but my fiancee and the kids think this will be really cool.) It has decent reviews, I hope will be sufficient for my low/med light plants.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

I can't see your photos, so I am sorry about that  I won't be able to give much feedback. But I use dome shop lights and I love them personally. You can find better 'looking' lights than the dome lights at the hardware store. But I think you have settled on a LED light. 

As for the filter and a glass lid, making glass lids is easy and if you have a local Lowes, they will cut it for you. 

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=42194

Follow that. The track is about $2 for a 8' section in the flooring area of your local hardware store. I did that on my tank and I love it. You'll just have to cut it in half-ish for your tank and you can slide the lids the 'long way' on the top. Then you can have the HOB filter on the short side of the tank.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Yes, I think I'm going to go with LEDs. I like the programmable options too- don't know if I'll use the "moonlight" much but the fade-in, fade-out mimicking sunrise/sunset sounds neat. I did show my fiancee lots of pictures how people do dome light setups and he just did not like any of them _at all_. As he is helping me pay for stuff to set up this tank I want to make it aesthetically pleasing for him, too. 

Those sliding glass tops look great. I have never seen one in person. Will look into doing that. I find I really like glass covers because I like looking down at the plants from above sometimes... 

Why the preference to put an HOB on the short end? Is it appearances, easier to reach things for maintenance or does it circulate the water better in that position? Just wondering.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

I believe it is better circulation. Just sort of imagine how they work and it makes sense. I'm not saying it is actually better, but it is one of those 'common sense' things that just seems like it should work? Ya know? It could be totally counter intuitive and be wrong though haha.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I have added another bag of safe-t-sorb (well, half after sifting out the dust and fine particles- so twenty pounds). Slope looks a bit steep back-to-front but I'll fix that when put in rest of the plants. It was very cloudy after putting in more substrate, but as you can see from first pic, cleared up nicely.









Put a backing of plywood on and now the stand is _very_ sturdy. 

I figured out how to program the LED lights (directions in the package were nil). Set it to do a 2-hour gradual "sunrise", 1 hour colored lights only (dawn kind of idea?), 6 hours full lights (color + white), 3 hours dusk (colored only), 2 hours "sunset" and then 3 hours "moonlight" (blue). 8 hours darkness. Trying to mimic what light might be in nature? If anyone's done this w/these kind of lights before, let me know how it worked for you. I'm not keen on fancy light effects, just want to grow the plants ok w/out C02 still. I can do all kinds of combinations with this thing, it's confusing to know where to start.

I did have media from previous owner in the filter, and even though the equipment was not running for several days, it seems it stayed damp and warm enough the bacteria didn't all die. The tank appears to be cycled already- it has 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite and 20 Nitrates. pH is around 7.6. I've put in a few plants- an anubias from my smaller aquarium,

















some java ferns tied onto that fake root piece, all my floating watersprite and about a dozen malaysian trumpet snails (who promptly dug down into the substrate. A few were later seen crawling up onto the anubias, so they're already finding their way around)










The only issue so far with this tank is the heater it came with- thermostat seems stuck at 80°. I've turned the knob a notch and it doesn't go down (if I unplug the heater, tank drops to 70°- room temperature). Will try adjusting a few more times and if it doesn't respond I'm going to replace it. Other than that I feel like I have a better start with this tank than my last one.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*Setup complete!*

Day before yesterday moved the fishes and plants into the tank. Plants in a bucket!








The fishes transported in a five-gallon bucket and I kept them with a sponge filter running, a handful of gravel below and rotala stem cuttings above them, the whole time I was working with teardown old tank and planting the new one. They have made the smoothest adjustment ever in my experience- a bit pale but no clamped fins, no hiding behind things, look great in their new home.








Planting in stages- crypts going in:








Rotala planted across the back, aponogeton front and just to the right of center








Cut the rotala down








Aponogeton is the centerpiece. I'm hoping the big root piece on the left side will eventually get covered in java fern (they are growing new leaves already)








The day after I tested the water- everyone looks fine, biofilter appears intact (there are no nitrites or ammonia) but nitrates were high so I did a 30%wc and that brought it down some. I stuck a few arrowhead plant cuttings in the HOB- this houseplant grows best for me as just cuttings in water anyway.
















Still had the lights off- ambient lighting only in these pics








When the first set of lights come on for the day it's quite warm colors- I didn't get a chance to photograph the tank yet at full light levels. Lots of plant surfaces covered in fine film of sediment that settled, not sure if I should take the trouble to wipe that off/disrupt it when I do another partial wc (if the nitrates are still high)








I got the thermostat to adjust- it just required another notch down to respond. The anubias in the new tank is putting out new shoots and the watersprite (all floating, I didn't grow it completely like this before) their leaves are wider than I've seen 








and all have new roots going down into the water busting with fine root hairs- 








even the itty bitty baby plants. So I think they are liking the new conditions.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*new pics at full light level*

My last tank was kind of haphazard, this is my first real attempt at making one pleasing to look at with the live plants. Any feedback/criticism welcome. Only thing I'm really not happy with is the placement of the anubias- it's hidden by that crypt in the left front corner now and it would probably do better tied under the root thing? to be more shaded. But seems a lot of trouble and mess to pull the whole root out and re-tie it now so I've left it alone for time being.








view from one short end of the tank








and the other








my biggest crypt wendtii tropica








another, smaller one








and the biggest aponogeton crispus- this is still my favorite plant


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*algae issues*

I thought my tank was looking relatively good for a short while
















but then got covered in brown algae. Is it diatoms? or I've made the same mistake again and forgot to feed the plants- I didn't dose nutrients the week before because nitrates were really high (80ppm, back to 20-30 now since water changes. I dosed ferts _this_ week, new growth on plants is greener). 








Biggest aponogeton crispus was growing lots of new stems, but the leaves turn pale and brown as they grow out








Lower part of rotala stems blackened with the algae so I cut it down








Looking very sparse. Feeling discouraged.








I added 1 horned nerite snail








2 black kuhli loaches








three otocinclus catfish








and four more female cherry barb. (Checking water every morning since got the new fishes- so far no ammonia spike). My stocking is now: 11 cherry barb, 6 kuhli loaches, 3 otos, 2 nerites, countless malaysian trumpet snails. Am I at the limit? (I'd like to add 2 more otos or a few more kuhlis but don't want to overdo it).


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I've just learned I was calling this tank the wrong thing- it's a 38 gallon _not _a 40 tall.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

My tank has hit the one-month mark. 








I think things are going in the right direction- this week I did not have to clean any algae off the glass, nitrates remain steady around 20ppm, the plants are all putting out new growth and algae on the leaves seems to be mostly on older foliage that is dying back. I lost two otos the day after I added new fish, everybody else is fine in there.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Two months now, and I am not really happy with the tank.








The plants have gone through two phases of dieoff- the first from adjusting to new environment, the second because they didn't get ferts for two weeks when I was on vacation (_and_ I reduced the photoperiod- turns out that was a bad idea). So I'm kind of still in the same state of waiting for stuff to grow out again. I took out the big fake root decor piece. I like it better without that, but can't really tell yet if it will look nice when the plants fill in...


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

cool! cherry barbs are nice fish


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I probably did the wrong thing again, but I really have been disliking the gravel size in here. The looks of it. I don't want to _notice_ the substrate, which I do here (and never in my smaller ten-gallon which has smaller grained dark-brown gravel). So on sunday I put the fishes in buckets (only lost one barb who jumped out) with airstones, siphoned off the top layer of gravel as best I could down to the safe-t-sorb, and put in a new layer of rinsed brown sand. Or fine gravel, not sure which this qualifies as. Replanted some stuff which had come loose, topped off w/new water and put the fishes back in. They are all ok, but my plants are going through shock again and look bad. 

I am happy with the new substrate layer, and the kuhlis seem more comfy- they zip around easier, not having to climb over pebbles bigger than themselves. (my four-year-old didn't realize I'd put in smaller-grain size gravel bed and she thought the kuhli loaches had doubled in size overnight. It was funny to hear her yelling all excited: "Mommy! The snaky-fishes GREW!") But I am discouraged that a lot of plants are dying back again, trying to keep my eye on the new growth and wait and see. No more big changes or interruptions in dosing schedule, I promise the plants. The tank went through a mini-cycle for five days, it seems ok now but I'm still checking levels every morning.

I did add some more plants, hoping to help absorb the extra nitrates- water wisteria, windelov java fern, hygro compacta, more watersprite, ludwigia and cyperus helferi. This last one is doing awful, I think it was too difficult a plant for my limited experience... I'll take more pictures when something starts recovering.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I have adjusted the light a few times and finally seem to have it where GSA growth may be in check- or at least it's not growing faster than the nerites can eat it. I saw it reblooming on the back wall of the tank every few days and started cutting back the bright whites on my LED fixture (which also extends the color-spectrum period, since I have them overlapping) by a half hour each time, until I stopped seeing GSA coming back. 

The plants seem to be doing okay with this- it's three hours color lights only, 5 hours color + brights- everything has new leaves growing, even my java fern. Can't see much here yet, but I have added in ludwigia and more watersprite, and there is still one piece of hygro compacta and water wisteria in there. I think the Cyperus helferi is a goner, though. And I took out the anubias, it didn't have enough shade anymore.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*I added hornwort*









It was effective _way_ faster than I had imagined. Nitrate levels dropped significantly overnight, and green algae on the glass completely disappeared. I've only had it in there a few days and visible see it growing daily. Most of my other plants are improving already, and when I dosed a bit more ferts the rotala and watersprite started to look green again. It's so clean-looking I'm worried my nerite snails will go hungry! I plan to remove half of this on the next maintenance day already. The fishes seemed ecstatic with the sudden addition of so much plant mass- my cherry barbs were spawning and I've seen them do that occasionally before after a water change, but never with such activity and excitement.

Note: I wanted the hornwort positioned vertically, not floating. I did not bury the stems in the substrate, but attached ends to pebbles using small rubber bands. Some in the back I rubber-banded onto suction cups and fastened low on the back wall.


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## end3r.P (Aug 31, 2015)

How do the Khuli loaches seem to like this tank? I have the same tank and I'm thinking about getting one (or more). Enough space for them?


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Oh yeah. They are very active. Plenty of hiding space under the driftwood and I have a small hollow area under a flat rock for them too but they are all usually out doing something. It's fun to watch whenever I drop food in they start dashing all over trying to locate it (by the smell I suppose).

Probably best if you get 5+. When I had fewer loaches they always hid. As soon as I got their numbers to six, they were bolder and coming out during the day.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I've removed some of the hornwort- took out all the floaters and five anchored stems, and moved the remaining stems to be in the background. I reduced my photoperiod another hour- it's 7 hours total now (5 of that full intensity) and am doing a reduced dose of ferts because of continued high nitrates. I think maybe I have enough nutrients from fish waste now, maybe excess ferts are _causing_ the higher nitrates and algae blooms? 








Since I reduced the photoperiod the plants look a bit better, rotala and crypt wendtii in particular are greener. GSA and diatoms are practically gone- I did not even clean the glass this week- but I do have some hair algae that came in on the hornwort. Less of it (and less dense growth of the plant) since reduced light.








I'm rather happy with the vallisneria- this plant never did very well in my old 20L but it seems very vibrant now and I can't wait to see it get taller.








Also glad my aponogenton crispus seem to be doing better now, these are the plants I actually want to be the focal point of the tank. If they ever grow big enough for me.


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## tclessard (Sep 20, 2015)

Nice progress.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Thanks. I feel like it still has a long way to go!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I adjusted my ferts dose the past few weeks. Gave only macros (P, K, N), and still had high enough nitrates I though I could drop the dry ferts altogether and just supplement postassium and iron? But I think this was too big a step, or I don't have enough fish pooping in there (12 cherry barb now, aiming to have at least 15). Next week I dosed only postassium and iron which put the tank at just 5 ppm nitrates, and now I've got some tufts of bba on my prefilter sponge. I put in root tabs this week, which brought the nitrates back up some (always get some into the water column no matter how careful I am) this week I think I will go back to dosing the macros again if nitrates are still low. My (trying to be) centerpiece plant, aponogenton crispus, really shot out some new growth when the root tabs went in. (Second pic is a bit lower angle but look at the size of leaf compare to the fish)
















I'm really happy with that, because this is my favorite plant. Funny, it looks better from either end of the tank, the way the leaves position themselves. I guess that has to do with where the light comes in from, don't know if I can change that.
















I even like how you can see it here in glass reflection on the right, when I mean to take a picture of the vallisneria sending out runners (I've already had to cut and remove runners from the front corner and back end of the tank, don't want it spreading too far. Looks like this will be a task every week or so. I don't mind!)








I am a bit disappointed that this nice green color my crypts took on when I had the lights shut off for a day (introducing a new barb that had been in QT) has gone back to more brownish hue, but hoping that root tabs helped that some or maybe I still need to fiddle with the light period...








As for other plants, my watersprite is doing poorly too (probably because of the recently low nitrates?) rotala doesn't seem to be growing back much yet (I cut it down across the back wall again) and for the time being I'm still lifting out the anchored hornwort stems to trim back every week.








I just was thinking last week how I like this one corner of the tank where there's a variety of green hues and leaf shapes. I'd like to have a broader range of greens in here- a paler crypt or something, but not sure what to put in.


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## ottomotto (Apr 2, 2015)

I would reccommend using seachem excel as a co2 supplement. You will see improvement in growth. Excel and hornwort don't match though..


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Ok, thanks. I've been avoiding it, but maybe it would be just what my tank needs. I can do without the hornwort, I threw it in there to see if it really would wipe out algae. And to have more green while I wait for slower plants to grow.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Another week's slow growth (I'm okay with it being slow). 








To my surprise after a day of half lights-out, my plants suddenly looked better. We had a brief power outage, so the "color" channel on my LED didn't switch on and I didn't bother to override the timer. I liked the look of it and the plants look healthier too, so I changed the setting to have the "white" channel on longer and the "color" one added in for just a few hours. I'm not sure if the plants are responding to this or to the fact I only dosed macros this past week. But my crypt wendtii has the best color I've seen in a long time.
























I do still have some thread algae and there are tufts of BBA on the sponge prefilter. A little bit of it shows up now and then on the driftwood and thread roots from the java ferns, I remove those. It doesn't seem to be spreading too badly yet. I think I need to take the prefilter off and soak or dip it in something to kill the BBA on there, but I'm worried about killing off too much of the bacteria colony.

I guess I didn't understand what part of the lights should be on for how much time, when I first set it up (the box had minimal instructions). I will have to go look at it again, what the spectrum for each channel says...

On another note, one of my snails doesn't look good. This ramshorn is all streaked with white. Is it just old?


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I really like the overhead view of my tank- it is actually starting to look decently planted (IMHO).








I added these plants: what I think is creeping jenny -not labeled in the store- in center here w/round leaves, 








bacopa caroliniana, 








ludwigia- are these two different varieties? 2nd one the leaves are more olive green and undersides brighter violet color. 
















elodea (anacharis)








another crypt (don't know the name, it just said "asian crypt" on the label), 








and mondo grass- found out what it really was when I got it home. I saw it in a dimly lit tank in the store with nice white roots coming out of the bottom of its pot, so thought it was an okay plant OOPS.








I took a step back with my lighting situation- removed the blocks that held it up off the tank rim, and instead dimmed the intensity with plastic sheeting cut to fit and taped over the LEDs. I did this on my tenner and its appearance (plant health and lack of algae) is so much improved. I also dosed micros again, and my crypt wendtiis are responding, look a bit greener again, they were such awful brown. So I made a mistake, still trying to adjust and get things right.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*buce and downoi!*

I got a few new plants in the mail, bought them from another member. 








I'm really stoked (and nervous) about this because the buces are kind of rare, but I'm assured not really too hard to grow. Bucephalandra 'dark godzilla' 








and bucephalandra 'emerald'
















Also some p. helferi downoi- I get mixed feedback on this one. Lots of people say it demands high light & C02, but I've also seen reports of it growing fine in a lower light tank... It sure is different with the deeply crinkled leaf margins. Very stiff. Reminds me of simpson lettuce, looks like little green tarantulas crouching in my aquarium!








The crypts I added last friday are already sprouting new foliage at base!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I got a plant package from a fellow member (trade):grin2: So added more new plants. Including creeping jenny and ludwigia repens,
















bacopa monnieri








fissidens moss and subwassertang (I think this one looks really cool)








and a few surprises- some carpeting plants: staurogyne repens








and monte carlo. I found out I'm not very good at planting small bits of horizontal stuff. And then the trumpet snails move in to eat decaying ends and knock it loose again. I'm doubtful how these will do, because I don't have high light or c02.... But what the heck, stuck it in the substrate and give it a chance.








A pennywort- Hydrocotyle tripartita. Tiny little bit, I really hope this one can get established, it's so pretty in pics I looked up







.
Can't show all of them because some are just a few little stems in the aquarium- will get another full tank shot when there's something to see. I think I'm going for the jungle style-








As for the plants I got few weeks/a month ago- the elodea has new, darker green stems growing- original leaves are melting- and just yesterday I saw root hairs where the new stem emerges from the old. So I think when those get big enough I can cut and replant the new growth.








I am really loving bucephalandra 'dark godzilla'. I put this plant in a front corner position and I can't stop looking at it!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*more buces! thank you, Ebi*

Plant package came in a few days ago, I was busy prepping them for the tank and then after a night in QT bucket (just for holding because I wanted to do it on a maintenance day)








had fun planting. I now have bucephalandra 'midnight blue'
















'blue bell'








'selena'








and some 'isabelle' (on the right here)
















Here they are in the tank- I was impressed how _blue_ the 'midnight' one looks








I tied most of them onto a driftwood piece (first buce on the left is 'emerald green' from early pckg) - extra thread on there to hold some moss down too-








They look fairly blue under the tank lights








more green in ambient light








my favorite right now is 'isabelle'


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Something went wrong in my thirty-eight the week before last. I don't have a lot of pics to show because embarrassed at the conditions. Brown, yellowing plants. Some melt to be expected as new ones adjust, but the watersprite and hornwort was all deteriorating. And crypt wendtii turning brown- some leaves paling out brassy and pink color, melting fast. Either it was the lighting or I messed up the ferts. I distinctly remember putting the dry ferts in the tank that friday, but not really sure if I did the micros. I put half a dose of micros in midweek, just in case. But if I _hadn't_ forgot the micros, that could be an overdose of something. Gah. (Can't see hornwort here I've got it all floating now and took this photo at an angle from above)








I bet it was changes I made to the light. I was so pleased at how my tenner responded to diffusion via plastic that I did the same thing to this tank. Now things look awful and I fear for my new additions. I thought that reducing light with distance would be the same as reducing light with diffusion. Nope. Or varies enough that I can't make it the same. So I've reset the light up on its blocks and took off the plastic strip- left on just one sheet of a more transparent kind. Photoperiod is still six hours with two hour fade, both channels. Kicking myself for not being content the way things were. Why did I think: hey this is good, let's make it better!?

Well, one plant seems not to mind anything that happens- elodea. It has grown all these long roots from the base of new shoots.








I was wondering if I should trim and replant those parts, and the plant just decided for me. Moving my hand in the tank I brushed against some stems and they came loose too easily- I saw that the original stem ends were decaying, no roots at all. So I cut the bottoms off to discard and replanted the new top growth with its roots under gravel now. See how that does...









A week later I think the plants are slowly recovering- crypts are looking greener. But most plants still have brown algae on the lower leaves. I have been rubbing the algae off aponogeton leaves, others that are too fine or small I left alone. I cut and replanted the tops of some ludwigia, discarding all the bottom half of stems that were dying. There are pretty much no more carpeting type plants in here. All melted away. One bit of staurogyne repens left that I pegged down, but I don't really expect it to stay on. The baby downoi plants all melted to nothing- I still have the older two plants. Their outer leaves are melting, new growth in centers and stems stretching up to reach the light. Might end up looking funny. Only one piece of bacopa monnieri managed to get rooted, and at least that one is growing some new leaves. I removed the mondo grass. A light nudge uprooted it and I saw there was no root growth at all, so even though what's still there looks healthy, I don't want to wait for it to go into decay. 

Dismayed that the cotton thread I used is already disintegrating! A bunch of my new buces came floating loose. 








I had to lift the driftwood log out of the tank again and refasten most of the buces with rubber bands. All had come loose except for 'isabelle'. Some of the 'blue bell' leaves have holes in them. Buce 'dark godzialla' appears to be melting. I don't know how far they can melt away while adjusting, and still bounce back...








Put root tabs in the tank yesterday. Found it's much easier to get them deep in the substrate with tweezers, and hopefully that releases less into the water column too, because I get them in quicker and farther than with blunt fingers.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I was feeling really glum 2 weeks ago about how brown and dismal it all looked in this tank- so I sat down with a piece of paper and went through older posts (on the blog), making notes of dates I changed things with the lights and ferts, and what I'd noted of plant conditions. I think I had been expecting results to alterations too quickly- it's difficult to look at the record and keep in mind that when I change something, the state of growth or algae _a week later_ or even longer is what to make note of...

That in mind, looking back it seems things were doing better when I had the photoperiod starting up with warm spectrum, then full intensity for midpoint of the 'day'. Also seemed better following a time when I had tried cutting back on micros. So maybe that was correct to do after all... Once again trying a change. The light strip is still up on its blocks with one thin plastic sheet for diffusion. I reset it again: 2 hour fade in/out, 7 hours color spectrum, 5 hours adding full intensity (high whites). I suddenly got fine thread algae busting out all over plant surfaces- almost like thin fur viewed at a certain angle- I think it's because I put in root tabs that week. Maybe on days I give root tabs I should step back with the other ferts... 

A week later I _thought_ it was looking greener. Buces looked like they might make it- the melting appeared to have halted. Fishes look great (I don't say enough about them lately, plants are getting all the attention!) 

I tried something to kill off BBA. It's been growing more and more tufts on the HOB prefilter sponge. More in the past week, I think it's because lately I'd had the additional little corner sponge filter running just at night, which probably caused C02 fluctuations? (now it's on constantly but lower airflow) So- my prefilter is in two pieces. Just to see what happened (and because I was worried about killing off too much beneficial bacteria at once) last week I put one half in the microwave for 3 minutes, that boils it. I kept an eye on water quality- no ammonia or nitrite thru the week, so that was okay. And immediately the BBA on that sponge piece turned _green_. By end of the week it was _gone_. Tufts on the other half much less than I recall lately- maybe because my changes to the light and flow have finally improved things- I zapped the 2nd half of the sponge today, with glee.

Before (one of the milder days- I was constantly removing it manually by roughing it up when rinsing mulm out):








After:








And I think it's all finally going in the right direction again. I was completely surprised this morning that there was no algae to rub off the inner glass- my tank hasn't been like that in a _long_ time. I looked closely at the plants- Most of them still have algae and death on the lower leaves, but looks like new growth is keeping free of that. I did a lot of trimming and replanting tops today. Trying to discard all the foliage in the tank that's been black or scummy with algae. When I rubbed the crypt leaves they don't feel slimy or weak- that's a great improvement. I did not have to take any dying leaves off the wendtii this week. Behind them here you can see how thin rotalas are looking since I cut most of their heads off and replanted to get rid of all the dying lower growth.








Downoi is still alive and even has new leaves growing on lower part of the stem








This seems silly to say, but even my floating hornwort looks healthier- I trimmed off and discarded older half of stems leaving only the fresh green ends.








Trimmed at base and replanted tops for some elodea (which had almost hit the surface) and most of alternanthera reineckii, rotala indica and a few ludwigia stems. Discarding all the yucky lower halves. I found fresh new growth at the base of some, encouraging sign. I could have done this to bacopa as well, but it wasn't in such bad a state so I left those alone for now. There was only a little bit of thread algae to pull off the rotala, elodea and hornwort.

I was thrilled to find another good sign: new emerging shoots on the buces! 'Emerald green' unfolded one leaf this past week-
















'Midnight blue' has a bit of new, fresh green in center here-








And 'dark godzilla' is unrolling its first new leaf for me too. This one seems to have black beard algae encroaching on the edges of its older leaves, but I am so loathe to trim buce leaves for some reason. I took off a few of the worst ones, don't want to do more until it has a least a few healthy leaves out. Several of the buces I can see new white roots going down to grip on things, too.









Honestly I have been feeling anxious about the tank all week, thinking it was in the pits. But now things are looking up. Needless to say, I did not touch the photoperiod again. Nitrates tested at 20-30ppm. I do think it's the amount of KN03 dosage that I need to tinker with now. Unfortunately I didn't make a note last week how much given. I'm still doing the lower adjusted dose; was told to give half the normal dose of KN03 or even less, down to nil. I _think_ last week I skipped it entirely, but not sure. This time I dosed 1/16 and I'm writing it down now, what the nitrates are each week, what I dose and how the plants (and algae) respond following. So I can see which way keeps the tank clear. It all looks kind of empty now because I cut so much down to get the bad leaves out, but most of the plants look so much better now. I feel cheerful about it again.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

The tank definitely seems to do better when I _don't_ dose KN03. Most of my plants are doing much better, I don't need to wipe algae off the glass and very little foliage needed to be removed this week. It felt like I only spent half the amount of time on the tank as in weeks past. I finally feel like things are in a good place again, feel like taking some more pictures. My crypts look greener-








Subwassertang has doubled in size. My kuhlis seem to really like wriggling through it.








Aponos have healthy looking leaf texture again. Hoping I can keep them that way now.








I haven't taken many pics of the bacopa, and it's one plant I didn't touch during all these ups and downs- I didn't wipe brown algae off the leaves or cut off tops to replant. It didn't seem to suffer as much from algae issues as the rotala and others. 








Buces are all growing new leaves now, slow and steady. The rubber band holding down 'selena' snapped but it seems to be staying in place okay, and new roots are growing down.








I took action against the BBA on my buce 'godzilla'. This is the only plant I've really seen it take hold on- it's on the leaf margins- all but the one newest leaf edged with it. I lifted it out and put in a plastic box of tank water.








Used a straw to drop hydrogen peroxide onto the algae tufts. There was a lot more algae than I'd realized. Ugh. 








Left it sit there for about half an hour while I finished up the rest of the tank stuff. It did fizz some. Before putting the plant back in the tank I wiped the leaves off with paper towel- got a lot of other kind of algae off the leaf surface with that. It's not as nice-looking as when I first got it, but the color is much improved from last week. Glad now that I didn't trim the older foliage off- crossing my fingers the black stuff will die.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Interestingly, since I started leaving out KN03, my trumpet snails look better. Used to be the tips of their shells were white, now they don't look so bleached out or degraded. I don't know if it's related to the changes I've made in the tank.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Whitening of the shell is usually calcium deficiency. Or possibly too acidic water.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Yes- I put a piece of cuttlebone in the tank a while back to give them calcium- maybe I need to dose the water with it instead? or feed them something calcium-rich.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

The cuttlebone is enough. It slowly dissolves into the water column and the snails can eat at it if necessary.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Ok. Well, I know that mts like hard water and my ph is around 7.5- I don't mind if it's a bit less than ideal for them, as it probably keeps the population somewhat in check.


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## HeavyUser (Jan 23, 2016)

Great tank!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Well I have moved a few things around and tried putting some plants on driftwood sticks. 








I picked these up in the yard- it's sycamore twigs. I boiled them my biggest pot for several days, changing the water until tannins quit coloring it (my husband walked in on that and said "_what_ are you making for dinner!??" haha). Then I soaked them in a tub of water for almost two weeks until they sank, then peeled the bark off. I've taken all the floating hornwort and reattached to stone anchors,








and some to driftwood twigs. It's a _lot_ easier to attach stems to a twig with rubber bands than to an unevenly shaped, round pebble. I might do it this way from now on. The two long sticks you see in prior pic behind the hornwort don't have anything tied to them, they're extras I'm not decided what to do with yet. Resting on the rims of plant pots. 








I also cut back the subwassertang 'bush' that was getting so big in this corner- excuse the nerites blocking the view- 








and experimented with tying those onto some sticks, too.








Here it is back in the tank. You can also see there how I've resituated the java fern windelov- it's just behind the crypt wendtii now. I like how it peeks out there.








Also see in those pics how I've moved some of the plants around, too. I took out some of the smaller crypt wendtiis, moved the crypt parva closer to foreground by the driftwood log (next to subwassertang bush) and on the other end of the tank, I've switched the crypt parva and bacopa plantings, so the smaller crypt is in front








and bacopa is behind, just in front of the elodea. I think it looks better like this already. I also took out about twenty vallisneria plants and runners with little shoots on them, that were growing out-of-bounds from their corner. I was going to sell them for a few dollars on CL but when the guy showed up he didn't want them. So just for the heck of it I planted them in this aquatic pot- a bit of old filter floss on the bottom and fine gravel filling- then placed it in the background of the tank. I have another pot of this going on the other side. I was just curious to see how it would do. The first pot of it has been planted like that for I think a month now, and it hasn't thrown any runners out of the pot yet. I thought it might rot from being so crowded together, but so far the foliage is staying green... In the above image of all the hornwort, this new pot is visible just to the left of the hornwort.








Moving stuff around kicking more mulm into the water than I had expected, because when I pulled up the bacopa it had its roots going firmly through a root tab. That made a mess. I was worried about high nitrates. Which were already high the week before from adding those root tabs in. My crypt wendtii is looking brown again, more brown algae on some other plant leaves I thought caused by the excess nitrates. And my aponos look poorly- not just leaves turning black with algae like I'm used to, but some turning pale and kind of reddish in an unhealthy-looking way. 








So after the water change yesterday I skipped the ferts dose. I'm not sure now if that was a good idea or not. Most of the plants look fine, but maybe the symptom was caused by what I did the week prior to that- cutting in half the micros dose. It might have been the wrong thing to do. 

After writing this I feel more sure it was a mistake to skimp on the ferts, my plants always do poorly when I don't feed them enough- so I'm going to dose the usual here a day late.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

The overall look is not much different, but I did make a change past week- cut the photoperiod another hour. Now it's eight hours, two of that fade-in, half of that full blast and the other half lower spectrum. It seems to be the right amount of light finally- the downoi is looking peaky but all the other plants are doing better and better.








I saw some vallisneria I'd stuck in a pot in the back were all coming loose- the kuhlis like to dig through it and had dislodged almost all the gravel. So I took out the vals








and flipped the pot over, fastened a clump of subwassertang on the upended base with a bit of mesh off a bath sponge (pouf). Sewed it into place. 
















Put back in the tank it looks really odd right now, but already the black kuhlis are poking in and out underneath it and I hope when it grows out can make a cool subwassertang kuhli cave!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

This is doing well now. In terms of light/fert balance for the plants. I've got the best growth in this tank ever, since it was first set up.








Reducing photoperiod just one more hour seems to have put it in the right condition. Except for the downoi plant- one has decayed away to nothing, the other is looking peaky. I think the lower light is not enough for this plant, oh well. There is still a bit of hair algae I am plucking out when I can, and some tufts of BBA showed up on the very tips of several crypt wendtii leaves- but it has not reappeared on the sponge filter or the driftwood. I will either prune out those leaves or snip their tips off... Most of the plants look great- aponos especially, and rotalas in here are keeping their green stems which cheers me (they used to turn brown and scraggly a lot). I've had to thin out some hornwort. Trim and replant a few elodea stems each week now, as they hit the ceiling. The corner is full enough that from this point on I will probably just trim the longest stems to the ground and let them grow back, not bothering to replant. It's filled the area I want.








I took out some subwassertang, didn't really like the way it looked on the smaller wood pieces. The patch of it fastened to upended pot is just starting to peek up through the mesh. I do want to move the location of that item, but caused enough substrate disturbance in the tank already this week so will shift that one later.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I don't know what went amiss in my tank, but things seem a little off balance since I got back from a five-day vacation two weeks ago. I didn't think that going a few extra days between water changes/fert dose would make so much difference. Maybe it's that the fishes were unfed, so there wasn't any poo adding waste? Definitely the nitrates were very low when I did the water change after trip- it was near 5ppm (usually 20 or 30). I noticed more brown algae on some plants- especially the crypt wendtii-








and some lower leaves of bacopa-








Can't see it on here but some of the vallisneria leaves had little tufts of BBA on their ends. I cut them out. Crypt wendtii had it on leaf tips too- older leaves- I just removed the leaf. Incidentally, the greener young crypt in the front center here really is changing its shape- so I'm still not sure what its species variety is.








Elodea I'm having to trim a few stems each week now, and usually I replant the tops. I don't know why some of them make nice plumy tips and others look scrawny. This plant has been getting a bit of thread algae on it...








While my aponos continue to get brown algae on their leaves, they haven't slowed down much with the growth. The ones that always were smaller are gradually catching up to the older, biggest one. And I like this picture of two of my male cherry barbs.








The watersprite I thought was doing fine but it's also got more brown algae than I'm used to seeing, and more thread algae now, too. Below it, buces had nice color for a while but now they are turning a bit brown as well. To my alarm I thought I saw some tufts of BBA starting to show up on them.








The subwassertang is doing great. Little bits are starting to poke up through the mesh on the upturned pot. 








Last downoi plant is finally dead. All the upper leaves disappeared- as if they rotted and fell off, or got eaten? It looked so awful I pulled it out. Most of the ludwigias in here have failed, and the few left are so small I hardly notice them. Java fern windelov is doing pretty good. At least, I thought so until I looked closer- this one has black tufts on its root hairs. I lifted out the rock and tried to clean it up.








I'm pleased with rotala indica, it is staying green through the stems, and when they get taller I hope will make a nice backdrop to the crypt wendtii and screen the sponge filter. But I pulled a bunch more thread algae out of it this week, too. I can't quite see it in the lower areas of the rotala indica, but I can feel it- so I run my fingers gently pinching between the stems and even though I can't feel the algae threads between my fingers, I can feel and see the resistance when I pull and disentangle it from the rotalas. It's an odd sensation, fishing blind for it like that.

Mostly I am disgusted with a plant I was so proud and happy to have at first: buce 'dark godzilla'. I was appalled to see when I got back from my trip that its root across the rock looked dark and swollen. Lifted the stone out and yeah, it was all rotten. I broke it away easily, leaving only smaller, newer roots. Maybe that's normal, for the buce to discard the original roots after it's grown new ones in a new conditions? But this one still has tufts of algae coming back on the leaf margins, and now I recognize it is the BBA. I think this plant is the source of my BBA problem. I ruthlessly cut off half its mature leaves, the ones with the worst of the algae. Its newest leaf never grew any of the nasty algae, so I still hope it might recover. 








While I had the plant out of the tank, rubbed the surfaces all firmly with paper towel bits. I was surprised how much brown came off, and how much nicer this plant's color is now.








Its neighbor, the buce 'midnight blue', had one small bit of baby plant growing on top of a stem- just a bit of color and for weeks that's all it was, it never got much larger. The bit broke off and I moved it into the tenner. The parent buce is also growing a new leaf at normal size, so I think this one is doing okay.








So when I just look at the tank I can't see much wrong with it- but I realize making these notes just how bad the algae is getting. When I look close, it's here, it's there, I even found a tiny tuft of BBA growing on a single pebble of the substrate (I plucked it out and threw it away). It makes me worried. I don't want a serious BBA outbreak. I think it showed up again because of the low nitrates- I've read somewhere that BBA can be caused by very low nitrates? I hadn't been dosing much of them with my ferts but I did this week. And the brown algae makes me think- either my plants aren't as healthy as I thought, or the light is still too strong. Could use some floaters perhaps. To see if it helps I taped another strip of plastic across the LEDs.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I am starting to feel like I actually reached the balance in this aquarium. 

Plants are growing well, algae is minimal and I've even found a better way to keep the hornwort where I want it. We had a birthday in our house recently, and the clip holding the helium balloons together was different from ones I'd seen before. It's a flat plastic square that folds over on itself, and the hinge part is just wide enough to slide a stem of plant through. Just wide enough for the internodal spacing, too. I cut a slit into the length of some airline tubing, and attached it to the top back wall of the tank at the water line with suction cups. I did have to use rubber bands to hold the airline to the suction cups at a few points, because they'd been stretched to grasp driftwood twigs before (which have all been removed). I really like this new system. It's so much easier to remove one clip, snap it open, reposition further up the hornwort stem, snap shut again and slide back onto the line of tubing when I need to trim back the base of the stems. And unobtrusive too.








Most of my plants seem to be growing better, now. Watersprite has reached the ceiling for the first time in here.








Rotala is getting taller than the prefilter sponge, finally.








Crypt wendtii looks healthier.








The blue hue of bucephalandras is showing through other plants again, here seen from side/above angle. There's even a few teensy java ferns sprouting on the log where bits of rhizome got left behind, and the fissidens moss seems to be taking hold. I had to pull a few more vallisneria that were getting out-of-bounds.








Most of all I am loving the aponogeton crispus. I just can't get the best picture of them.








Newest thing in the tank- I moved over my last otocinclus. The betta had been chasing him a lot more in the smaller tank. Even if he didn't get hurt I think it's stressful for the oto. 
















He is already looking alert and active, nibbling over leaf surfaces for algae. In these pics his tail getting buffeted to the side from filter flow. I once again removed the baffle, thinking the oto will prefer stronger flow. I've been told they need more oxygenated water.

But there's one problem I hadn't forseen. Cherry barbs are pestering the oto. They keep nipping at the spots on its tail base and ends of the fins. I hope once they realize the other fish's spots aren't food items they will leave him alone! Otherwise I guess this tank isn't a good place for him either.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I took a picture of the tank in ambient light. To get it looking halfway decent I had to nearly lie on my back on the sofa opposite (so my head didn't show reflection in the tank glass) and temporarily remove some pictures that were hung on the wall behind me- their frames showed up too, otherwise.








Just a few things to note, not much is changing now, I'm mostly just watching the plants grow. I don't have to take out much dead or algae-grown foliage anymore, every week trim a few of the plants that have got too big. One week it's anacharis stems that have hit the ceiling, the next it is watersprite or subwassertang that needs a trim. I found I don't need scissors to trim the subwasser, I just fluff it up to see which areas are taller than the rest, and pull off portions with the tweezers. I do still remove entire stems of watersprite when they start to look brown, pinching off at the base- there is always enough more growing in. If I see a little nubbin forming where a smaller stem meets the main one, I leave a portion of that floating to grow a new plant. Have about a dozen of them floating in one corner now. 

Since the blackout, which knocked out a lot of my algae, I have also made two other minor changes- I took off the baffle to increase flow around the tank, and pulled out all the loose bits of driftwood twigs that were in there. Read somewhere that BBA doesn't like harder water. It seems to have worked- BBA is minimal now, definitely stopped spreading. Thread algae is also slowly going away- I see the barbs picking it off plants sometimes- I thought they were flashing against the plants but looked close; instead they were grabbing strands of thread algae and jerking their bodies up to pull them loose.

The other reason I removed the baffle was for the oto- who prefers more flow. The cherry barbs do have to swim with effort against it in one corner, but they could easily stay away from that area if they wanted to! My little oto is doing great in here. The barbs leave him alone now. I was watching him close for the first week or two- he looked a bit thin. But I saw him nibbling (and pooping) constantly, and now his tummy is nice and rounded again. 

I've also noticed that since the blackout and removing the baffle, my aponogetons don't show any more algae or decaying leaves. Finally they are as healthy as I once had in my older tank (the 20L). 








I didn't like how the larger subwasser bush, made of four portions tied onto a twig, kept getting moved around by the snails and fish. It always ended up close against the base of the largest crypt, and I'd rather have it stay in place up against the front glass, so there's room behind it and I can see the base of the crypt. I tried holding it down with plastic pegs (see the pic) but it still came loose and got moved. Now there's a rock wedged behind it; so far that is holding it in place. 

I need to get a picture of the subwasser basket- the portion I fastened on top of an upended plastic pot. It's growing out nicely and I've used it once now for its purpose- put food under it with tweezers to favor the kuhli loaches. It worked pretty well- the cherry barbs swarmed the spot but most of them couldn't get in there so the kuhlis had a fair shot at the food (until one of the pushed it out into the open). I was a bit worried the two cherry barbs that _did_ get into the space under the basket would be stuck, but they got out again fine.

I also fed my fishes worms from the vermicompost bin last week, for the first time. Baby red wigglers. I didn't want to chop up a worm, so I looked for very small ones and they were harder to find in the bin than I had expected. They were mostly on the bottom of the most recent food pile, which is nasty to pick through. So I don't think I will be feeding them worms often, unless I can get over my reluctance to chop a worm. I rinsed the baby wigglers in dechlorinated water a few times to remove all dirt, and dropped them in. Wow, those fish went crazy for it! And they all got their fare share, because once a fish got a worm in its mouth, it took them a while to work it down, so they were all hanging around the tank working on their mouthfuls, not darting about hogging second bites. It was funny, they looked like they had fat pink tongues sticking out of their mouths for a bit. 

This past friday I woke up to a strange quiet- my filter was still running but the wheel had stopped turning. I can't remember the last time that happened. I took it off and gently rinsed it in a bucket of tank water, and scrubbed off the pegs that fit on the housing with toothbrush and a toothpick. I guess enough scum or hard water deposits built up there it impeded the motion. Set it back on and runs fine again. I had been planning on rinsing out the prefilter sponge this week (last time it was the filter media itself, I alternate them- every other week rinse one or the other)- but since the wheel itself got a rinse I didn't touch anything else, for fear of setting back the bacteria colony too much. I don't know for how long the filter wheel wasn't moving, but it did seem to have an impact- I tested the water: no nitrites, nitrates below 20, but ammonia was .25 so that was a little concerning.

Sorry lots of words this time and few pictures. I've been busy so didn't post for a while. Lots of things have happened, but I never took time these past few weeks to really use the camera.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Is finally looking like what I dreamed. I can't believe it's come so far.








Right now my filter intake is at an odd angle, I have the prefilter sponge horizontal. I took the intake pieces apart last maintenance day (friday) to scrub out algae with old toothbrush. There was a lot of green algae in there. And that's when I saw that my silicone job was failing. Coming loose, peeling off, a section of the crack already exposed. So I took off that elbow piece. I'm going to order a new prefilter kit, to replace those two pieces (part that the sponge fits over had a crack so for a long time now I've had the sponge sews into place). For now, the intake is horizontal. It doesn't seem to make much difference to the filter efficiency (as far as I can tell) and actually looks a little less obtrusive.








As for pics this week, I just have a few. Subwassertang basket is growing out. I want to shove it deeper into the substrate, to form a nice hideout for the kuhlis.








I've removed a few more of the oldest buce leaves that showed green spot algae and BBA tufts. So far the newer growth remains clear of that.








The green crypt featured in right of that pic, and central to this one- I still don't know exactly what it is...








There are two tiny java ferns growing on the driftwood log, that sprouted from bits of rhizome I missed when moving javas to the tenner. A few baby java ferns came loose from the fake skull in Oliver's tank, so I moved them back in here-








In case you can't spot them, I marked in this second pic. The one I moved over is larger, in the middle.








I pulled some more vallisneria out of the tank- to thin out the area they grow in.








I've found the vallisneria corner is a great spot to drop sinking food to favor the kuhlis. All can reach it, but the barbs don't seem to like being crowded down among the val stems. They will reach it a few at a time, then turn and squirm back out into open water again. It seems to make them feel uncomfortable or unsafe to be down among the dense plants in that area. Kuhlis have no problem about it, they are always wiggling around among the val stems of their own accord. So when I want to make sure the kuhlis feed well, I drop the pellet or wafer into the vallisneria. The kuhlis definitely get most of it. I'll have to get a picture of that activity.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Today's picture:








I had to take out the buce 'dark godzilla'. It just looked dead. Took a cutting of buce 'emerald green' and put it in the smaller tank. Still don't know this green crypt, but I like how it looks. Something notched a leaf? doesn't look like any marks I've seen on plants in here before.








I got the new prefilter sponge kit and replaced the cracked pieces, so now it is aligned vertically again.








Cut back subwasser bush a lot- trying to get rid of this fine, hairlike algae on there. It looks like BBA tufts but very pale, almost clear. There's still a bit on here I missed.








I still think this plant in the background w/the straight leaves is alternanthera reinckii, not a ludwigia? I wasn't liking it before but now it is growing better and looks decent...








Cut out the rattiest elodea stems- now I seem to have removed all that were unhealthy, and this corner is looking better too.








Oto seems to be doing well in here. Resting among the broader aponogeton leaves (I will need to trim for size constraints soon!)








Hornwort ceiling. This past friday I had to trim every single stem of it- grew like crazy.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

We have a pressing schedule this friday morning, so I had to make tank maintenance concise. Usually I take my time at it, I enjoy working among the plants and observing everything closely. It's on average 2-4 hours for me to do both tanks, depending on if I'm rinsing filter media, have a lot of plants to trim/replant, or something to fix.

Well I found that by setting out all my equipment, testing water quality and measuring ferts the night before and skipping a few details, I can get maintenance done in just an hour for the main tank. Of course I still changed out half the water, dosed ferts and removed a few dying plant leaves. I only trimmed two hornwort stems that had got long (nitrates at the normal level this week) and pinched the top off one watersprite stem that was about to grow out of the water. For the first time, aponogeton crispus has hit the ceiling. The leaf is a good inch wide. I ought to take it off just to keep the plant from overwhelming the tank, but it feels like such an accomplishment I can't bear to cut it yet.

I did not: rinse filter media (this is an every-other-week task anyway), trim a ton of stuff or replant anything, wipe algae and hard water residue/scum off the cover glass (a lot less of that now, too), pull individual thread algae, wipe the inside glass or clean the outside glass w/vinegar. It doesn't sound like much to skip, but trimming and re-clipping hornwort stems alone can take quite some time, if I have a lot of them to do (which I probably will next week, as I went easy on it this week).

More pictures coming soon!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

All the regular maintenance yesterday, and I had enough plant trimming to sell some locally. Went to the pet store to admire the fishes, and came home with a new plant.








I like its round leaves, nice contrast to the other plants in the tank. I'm trying to identify if it's a melon sword or some other sword variety- on another thread...


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I've been trying to figure out why the leaves of rotalas are curling downwards. I thought it had something to do with the micros, but alternating how much I dose that hasn't changed them. (40ml seemed to be more than was necessary, 30 was still plenty, when I dropped it down to 15 that I think was too low- some plants looked a bit unhealthy this week. I'm dosing 20ml now). I was looking for other information on a different plant and came across someone's post about curling leaves on a stem plant indicating mg deficiency. Realized I haven't dosed mg in here for a while- over a month- whereas I'm doing it reguarly in the 10gal when I put in root tabs. So even though it's not maint day I dosed 1/32 tsp mg in the tank today, to see if it helps. Making a note of it.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I did my maintenance on this tank a day late, because dosing meds changed the schedule. Maybe you've seen my other post about my kuhli loaches that have a parasite or wasting disease. Finished the first round of meds, waiting for the other one to come in the mail. The worst fish looks a little better.

Minor trimming today, and moved a few plants. Pulled more thread algae out of the rotalas and watersprite, cut out a few val leaves that had tufts of BBA showing- guess that is not all gone yet. The hornwort looked great this week- beautiful green color and very little algae. Trimmed a third of those back. I don't know why but the elodea didn't look as good as usual. Wonder if it is because I have been keeping the curtains shut on the window near that end of the tank. Maybe they were benefitting from the extra ambient light?

I did the regular amount of water change- fifty percent- which is more than the packet instructions say to remove the medication. Put some carbon media in the filter box. I've had to service the filter last week and this. Last time, it wouldn't start up again after I'd turned it off for something (usually I leave it running while doing the wc). I had to take it apart and clean the impeller- white crusty stuff built up on it. It ran again, but was making a slight grinding noise this week. Took it apart again today and scrubbed more thoroughly with a toothbrush. Sucked out the hole the impeller sits in with baster. Now it's running quietly again.

I took two quick pictures today to show the difference with a little trim and moving a few plants. Before:








and after:








I didn't want to do too much at once but I have been thinking a lot lately about my favorite plant, aponogeton crispus. Now that they are finally healthy they are becoming overwhelming! I still think it's a beautiful plant, though. I could keep it down to size if the new leaves came up small, by just removing outer, older ones. But the bigger it gets, the higher a new leaf arises, so overall just skyrocketing up. Think I should move them into the background- I did that with two of the smaller ones today. Pulled them up very slow and gradual, trimmed the roots and just left some behind in the substrate. I didn't want to make a godawful mess. I shifted a few individual stem plants around to make room- ludwigia, a. reineckii, bacopa. Also planted the dwarf or melon sword, whichever it is, which had been in its pot his whole time.

Thinned out some apono leaves, too- quite a number of them were getting pale and pinkish, or algae on the ends. I noticed my crypt wendtii also had some outer leaves looking peaky with that rusty pink hue. It's been five weeks since root tabs so I put some in today. I think that's what they missed.

Also tied a bunch of loose subwassertang down to little stones, and removed subwasser from the driftwood twig, put that on stones as well. I like them better that way, it's easy to move them around for rearranging stuff, or to take them out and trim. They're not in the second picture yet.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I think I did the exact wrong thing, using epsom salts for mg. Probably didn't need to- and overdoing it could be harmful? I finally got a GH/KH test kit. My general hardness is 10, which I think means there's enough mg and ca in the water supply already- I should have figured as much, since I always have hard water residue on things. So probably what I had guessed was mg deficiency is symptom of something else. This applies to my other tank as well. It's more likely I need to add calcium (the snail shells look eroded on their ends). Not sure. Well, the big wc I have to do this week because of dosing meds will take out the extra mg I hope. 

I noticed this week my elodea looks poorly- it hasn't grown up to the ceiling again as usual- and the crypt wendtii doesn't have nice color- looking brown/pinkish. Other plants seem unaffected.

The kH reading was 5- I read a bunch of articles and posts about gH and kH but still don't really understand what these numbers mean for my tank.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Maybe some of this is repeat from other thread, sorry.

Just dosed the tank with Levamisole HCI. Very conservatively because of the kuhlis and otocinclus- only 0.3 grams (as close as I can estimate that with the little measuring spoon that came in the packet). Turned off the tank light and draped the sides with black plastic to keep it dark. I did some of my regular tank maint today- trimming plants and rinsed prefilter sponge- so that tomorrow when I have extra work to do the bigger wc (75%) I can just focus on that. Will dose the plant ferts tomorrow. I kind of like how the tank looks in the dark-








I used a new fish trap/feeding station I made, yesterday. Don't have a picture yet but I'll get one next time. It has an entrance hole in the cap just big enough for a kuhli, and two exit holes at the other end. So I can feed the kuhlis and the barbs can't get it. Or I can catch which kind of fish I want, by having the cap on or off, blocking the exit hole or not. I was surprised how much those kuhlis ate- I gave them soaked betta micropellets. The black kuhlis ate three or four apiece- I could actually see the pellets going into their tummies. I looked back at old pics when I first got these fish and realized the black ones were much thicker in the body back then. I wonder now if they have not quite been getting enough to eat all this time, because the barbs compete as bottom-feeders? or because they are also carrying parasites. Wish I'd done this treatment a lot sooner, now. I feel bad for them.

The striped kuhlis would not come to the feeding station, but while the barbs were focused on trying to get in, I was able to give them a few pellets under the log on other side of the tank. I saw the skinniest one Snaky Fish eating, which is a big plus. This morning fed all the fishes as normal and he was out eating with the rest again too. Saw him climbing more in plants again yesterday. His behavior says he's feeling much improved!

And while all the fishes were swarming around the food trap, the smallest male cherry barb took advantage of the distraction to mate with a female. They were spawning behind the rotalas, in the thicket of elodea, up amongst the floating watersprite. Usually this little guy is really flirtatious but the bigger males drive him away. I thought this was really funny he got his chance.

The males' fins are ragged- poor water quality because I added root tabs last week? or from sparring. The biggest red male was also the most determined- long after the other barbs gave up trying to reach the food he kept at it, thrasing with all his might at the air holes where he could smell it. Also posturing and keeping the other fish away. 

When I'm dong with medicating the tank, going to look closely at the ferts dose, light intensity and feeding routine again. I want to make sure the kuhlis get plenty to eat now, without causing more algae issues from overfeeding. Maybe reducing a bit of ferts or cutting the light slightly can balance that... Also: some of my barbs have pale patches on their skin again. It really shows up when the moonlight is on, the areas show bright white under the blue. I'm afraid it might be some kind of fungus. To treat for that I'd have to catch and put them in QT again... Wondering now if some of my fishkeeping practices are still poor. I have separate buckets and containers just for use on the tanks, white buckets are for new, clean water, orange ones for the wastewater. But I often pluck small plants, bits of subwassertang, out of the orange buckets that got sucked with the siphon, and return them to the tank. Or rinse the filter sponges in the orange buckets. I should probably not do that, or make sure those buckets stay cleaner, bleach them out and rinse regularly. There is probably scum accumulating on the walls from the dirty water that goes in them. I wiped them down today and yeah, the rag was brown.

My filter is making slight grinding noise again. It's louder after restarting when I finished the tank work. Tomorrow I will try greasing the impeller shaft (vaseline).


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*Loads of pictures*

I'm behind on posting here, so have a ton of pics to share- going to try and keep it concise. Dosing the tank with meds to try and get rid of parasites threw my schedule off. You can see my other post about that- _kuhli loaches are getting skinny_- and then I had filter issues- which frankly I'm embarrassed about- I was running my tank for over a year with poor filtration! Maybe a lot of my minor problems were due to that- also on another thread- _exactly how does flow go thru HOB filter?_ which I think I have finally resolved. Maybe it's my imagination, but I swear some of the plants have better color since the filter fix. The water is definitely more clear- now I see more flaws!








When I had to do the big water change to remove medication (and possibly dead parasites) from the tank, I took the time for some photographs. Changing out seventy-five percent feels like a huge volume to me; I wanted to fill the new water very slowly to avoid shocking the fishes, and I've always thought things look intriguing when the water level is lower than normal- plants draping at the surface, long stems and foliage filling the space densely, the fishes suddenly in a different landscape with their familiar plants.








You can see here when the water level was at its lowest, it was only two or three fish-lengths from the surface to substrate.








Left corner of the tank, five gallons topped off, 








then ten. Looks a lot more full and lush with the tall plants bent over.








I never took a picture of this before, but I always thinks it looks kind of interesting when the hornwort stems hang down from the airline tubing they're clipped to, with the water level dropped.








I got a closeup of the otocinclus on the old feeding rock.








Took some close-ups of different aquarium plants. Java fern windelov in front of the dwarf amazon sword (or melon sword, still not sure which it is).








I'm still sad that I had to throw out the buce 'dark godzilla' but 'midnight blue' still in that corner is looking okay.








Watersprite stuck against the glass when the water level was down.








And seen from above, floating- tomato nerite snail (two years old now) and a female cherry barb under the foliage.








I can't believe I forgot the name of this plant- I kept thinking it was a ludwigia or alternanthera reineckii- but really it's a hygro probably survivors of cuttings of the hygro compacta I put in there and forgot about because I thought it had all died! Finally came back.








I love the aponogeton leaves. Some are rather plain-








Others have texture that looks like the individual leaf cells.








I think it looks really cool.








I still don't know what this green crypt is.








The kuhlis freak me out sometimes when they hang motionless like this- I keep thinking one is dead but perhaps they are just resting.








There's a baby crypt coming up! just in front of the kuhli's tail here-
















Bacopa in here is starting to look pretty. It's two-thirds the height of the tank now. I'm starting to think maybe I will trim and spread it, and cut back on the thicket of elodea in the corner to make room...








My biggest crypt wendtii 'tropica' is actually four rosettes clustered together. I'm considering taking one or two individuals out, and shifting the main cluster over to the right, so it is no longer blocking view of the buces. But I'm wondering about its health. In dim light- see above- the colors looks a nice deep green. But in other pictures, it looks quite brown under the tank lights. I don't know if it has a thin film of algae, needs a slightly different nutrient balance to stay greener, is naturally kind of brown (most likely) or just the red in the LEDs makes it look so.








Would like to be able to see the blue buces on the log better. They're kind of behind the big crypt. They actually seem to be taking on nicer color now.








The aponos are really filling up front and center. Much as I love them, I'm starting to think they need to get moved into the background. I have gently pulled up two smallest ones- because I figured they would disturb the substrate least- and replanted by the back wall. The first I pulled slowly all the way out- wow those roots were long. The second one I pulled out just enough to expose about two inches of roots and cut them off. It didn't kick as much mulm into the water column and I'd have had to cut the roots to replant anyways.








So.... I want to get more variety of plants for my main tank. I keep thinking of ones to try, from lists and articles of good low-light species. I'd like to try more crypts. Thinking of smaller varieties with thin leaves that look like grass. I'm wondering if I can grow some anubias nana petite in the shade of the bigger crypt wendtii. I like the look of bolbitis heudeloti (african water fern) and hygrophilia pinnatifida but read conflicting reports on how they do in non-c02 tanks. I've found another apono variety- aponogeton capuronii which just looks _stunning_, but not sure I have room for it. And that's just the start of the running list I have compiled.

But in spite of the decent growth and greenery in here, there are still problems if I look closely. So I think I need to stick with what I have for a while, and get things tweaked precisely to nix the thread algae and BBA that keeps cropping up here and there. It seems to be mostly on older buce leaves, now, which I am slowly removing one by one.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*I lost a snail today.*

Zebra nerite in my main tank died. I'd had it almost a year. Several days ago I saw it lying sideways in the back of the tank, against a plant stem. I put it in the front of the tank right-side-up, and it climbed up the wall a few inches but then stayed motionless in that one spot on the glass for a day. Found it the next morning upside down on the substrate again. I flipped it upright and left it there, to keep an eye on it. It didn't move for two more days. This morning I realized it was dead when I saw the kuhli loaches trying to get under it- probably they were trying to eat it. I lifted it out and the smell was not strong, but the body came out so yeah, it is gone.

I tested the water- Ammonia was 0.25, Nitrite 0 and Nitrates 40. I did a ten gallon wc.

I don't know if the snail was just old (I have another nerite that's going on two years) or if it died because I've been messing around with the filter arrangement lately..


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

A little less on the ferts this week- smidgen and a half of the KN03. I'm trying to find the fine line where plants still get enough to look healthy but algae gets outcompeted. These pictures are not very good because I took them at the end of the day, lights were starting to go down. Will try to get better ones soon.








Moved some of the subwasser on stones, trimmed a few. More got trimmed from the tenner. Just behind them can see a new shoot going up from an aponogeton plant.








Cleaned out the elodea thicket in the corner- about half reduced. Lots of stems were getting algae coated, I just remove them. I've noticed that when I trim a stem and it sprouts a second shoot, one of the now-double tops always gets ratted and dull-looking from algae, the other remains clean. I cut out all the poor ones leaving the nicer tops, but curious why it does that.








Hornwort long and very healthy-looking this week. Trimmed about a third of that back and saved some nice plumes to grow out floating loose, tucked between the tethered stems.

Cleaned a lot of thread algae out of the rotala by hand. It was like grooming the plants- I put my fingers around each stem near the base, gently ran hand up it slightly pinched, so the individual leaves ruffle between my fingers. I can't see the thread algae, unless the light is very bright, but I can feel the slight tug when they resist or pull on the plants. Pinch fingers snugly when passing the top of the stem, then dip and release into a small container of water- the threads fall free. I'm surprised at the end, how many threads I got out of there, more than I'd expected. I think it was the first time I actually groomed all the stems, not just where I could actually see the algae. So far they are still few in numbers, so it wasn't too painstaking to do.








Aponos I moved to the back wall are each sprouting a new leaf this week, so I guess they are settling in. I will wait to move the rest until done with some other stuff- next week I plan to lift out the buce log, trim off the older leaves that still get BBA, and thin out the vallisneria.

I have gradually realized that I don't like the look of windelov fern on driftwood bits. It looks loose and messy. I have gently detached all the ones that were on pieces of wood, and retied them onto a flat stone. Much better in appearance.








The wood bits I used to tether down some baby watersprites. The big ones behind the driftwood I had recently tethered to glass beads with loose loops of fishing line- so they are held just at the substrate but not buried. Their roots can go in to get a hold, but they won't drift loose and come up like happens so often. I've tried it again with a few more baby plants, but this time looped them onto the driftwood. My plan is that the new stems will grow up through the loops, and keep them in place. But maybe I tied it a bit too tight for that.

I've noticed that each plant only grows three main stems, before one starts to die off and another fiddlehead emerges. Not sure if this is always a pattern with this plant. Since using glass beads and doing my filter improvements, I've also noticed that the baby plants coming up piggyback on the main stems have a different form- they grow with a thick, straight upright stem uncurling right from the start. Before all the young plants formed as tiny sprigs of leaves at the junction, which gradually grow more fronds. I don't know if this is because the plant is responding to the better flow, or just because it has matured.








For the first time yesterday I was able to feed my kuhli loaches garlic-soaked bloodworms. Before, I had no way to get them this particular food before the barbs grab it all. This time I gave the barbs their share, and then shortly after lowered the food trap (empty) into the tank. The kuhlis are learning- all four black ones swarmed the entrance at once. Two of them were already in there by the time I reached in a syringe of worms to inject food through the top hole. I waited a while for Albert to go in the trap, then moved very slowly to put in a second helping of bloodworms. Unfortunately this time Albert panicked when I bumped the trap slightly, and scrambled for the exit. The black loaches startled too, but they came back right away, and by the time Albert had got up his nerve to approach again, they had eaten all the bloodworms.

Oh well, I think he is learning. The black kuhlis know this thing means food, hopefully soon Albert will too, and realize he doesn't get hurt or stuck in there. I'm using it two or three times a week now, to give the kuhlis an extra helping of algae wafers, shrimp pellets or soaked micropellets. And now bloodworms. Feel very satisfied to finally see them get that treat.

Sad news is that Snaky Fish died, the skinny kuhli loach. I'd had him just about two years- not nearly long enough. In hindsight I realize he'd probably been carrying parasites for a whole year- I first noticed him getting thin last july. I did treat the entire tank with PraziPro two months after the striped kuhlis' arrival in 2014 but I should have followed up with these other meds I'm using now. Feeling bad about that. If I get new fish again will probably treat them proactively against parasites in quarantine.

The female cherry barb with bitten tail looks better. It seems to be growing back already but hard to see because the new fin is clear. 

I have fiddled once again with the filter contents since last mentioning it here (squeezing and rinsing things in filter water in small bucket, to more or less maintain the bacteria colony). Now I have it with the denser sponge and ceramic rings. I strung the rings in a few groups onto fishing line tied off, so I can lift them out in bunches instead of individually. Filter flow is going well with no overflow or slowing it down. I guess I simply can't put poly in there, unless I want to deal with some overflow all week. Disappointing because I did love the clear look with the fine particles all out of the water. I've seen another kind of filter media in the shop- a bonded filter pad able to cut to size, which might be slightly less dense than the poly and suit my purpose? But I don't want to try changing anything again now.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

My youngest gave me the nicest compliment the other day. She was standing in front of the main tank, watching the fishes. She said, "Mommy, if I was a fish, I'd want to live in your fish tank. It looks like fun in there!"








(I don't know why I keep taking full tank shots every week when nothing much changes- the rotalas get a little taller, the aponos put out more leaves, I shuffle around the subwasser stones on the bottom. Ought to quit being so camera-happy until I have something significant to show).

I tried to get a few better pictures in full light, of the new windelov java fern arrangement (the kuhlis really seem to like scooting through the base of it)








and the rotala stems.








I think my crypt wendti is looking better, but probably needs a root tab feeding. Will do that at the end of this week, after the massive water changes that accompany final med dose against parasites.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Amazing tank!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Looking good since the one-day blackout for levamisol treatment. There was very little thread algae to pull out this week, no ratted elodea to remove, and minimal BBA. I think the crypt wendtii is getting its nice olive-green color back, too. Probably from the adjustment I made to the KN03 dose? I remember the moment at which I decided the tank did better without KN03 dosing, but can't recall why I started giving it a pinch every week again. It seems the sweet spot is actually in between- two weeks now it's been getting a smidgen and a half- hm.








Earlier this week I sat down one afternoon and made another subwassertang basket.








Sewed a circle of plastic netting onto one side of the bottom part of the basket, then threaded bits of subwassertang through the netting, then sewed down the rest of the edge, with fishing line. It was tricky work, but looks great right away, no waiting weeks for some greenery to grow up through the netting. Much tidier than the last job I did. One one piece came free after I placed the basket (upended) into the substrate.








I cut the rim off, so it will be easier to lift out again- the first one I made is pretty snug in its place, if I want to move it again it will disturb a lot of mulm. With the rim clipped off, this one will lift free with less disturbance.








Right away the black kuhlis came over to inspect, when I put it in the tank. I'm concerned to see that some of them have fine scratches on the top of the heads, or on the back. I think it's either from entering/exiting the food trap- I need to make the holes a little bigger or file down the edge, might be a sharp part there.








I fed them in the trap again a few days ago- they got extra helping of spirulina wafer in the evening. Those black kuhlis are smart and eager- two of them entered the trap before I had even settled it onto the substrate!

My bitten cherry barb on the other hand, her tail is growing back nicely. (See bottom of the first page, this thread).








She's on the left, here.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*a little rescape*

Over the past two weeks I've done a bit of rearranging in my main tank. Last week I took out the buce log, trimmed off all the oldest, algae-infested leaves (BBA is mostly gone now, not showing up anywhere else) and cut off the near end of it so I could rotate it a bit and bring it closer to the front, out from behind the clump of crypt wendtii. While I was at it thinned out some vallisneria in the corner, and untied all the watersprite from driftwood anchors. That wasn't working. I've gone back to pegging them into the substrate until they can root themselves.

This week I moved forward all the hygro and ludwigias, uprooted the crypt wendtii that's in the background and took it from the basket to plant into the substrate, and moved the last three big aponogeton crispus into the background. It doesn't look a whole lot different. But I like it better so far.








I knew that uprooting some plants would spike the nitrates (even though I kept a hose ready and siphoned out for the water change each time I pulled a plant up, to remove as much of the released mulm and debris as I could) so I dosed lighter on the ferts this week. Even so, there's lots of that fine, almost-translucent algae on the surface of many leaves now, it's like sparse, very fine fur if you look closely. Also more thread algae growing in the watersprite and rotalas, I groomed them again. But other algae have kept at bay, and the green spot and black marks that show up on older crypt leaves when that plant is hungry are dissipating. I noticed finally that the biggest crypt was looking brown again, then kind of bronzed and purplish all over. Gave it some root tabs and now it is recovering. I don't know why I always forget to put the tabs in soon enough, for the heavy root feeders.








One plant I'm really pleased with lately is the bacopa caroliniana. It's nearly reached the ceiling and looking very pretty. Upper leaves are larger than the lower ones- I suppose because they get more light? Rotala indica I did have to trim some stems of it this week, because they were at the surface. That felt like an accomplishment.








I am not sure how to make the plants look nice together, now- the aponos really have the appearance of a column in the center of the tank that rises up and seems to spread out across the top where hornwort matches the paler green color. I'm not sure yet if I like that.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Had some minor filter issues these past two weeks. Kept getting overflow again. The sponge inside the HOB always clogs the week I rinse out the prefilter sponge, I figure because particles are getting through the prefilter again when it's newly cleaned out. So I thought that was the problem, and then after moving a few plants around, thought it was from extra stuff disturbed up out of the substrate. But I've had to rinse the HOB sponge every two or three days, and not much debris seems to come out of it into the bucket. I tried to ignore the overflow this last time, but it went from a trickle to a steady stream. This morning I took a toothbrush to the plastic grid panel- there was some fine crap stuck in the grid. Again, not enough that I thought it would matter, but I hadn't scrubbed the actual panel in a long time, so maybe that was the issue. It's running clear again now- hopefully I solved it.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

All I did in this one the past friday was trim some stems, and take out a few apono leaves that were dying off. Still have minor overflow. I took out the ceramic rings. They settle and wedge in the space before the outflow- maybe that's the problem? but no, a few days later it's trickling overflow again. I can't figure out what's causing that...


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*There is not much different in this tank.*

Except that I felt like changing the look, so thinned out how many hornwort stems are pegged to float at the surface, and anchored some down with stones again. Also I have been wondering for a while if small anubias would grow ok in the shade of the big crypt wendtii. So when I saw some in a gel packet at the store last week, I got them.￼








Anubias nana petite.








I keep feeling iffy about the crypt wendtii cluster. I love how big it is getting, but I keep thinking they look too dark, they look rather brown, how can I keep them greener?








I rather like how the narrow-leaved hygro looks in front of the aponogetons. Maybe I will eventually shift the rotalas to a different location, and have hygro flanking the crypt instead...￼








Speaking of hygros, they really are starting to look graceful. They grow kind of slowly, but that's okay.








Not as slow as the ludwigias- here kind of behind everything else.￼￼








The other, still unidentified crypts are getting taller.















The thicket of elodea and bacopa in the corner is so dense now, I can feed the kuhlis in there away from the other fishes (mostly). The barbs weave their way through those stems when they are spawning.￼ 








Still there are no results from that- not that I really expect any. But I did notice the other day they were spawning over a clump of subwassertang, and it looked like it was harder for the male to turn and eat the eggs immediately as they fell. Overall I'm pleased how nice and full these subwasesser 'bushes' on the baskets have gotten. I just wish the white netting didn't show. I should have used black.￼








Here's the other short end of my tank. It's getting nice and dense, but still the crypt wendti stands out so dark. Maybe I could add another medium-dark plant to soften the contrast, but I don't know what.￼








Some of the plants aren't doing so great- watersprite for some reason isn't looking so good these past few weeks. Buces have a sudden outbreak of algae again. And even though some of my vallisneria are finally getting taller, a lot of them are rotting away. The bases of them are turning brown. I thought they were planted too deeply and tugged them up higher out of the substrate, but now some aren't holding down at all. I'm starting to think maybe I will phase out my vals and find some tall, narrow-leaved crypts to take their place. That won't spread as rapidly, either... ￼








Last of all I'm showing my windelov ferns in this tank. I'm glad I put them in the front, they're starting to look pretty. It's hard to remember they used to be just a few tiny sprigs tied onto each stone.￼








Low-angled shot of them.








Also I switched out my filter media. Getting very tired of rinsing out the filter sponge two or three times a week. I think it is because when I pulled out one sponge panel, I left in the finer one, which gets clogged pretty quick. I bought instead a bonded Marineland filter pad, which comes in a large sheet you cut to fit. I rinsed out the old sponge much more thoroughly than normal, squeezing it hard over and over until no more mulm came out, and then soaked the new filter media in the bucket of dirty water. After placing the new media in the filter, I poured a few cups of the dirty mulm water over it. Hopefully that transfers enough to seed the new filter. I think there is enough bacteria on all the other surfaces in the tank and the smaller corner sponge filter and prefilter sponge, it won't have too much of a setback. Checking for ammonia tomorrow to be sure. So far there is no overflow issue.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*there is something different about my tank this week-*

in an absolutely good way. I have been quite busy and not paying much attention to it, but paused yesterday walking past and noticed hey, it looks _better_! The plants look lush and healthy- crypt wendtii has that hammered texture in the leaves and a nice dark olive green hue, hygro and buces look glossy, bacopa leaves have doubled in size. 

I just wish I knew what is the cause! Recently I changed three things- I switched out the filter pad from sponge to bonded Marineland cut-to-fit filter media. And finally, the intermittent flow clog has stopped. Even when I rinsed out prefilter sponge, it didn't cause the internal media to clog. So flow has been improved. Two: I have been very busy and missed feeding the fish a few times. So not as much nutrients have gone into the tank. Maybe that's a small plus. Three: I took some of the hornwort stems from the top of the tank, and anchored them with stones near substrate instead. So a bit more light is coming in from top (without the loss of nutrient uptake job those plants do).

I can't believe how gorgeous it suddenly looks. I'm afraid of being overwhelmed by some plants soon. And one of my aponogeton crispus is flowering!! I have let the water level drop a bit, even though the splashing sound annoys me, in order to let the flower stay above surface (can't prop the lid open, basement construction is going on and I'm concerned about dust/fumes getting into the tank). Last time I just oogled the thing, this time I'm attempting to get seed and maybe baby plants out of it. I gently brushed up and down the flower stalk with a feather. Crossing fingers.

Pics upcoming, when I'm not so insanely busy!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*these pics are from earlier in nov 11/2-11/4*

I'm tickled that my biggest aponogeton is flowering again (last time was almost two years ago). You can see the stem curving up towards the right in this main tank pic.







From below.







a few closeups-
















I couldn't leave the lid of the tank open (construction in other parts of my house and dust is getting everywhere)








so teased it gently over to the other side of the tank, now it sticks up where filter outflow is.








I've brushed the flower stem lightly with a feather two or three times. It would be really cool to get some seed and hopefully baby aponos out of it.


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## sharambil (Nov 15, 2016)

Loving your planted tank. Rosy barbs look phenomenal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Thank you! 

They are cherry barbs, but I have often thought of getting rosy barbs someday...


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## sharambil (Nov 15, 2016)

I'm so silly, I meant [emoji523]. All these similar names!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Well, they are very similar after all :smile:

I have actually been reluctant to get rosy barbs because I feel sure my kids would always insist I have goldfish in the tank, and it would irritate the heck out of me.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

pretty tank, I say go with the Golden rule (I use it all the time to aquascape) if your having aquascape issues! (just google golden rule if you don't know what it is lol)
Anyway like your tank, subscribed


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Thank you!

Yes, I am still gradually working on a pleasing design- my first goal was to just get healthy plants haha. It looks a little different now- I have spaced out the aponos towards the right, taken out a few crypt wendtii, added some tall strap-leaved plants in the left corner instead of the watersprite... 

Just haven't had time to post pics about all that yet. It's only been a few days so some of the new plants aren't really noticeable yet in a full tank shot anyway.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*new plants for my tank!*

I've kept a running list for a while of plants I just want to try out in my tank, ones that I've read can do okay with med light and no C02. So I finally decided to just get some. Posted recently with question about their ID, so there's some pics here: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/33-plants/1099921-verify-id-my-new-plants.html. 

Also got Marsilea hirsuta








Micromeria brownei








Bolbitis heudelotii (so small!)








and Flame moss.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*Here's my new plants settling into the tank:*

They've been in a week, now.

Aponogeton capuronii wow this thing will be a beautiful monster. I did not realize its bulb would be so large- it's easily five times over the size of my apono crispus' bulbs. I am afraid it may grow too big for my tank! New leaves already coming up here- looks like a double crown too.








Crypt balansae and crypt retrospiralis in the back here behind vallisneria- I'm trying to replace most of my vals with crypts- getting tired of taking out so many baby runners all the time...








Crypt willisii 'lucens' I thought it would be shorter but probably it will grow out that way. Already a new leaf on the left there.








Crypt becketti petchii is here in the midground- it had long, olive-colored leaves when I first got it, those are mostly melted away and now the new leaf is coming up (just below those white stones, to the right of the ludwigias.








Crypt parva- I have spread them out in various areas of the foreground. They aren't staying in the substrate too well, but new green leaves coming up already!








Marsilea hirsuta (dwarf four-leaf clover). Delicate, pretty stuff but it keeps getting pulled out by my fish who nibble, and loosened by the snails digging around. I am expecting the leaves to be single-lobed after its done adjusting.








Micromeria brownei- aka 'creeping charlie'. I kind of laughed when I unpacked this one- I've had it before and didn't know what it was called! And it all died on me. Well, my tank is in better shape now so we'll see.








Flame moss. I am not very good with moss. But I was tempted, it looks so pretty in others' tanks. Tied some down with netting onto an upturned plant basket, and some more on various stones. (In my other tank it is tucked into crevices on the driftwood log).








Bolbitis heudelotii- a plant I have really wanted for a while. Portion I received was quite small. I tied some of it onto the wood and anchored other bits near the substrate with a pebble in case it grows better there. Can barely see it here in the back between all the other foliage- it's center of the picture. I really like its color, darker kind of like subwassertang.









Overall the tank looks different- also because I took out some of the crypt wendtii, spread the apono crispus out to the right, and pulled up the watersprite that was in the left corner. It's floating now (top right), I don't know what to do with it. I think the tank looks better without it, but I don't want to get rid of it entirely...


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

looking good!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*Aponogeton capuronii is growing fast!*

Already each side of the bulb has six to eight new leaves- the biggest is here curving across the top of the picture, it is already a third the height of the tank. I thought the new roots would grow from the base of the bulb; they grew from the base of the crown. So I guess if I'd wanted to reduce the plant's height by a half inch or so, I should have left it lying sideways!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I don't think my apono flower stalk developed any seed. Anyone have pictures of what the seed looks like? I couldn't find a reference for that. Mine is drying up and just looks like shrunken, dried-up flowers. Oh well.


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## Brian Feeder of Fish (Nov 7, 2016)

Just read this thread start to finish, looks great. I've always liked cherry barbs.

Brian


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Thank you!

I usually take frontal pictures of the tank, but doing something different the other week took a few from a side angle:








Short end w/bacopa I recently cut back, micromeria brownei behind it:








Other short end where some of my new crypts mix in with vallisneria. Crypt 'balansae' in the corner with the brownish leaves.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*Yesterday was tank maintenance.*

I feel like things are going relatively well in here.








Although I took a whole set of plants out today- all the buces off the log. Tired of watching them suffer. Trying to eradicate the BBA from them in a bucket, before I might introduce them to the betta tank. Only one remains in here- the 'emerald green' specimen, which is in a front corner of the tank and well-shaded by some crypt leaves. I've moved an anubias nana 'petite' to be next to it.








I moved the few bits of bolbitis off the substrate and tied into the driftwood. Can see here the little bit of java fern that revived off what I thought was a dead rhizome is actually windelov variety.








The java ferns I transferred into this tank are finally growing large enough to see- they are pretty slow.








Here from another angle and you can see the fissidens moss- it's finally taken hold- but it stays such a dark green color kind of blends in with shadows. There's another tiny java fern growing just in front of that moss clump.








The little anubias nana 'petite' weren't tidy around the crypt wendtii anymore (since I moved that one back) so I have rearranged them to be a nice circle around its base again.
















I brought over half of the anubias barteri trimmed from the betta tank. Put in in a gap behind the crypt wendtii here- perhaps it will be shaded enough. It's not really visible but adds some color behind the other stems. I wiped off the leaves, but probably have introduced limpets into this tank... however I'm starting to not mind them in the tenner now that their numbers are down- and they sure do help keep the glass clean.








Crypt petchii has thrown out new leaves a lot faster than I expected- this one has at least four now, and they have some subtle longitudinal striping I like very much. Left of that can just see the apono capuronii roots coming down across its corm. They are holding onto substrate enough now to say upright- I removed the propping stones. Still want to know if I can divide this bulb in half- it will be such a giant! Love the contrast of the different leaf color _capuronii _has- they are darker and a bit smoother than _crispus_.








Crypts balansae and retrospiralis are putting up new leaves too- seen here behind the male cherry barbs. My vallisneria are not happy though- in spite of their nice appearance. They've grown taller, but about half these have brown, decaying crowns and leaf bases. I think what happened is I forgot to tug them up- periodically I gently tug up my crypts so their crowns don't get buried, but I never really did this with the vals. Quite a few of them were in too deep- I'm letting some float free just above the substrate that I can see a few white healthy roots growing, but uncertain if they will recover. At least the remainder will always throw new runners...








Not sure if I'm going to like micromeria brownei in here (on left). It seems to be getting longer internodal spacing in response to the low light levels and it's not really attractive like that.








I kind of like how it looks behind the bacopa- but not when it's in full view of itself.








I took way longer with fish tanks than I should have on friday, because I made a new subwasertang basket. And then I redid the original two, because I'm tired of seeing the white netting. This one is the best-looking from the start. I still have one looser cluster of subwasser tied onto a stone, but I like how full and fluffy they grow when netted onto these upturned baskets, so much better.








Aponogten flower just dried up. No seeds formed.








I am very pleased that my filter issues appear to be solved. I have not had any more problems with overflow since I switched the filter media. The sponge was just too fine and kept clogging, I guess. I've even put the ceramic rings back in, flow is still great. Rinsed out the new media for the first time this week and there was plenty of mulm, that nice musty smell of good bacteria.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*more new plants!*

I wasn't really planning on adding any more plants to the tank after my last splurge. But it was my birthday in october, and someone very kindly gave me a gift certificate to aquariumplants.com. This is what I got:

Anubias congensis and anubias 'afzelii'








Hygro pinnatfida and asian ambulia (_limnophila indica_).








Cryptocoryne walkeri- tissue cultured.









I have the tissue-cultured plant in a cup of water because it had a very foul smell and I was worried about putting something spoilt into my tank. I've rinsed the gel off and that helped, have been rinsing out water in the cup and last time separated the crypt clumps into more tiny planlets found some gel remaining which I rinsed away and now there is almost no odor. So I think it will be okay (they are growing new little white roots) and I'm going to plant them in the tank this friday.

I put the anubias in the very background, where they will get shaded by my aponos and it makes a nice dark green behind the small thicket of hygro compacta. Asian ambulia is there in the picture too- it is still recovering from transit and doesn't look very pretty yet I'm not quite sure where it will go best...









My favorite is the hygro pinnatifida. I'm very fond of ferns in general, and even though I know this plant will melt back and change appearance, I'm enjoying how it looks in the tank right now, a lot.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I added into this tank the other half of anubias barteri from my tenner. It's on a suction cup on the wall, shading a bit over the sponge prefilter. 

And I tried to redo my flame moss. It was tied onto two stones and one upturned plant basket. Growing up nicely, but so very small hard to notice. I bought plastic mesh grid- the finest one I could locate at craft store- and tried to fasten the moss to it. I looked at a few tutorials. First separated all the strands out. Tried to sew them onto one strip of mesh. That was really hard. It comes free with motion of the thread and all my tidy arrangement becomes a mess. Halfway thru the job I gave up and resorted to using superglue. I never had before- I'm a purist about that I guess- I want to know that the plants in my aquarium are holding on _by themselves_, after their tethers of thread or rubber band are worn away...

It worked. Still tricky. Second strip I made, I laid the moss out across the mesh and superglued another piece of mesh on top to make a sandwich. I superglued small pebbles on the bottom too, to keep it from floating up. Did two like that. I'm making narrow strips of it, hopefully to look like narrow bands of grass across the low foreground of the tank, and small enough I can lift the pieces out to trim in a separate container.

I won't show it to you now. It looks ugly up close and tacky from a distance. It will take several weeks to grow up through the mesh, if the rate is the same as when I had it first tied onto the stones.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*I don't really feel like taking pictures- but here's some update*

Hygro pinnatifida is starting to melt- no sign of new leaves growing so not sure how it's going to do. Ambulia is falling apart at the base. A few new roots growing on the bottom of the stems, but they come loose. The very tops are greener, I'm thinking I should cut those and plant up to the green healthy-looking part, to give them a chance.

Not sure about what I did with flame moss. Kuhlis like to wind over and under the strips when they're excitedly following food smells, and I worry they will scratch themselves on the edges that stick out off the grid. Maybe I will find some small, flat stones and try gluing moss onto that instead . . . 

Here's a symptom I haven't seen since my old 20L was first planted- mass of small roots reaching up out of the substrate. It's occurring at the base of my crypt balansae. I'm going to give that one root tabs this week.

My green unnamed crypts and the crypt wendtii are producing baby plants! And both crypt petchii have doubled their number of leaves- they come up red and then become laterally striped, very pretty.

I think I erred in putting some Mg in this tank- or did just a bit too much of it. Top foliage on some of the bacopa caroliniana is looking a bit warped now. But there is definitely no lack of calcium- I finally found the water report for our county and read through the charts. Plenty of Ca and Mg, and it seems to usually be in the appropriate ratio. What surprised me was to see that the pH varied widely during the different months that tested was done- from 7.6 to 8.5 ! In the body of water that our tapwater is sourced from. That might explain why my pH varies. Hm.

Oh, and the shrimps are gone. I put them in here when emptied the bowl my buces were quarantined in, since those plants have gone into the tenner now. Thought the shrimps would have a chance, hiding in some dense plants. Guess not. I haven't seen a single one since I put them in the tank, but the kuhlis sure were hyper that day. I assume the cherry barbs ate them and the kuhlis got some scraps. My ten-year-old said "well, what did you expect. Shrimp are _food_!" I feel sad for the shrimps, but the fish are probably wondering when they will get another seafood bonanza.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*there is a shrimp in my tank!*









One, at least. I found it by accident while cleaning the tank this morning- lightly siphoning over the substrate, swirling it a bit to stir up loose debris and I thought it was a leaf- clear part looked just like a dissolving leaf with a pale patch- that was the stripe on the shrimp's back. I thought my suction was failing, why wasn't it picking up this leaf? then it scuttled away and I saw the shape of the tail and realized: it's a shrimp! Bigger than last time I saw them, almost as big as my smallest barb.








I should have realized, because in spite of all the decaying plant matter from melting leaves, nitrates were at a normal level this week. I had seen thread alage on the fissidens and java fern earlier in the week, was planning to pull it off today but then couldn't locate any strands. And when rinsing out the sponge prefilter I was surprised to find a lot of fine, dark pellet-shaped debris. It looked like nerite snail waste, but somewhat different. I should have known it was shrimp poo! Later I saw the shrimp again, on the driftwood serenely picking at things. I don't know if there are more survived. But I'm sure glad at least one is still in here. Seems to be doing good work!








I dosed root tabs in this tank today, for the newer crypts, the aponogetons and the stem plants. Marsilea hirsuta is gradually decaying in here, and I have started pulling out the worst-looking clumps. I think because the kuhlis dig too much around them, not getting a chance to put roots down. Smaller pieces of asian ambulia came loose again. I trimmed them some and replanted just the tops. The bigger stems actually have roots, but I am still not pleased with their appearance- they continue to look ragged. I think they don't fit well in here. I have visions of them in another tank. . . .


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*backgrounds*

I bought some cheap fabric in black, gray and dark blue to try making a different background for my aquariums. Black is very dramatic:








Blue looked odd because the side where the light comes down through the floating hornwort altered the hue! Which is too bad, because I kind of like how it looks behind the green plants.








I used the gray instead of the black because this one I got as felt, which is heavier and doesn't make wrinkles when I hang it. Fastened with tape (duct tape on the fabric, packing tape across that around the corner a bit onto the glass or trim).








It was an easy way to get a different look. I had thought for a while of getting large sheets of colored paper from the craft store, but couldn't find any sheets large enough for my thirty-eight, and if paper gets wet it's ruined. Had a plastic black garbage bag taped back there for a very long time, which worked okay but makes wrinkles and has some reflection. Then I had a towel there, another temporary measure but it's too heavy really to stay long. So fabric was the way to go.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*Updates on my newer plants in here.*

Some are doing fantastic, others struggling and look like they might not make it. I was hoping that hygro pinnatifida would do okay in this tank, but it looks like it is just taking longer to decay. The stem I have planted on the right end of the tank, by the sponge filter, is quickly melting to nothing. Leaves dislodge at a nudge, even if they still look fine (too bad, they are so pretty).








The stems on the other end, near the main filter outflow, are lasting longer- but these are dropping leaves too, with no sign of new foliage. One stem came dislodged and I looked at it closely- there was a tiny nubbin of a new root at the base of it, but not nearly enough to help it hold on yet. I don't know if it can make roots enough to survive, before all the old leaves decay. The other 'ferny' plant I really wanted, bolbitis, is doing better- no sign of melting and some gradual growth. But still quite small (not pictured).








Crypts retrospiralis, willisii and balansae- seen in the corner here- are doing great. But crypt parva is having a hard time. I don't know why, but the plants on this end by the log keep getting dislodged- maybe because the kuhlis like to dig around there? These have nice new roots growing, but they still came loose. I've been replanting them in another area of the tank, where they don't seem to get knocked around as much.








Ambulia doesn't look happy in here. So I think that one might not like my conditions. It's just kind of fading away- here a fine, pale texture behind the crypt wendtii. Which is doing great, by the way. Just to the right of it is the crypt petchii. Almost looks like a scion of wendtii that sprang up there, it is so similar in color to wendtii, but narrower leaves.








I am pleased at how much I like having the upright anubias in the background. I need more of them! The 'congensis' one makes a very nice backdrop color to the apono stems and the hygro thicket. (Do you see my new kuhli loach Tiger there?)








Even prettier is the anubias 'afzelii' with its red stems. I find it really hard to get a photo of that one, behind everything else. Eager to see it get taller.








And I think it's flowering! That newest shoot looks different in form than a young leaf. I've never had an anubias flower before.








In the foreground, my subwassertang bushes are starting to have nice shape. There are a few bits of marsilea hirsuta recovering, but I am not sure how long it would take them to spread and be noticeable in here. I'm not planning on planting any more of that...








And last of note, but grandest in scale, is the apnogeton capuronii. This thing is beautiful, but it is really taking over. It spans the entire corner of the tank now- reaching out to touch both sides and to the surface. I have read one brief mention by another aquarist that they tamed the growth of their 'capuronii' by cutting back the size of the bulb, but I am afraid if I do that wrong I would kill the plant...








Curiously enough, my aponogeton crispus plants seem to have checked their growth. They are not as tall and broad as before. Not sure if it is because of the new competition- anubias and hygros planted near them- or because I keep trimming off the outer leaves when they start to attract algae, have the plants finally been trained to stay smaller? Hm.

In that last pic, you can see to the right of 'capuronii' the nearly-naked stem of hygro pinnatifida (I should just pull it out) and the leggy stems of micromeria brownei- which I don't like anymore either. I was a bit dismayed this week to find that, no matter how nice the plants are looking, some of my cherry barbs had pale patches on their bodies like the beginning of fungus, and one of the males ragged fins. Nitrates were higher than I expected- 40ppm- so after the 50% water change I dosed very lightly on the ferts. I also spent more time than usual meticulously cleaning out all the dying foliage, and siphoned out two shrimp exoskeletons as well (so I guess they're doing well, if managing to molt- but I only saw two today). Not sure what caused the higher nitrates. I did look for a dead snail- my nerites are getting old- but they are all still alive.

Bump: Actually, now that I think of it, nitrates were probably higher because I put in a few root tabs last week. They always seem to leach something into the water column no matter how careful I am.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*flame moss*

Sorry for so many posts today, but I am catching up on stuff. Last week I tried one more approach to using flame moss. Took these trimmings and glued them onto a small flat stone. Flame moss is a lot more wiry than the fissidens and java moss I've had. The strands are very small, but they feel tough for their size.








I have finally got a method down for attachment, and it wasn't nearly as messy or wasteful with the glue as when I made those plastic grid 'sandwiches'. (Which are just starting to grow out through the mesh- but I am not at all satisfied with their appearance yet).








I used superglue again, and found it easiest to apply with toothpicks. I set the stone on a small box so it was raised up closer to eye level, and had the moss spread out in individual pieces on a plastic lid in some drops of water. Put a drop of glue onto the box, then dipped the toothpick in it and used it to lay a line of glue across the stone. Carefully laid a strand of moss down on the glue with tweezers- and used another clean toothpick to press it on. The wetness of the moss makes the glue set immediately, and if I'm quick enough can dab off excess glue w/a bit of paper towel. But it wasn't nearly so neat all the time. I don't like how it dries white, but should get obscured by algae and the moss growing, over time.








It is very painstaking work. I'm satisfied that I was able to be so conservative with the glue- this just took half a dozen big drops of it- but the trick is to go through lots of toothpicks! Switch to a new one when the end gets gummy. I did manage to use every single moss strand of the trimmings, and get them neatly laid out parallel to each other- so hopefully when this grows out it will look nice. 








It doesn't look like much in the tank yet.








But I am pleased that even when the kuhlis enthusiastically swam all over it inspecting, they did not dislodge a single strand.








I can just picture how this would look to have a nice scattering of flat stones grown with flame moss in the appearance of grass clumps, kuhlis winding in and out of them. Every time I trim could start some new stones. It will take an awfully long time to get that look created, though.... unless I buy another bunch of moss and do a whole lot of stones at once. Waiting to see how this one looks when it grows out first, before I take so much trouble.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*a small death*

I had to do an emergency water change last night. Found a nerite upturned, not closed properly, with a shrimp moving in. I lifted it out- there was no foul odor, but the operculum fell off so I think it was dying.








Tested water quality- 40ppm nitrates and 0.25 ammonia. Did a 50% water change and removed most of the ambulia stems which are fast decaying and littering the tank. Maybe that's also a problem- too many dying plants... Didn't re-dose any ferts. After the wc plants were pearling, tank looked a lot cleaner, and all my kuhlis seemed to appreciate the fresh water- they were actively exploring all over the tank. Second water test showed lower nitrates- around 30ppm but ammonia the same.... This morning ammonia tests at zero, nitrates are still around 30 and nitrite 0. So I think the issue is resolved. 

I'm just sad I lost a snail. Although I don't perceive any personality, compared to the fishes- this one didn't even have a name.


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## LizzyP (Jan 2, 2017)

Hi, there! I read this thread from beginning to end last night. I'm so impressed, your tank has come a long way!

Can I ask kind of an odd favor? Can you list all the plants you have in your tank and what kind of ferts you use? I'm doing my first fishless cycle in my first divided 10 gallon for my betta fish and I want to plant it pretty good. I have fluorescent lighting for it and I'm looking for low light/low tech plants. You don't dose Co2, right?

Sorry to hear about your snail, I had a mystery snail I named Goddard a long time ago in a 5.5 gallon with a betta. He was so fun to watch. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

LizzyP said:


> Can you list all the plants you have in your tank and what kind of ferts you use?....


Sure! Thanks for the compliment. 

You're correct, I'm not using C02. I follow this EI dosing chart Dry dosing and Nutrient Solution Recipes except since I am doing low-tech I only dose once a week. Basically I dry-dose KN03, KH2P04 and K2S04. I alter the amount according to how much nitrates my tank has before the 50% water change (I explain that here- and it was following suggestions I got here). For micros I'm using Seachem Flourish Comprehensive, about 30ml per week. I also put API root tabs under my stems and biggest crown plants about once every 5 or 6 weeks. 

Plant list (in the order I added them):

java fern
rotala indica
vallisneria natans
watersprite
cryptocoryne wendtii 'tropica'
aponogeton crispus
windelov java fern
hygro compacta
hornwort
ludwigia repens
elodea (anacharis?)
bacopa caroliniana
unidentified green crypt
bucephalandra 'emerald green'
subwassertang
fissidens (phoenix moss)
ludwigia 'atlantis'
echinodorus parviflorus 'tropica'
anubias nana 'petite'
aponogeton capuronii
crypt balansae
crypt willisii 'lucens'
crypt becketti 'petchii'
crypt parva
[strike]marsilea hirsuta[/strike]
micromeria brownei
flame moss
bolbitis heudelotii
anubias barteri
anubias congensis
anubias afzelii
[strike]hygrophilia pinnatifida[/strike]
[strike]asian ambulia[/strike]

Not all of these are successful for me. Crypt parva and marsilea hirsuta aren't doing well in here for some reason. Micromeria brownei is really leggy and not too attractive looking, I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it. Also think I will probably get rid of the anubias barteri and put in more 'afzelii' and 'congensis'. Aisan ambulia and hygro pinnatifida are melting away on me I think they will die. Oh well.

Crypt wendtii, crypt balansae, aponogeton crisups and apono capuronii will probably be too big for a ten gallon tank. Have you seen my other tank journal? It's a ten gallon betta tank, lower light than this one so I have some different plants in there. I could make a plant list for that one too- if you're interested, on the other thread.... ?

Also to note: I have safe-t-sorb substrate w/a small amount of gravel (it is a fired montmorillonite clay, high cation capacity)

Bump: I got my fert powders from Green Leaf Aquariums, online. One 1-lb bag of each has lasted me all this time (might need to order more this year).


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*poor water quality?*

Something's gone wrong with my tank, or I did too many little things at once. I took out the piece of cuttlebone. Day before, I took out all the rotting ambulia stems and the worst-looking hygro pinnatifida. Pulled up all the micromeria brownei and replanted the tops (cut just below aerial roots). Planted a half-dozen extra pieces of elodea out of my daughter's snail bowl. Did all this in the same instance, but now I'm wondering if disturbing the substrate fouled the water some? A few of my fish have been flashing as if irritated- but they don't appear sick (I checked very closely for ich spots). Yesterday I saw the fishes still don't look quite right- lots of barbs have pale patches of skin and the females have awfully rosy cheeks. Water test still showed 0.25 ammonia and 40 nitrates. Not sure how to take this- are the nitrates up still because I disturbed the substrate? is ammonia showing just from tapwater- because I've had that occur in the past and turns out it wasn't a problem- prime makes the ammonia harmless but it still shows on the water test... Well I did another partial wc of 20 gal. Lots of spawning activity resulted among the cherry barbs, so they can't be feeling too bad.

Later in the evening I heard splashing. Have noticed this a few days in a row now- some time after the lights go out, I hear momentary dripping or splashing from the tank. I thought I had a leak, but no sign of that. This day it occurred several times in a row- finally I sat in front of the tank and waited for it. One of the striped kuhli loaches was swimming up the filter outflow! I got a view from above the second time it happened in front of me, and he darted up far enough to get bumped back by the turning wheel.

Now I don't know if the kuhli was trying to escape because of poor water? or responding to weather changes- we did have a large drop in temperature last night, and I've heard these loaches can get very active with changes in air pressure, including escape attempts! It was late, I was tired, I did what I could think of to prevent a fish getting out in the night. 








I stretched a piece of netting- black bath pouf I bought for making subwasser baskets- over the filter outflow, it is folded like a 'u' under the lip of the filter so hopefully this will prevent the fish from getting up into the filter. I have it held on either side with clothespins which are tacked on the side of the filter box using a strip of duct tape. Very makeshift I know, and I worried about a fish getting itself stuck in the netting.

But I sat there another hour and it didn't occur again- maybe the netting baffles the outflow of water enough that it doesn't attract the fish anymore? I was relieved that I didn't find any loaches stuck in the netting in the morning or missing from the tank, but I need to find another solution to this. Maybe I'll lift off the filter box on maintenance day so I can fit the netting on there more tidy.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Well I had to do another fix on that filter outflow- got a good suggestion from another member, and stretched pantyhose over the area. It's working so far. Still probably going to replace my filter with a canister when I can (that kuhli is _so_ determined to swim 'upstream')

Enjoyed doing tank maintenance yesterday, because it's all looking nicer. I am a bit disappointed that I had to discard so many of the newer plants- I never did put in that crypt walkeri, just couldn't do it with that foul rotten odor. Appearance of my tank is better after removing the disintegrating stems of hygro pinnatifida and cutting/replanting micromeria brownei (another one I feel uncertain about keeping). Of all the last bunch, only the anubias have done well for me. Oh well.

Apono capuronii is the star of the tank now. It is completely spread across the right corner. And I love it. I never imagined I'd like a plant more than apono crispus, but now this one is my favorite. It is gorgeous. It is huge, and it is lovely and as long as it doesn't hog all the light and nutrients from neighbors, I want to keep it in here.








I don't know what's going on with this one aponogeton crispus. It has some leaves that have a bend or kink where the petiole becomes leaf. First one that appeared I thought it had suffered a physical accident. But now there are quite a few. So I think it's something else going on? None of the other aponogetons do this.








Anubias afzelii is definitely flowering! My five-year-old was thrilled when I pointed it out to her and told her what it was.








In what I'm starting to think of as 'the grassy corner' crypt balansae is going strong. The crypt willisii 'lucens' have new leaves (the slightly wider ones) I think it will be pretty. Old vallisneria are hanging in there- no more seem to be rotting at the base, and I think the few left might recover. Sad that they started deteriorating just when they were getting decently tall.








I increased my hygro thicket- cut the two tallest stems and replanted to the left, so it is starting to extend behind the wendtii and looks very nice there. Also cut and replanted one of the rotala stems to the right that was getting taller, keeping the illusion that those are young stems of the same plant.








I wasn't sure if I should do a fifty percent water change today, since I did two partial wc in the week- but the new kuhlis are looking better, and most of the cherry barbs as well- so to keep up with the clean water/good health I went ahead with the normal routine. Haven't seen any fish flashing since early yesterday, so I do think it was just from the substrate ferts getting into the water column irritating them (not disease). Fewer pale patches on their skin, too. Can see here subwassertang was pearling a bit again:








I made another basket of it, now have five total and that will be it until I obtain more new plants that come in these basket 'pots'. I did like how loose and fluffy the one clump still tied to a stone was, but when I went to trim it today, it fell apart as the part of the plant near base was deteriorating from lack of light. I guess I waited to long to trim it. Tried to re-tie some and got frustrated it kept breaking into smaller bits. Decided to make one more upturned basket, because it looks so much nicer right away, and they seem to adhere better, and the kuhlis love going in and out under them so much.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*black and white*

I found out my camera has a setting for black and white.








Somehow it feels different taking the photo in black and white, than just removing color from an image in photoshop. I notice the shape and texture of the leaves a lot more. Realize the left front corner of my tank looks cluttered- where I planted the hygro pinnatifida behind the green crypt. Hm.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

Tank is looking really good!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*flame moss on a rock*

With some trimmings of flame moss out of my tenner, I did one more painstakingly small glue job. I dipped the ends of the cuttings into superglue, the held them onto a small flat stone to stand upright, glued just at their ends. It is definitely more of an instant effect, looking like grass! 








but it's kinda messy with the white glue blobs. That's noticeable once it is in the tank. Here next to the pebble I made the week before.








The plastic strips of flame moss are starting to grow out- I am much less satisfied with these now, because the kuhlis are constantly bumping them around. But I think I will keep them long enough to grow out a buncha moss to take trimmings and start more flat pebbles....


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*Trying to make more small improvements to my routine.*

I cleaned the glass lid of the thirty-eight last week; hadn't done that in a _long_ time. It took vinegar and the edge of a fake-credit card to remove most of the hard water deposits.

I'm leaving a bigger gap of time between dosing macros and micros (at least half an hour), and keeping up the back-to-normal increased micro dose (just under 10ml for the tenner, approx 30ml on the thirty-eight). I think it's made an improvement. I'm seeing regular pearling in both tanks after the water changes.

I'm being more meticulous abut wiping up water drips immediately and folding towels thick against the base of the stand while working- because I just found out that my stand (came w/the tank) is actually made of pressboard. Accidentally spilled some water from the siphon hose on a corner and it is slightly swollen with the edge separating off (_very_ slightly).

Some of my plants appear healthier- hornwort is growing faster and has thicker, stronger needles. Ludwigia and echinodorus here are finally showing some growth and not discarding as many leaves. No more ambulia and I am down to one stem of hygro pinnatifida, though. That one seems like it will be a loss oh well.








My crypt wendtii has three baby plants right now, both clusters of green crypts have several babies and the newer crypt petchii each have a new offshoot as well (here below right of the parent crypt- just above the subwassertang you can see two of the leaves):








Unrelated plus: the stone of flame moss is growing up from its glued pieces, laid down in lines. Just like I'd hoped, the tiny new shoots are growing up at intervals along the pieces, not just the ends, so I think it will end up nice and thick.








Flame moss strips are all growing out tall enough I could trim and make new stones . . . . I don't really like looking at those white strips though, so I've moved them behind the subwasser baskets so they lie between other plants and aren't as noticeable.








Last time I redid subwasser baskets kept the trimmings in a plastic jar on top of the tank- just behind the light strip. I had quit keeping it in a jar on windowsill for the winter, because it was looking poorly- probably from the cold. I thought this jar on top of the tank might not stay warm enough or get enough light, but to my surprise those subwassertang bits look great and have been pearling on a regular basis (not just on water change day). I'm keeping them to grow out.

Apono capuronii is getting taller and taller. Lots of its leaves hit the surface and curve down again now (not much curved back down, just enough to look graceful)








Anubias afzelii flower started to open! It's hard to get a good photo of it though, in the rear of the tank and light bounces off its whiteness.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*say hello to the little guys!*

So a week or so ago I bought two new striped kuhli loaches, and finally have some decent pictures of them. Saw some interesting behavior when I first introduced them into the tank. Usually the kuhlis seem to just bump past each other without noticing the other one is there- but this time I saw one of the black kuhlis had his body perpendicular to a new striped one, and he moved all down the striped kuhli mouthing its body. Never saw that before- not sure what they were doing but it looked like the resident kuhli was inspecting the new one...








You can see why I call this one Tiger! There's a black spot with a 'y' shape of orange in its middle, so easy to tell them apart.








The other new kuhli is a bit yellower, and all its stripes are fairly even. Named Sassy. My five-year-old is happy I pointed out to her which is which- she likes to peer around the tank to find each kuhli by name (and count shrimps). Sassy had pale fungus-looking marks on his (her?) head when first came into my tank, but since the extra water changes that seems cleared up.








I'm wondering now what kind of kuhli Albert actually is. His background color is paler, and he's got spots on his belly. Quite unlike the others. I swear his stripes have changed too- when I first got him over two years ago the black stripes were more cleanly defined. Now his black stripes/splotches seem to have widened so the white in between is very narrow and some are converging. It's interesting.








Here's Albert, a black kuhli and Tiger in the same picture- you can see how different their colors and patterns are.








Closeup of Albert's pattern-








And here's a shrimp.








Starting to get a little fond of these guys. Managed to count five the other day, so perhaps I haven't lost as many as I thought!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I just started reading an aquatic plant encyclopedia I bought myself last year. And found instructions for keeping aponogetons from getting too big. Trim back the outer leaves before they reach full height, it says. Then all the new foliage that grows out following that will stay smaller. If you let the first set of leaves grow to full height, the plant will always grow new leaves to that same length. I don't know if it's too late to train my aponogeton capuronii to stay smaller. Quite a few of its longest leaves hit the surface and curve back down, now.

I trimmed out the tallest today- longest leaf including the petiole was 21.5".








It feels like such a shame cutting off so much nice, healthy growth though.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

After making a little subwassertang bush for my tenner, I still had plenty of pieces in the jar-








So I made another little bush to go here in my main tank- superglued onto a chunk of sponge, weighed down with pebbles stuck in it.








It stayed together pretty well- the initial enthusiastic kuhli inspection failed to dislodge any of the subwassertang.








Just enough left over I started trying to make a kind of hedge out of another, longer piece of sponge. I rounded the corners and cut two cavities underneath to make tunnels for the kuhlis. It's kind of rough- this sponge is coarser so I had to press harder to get the plant bits to stick, and the white smears of glue show. I wasn't able to cover it up well with plant material (ran out), but now whenever I trim or siphon bits out of the tank, can attach them to this until it is filled in.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

My crypt balansae in the corner is sending up another new leaf- and this one is broader than the last. I like this plant.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*almost a flood*

A week ago I got a new filter for my main tank. Mostly to solve the kuhli escapist problem once and for all. Eheim Classic canister filter- the [strike]2217[/strike] 2215 model. This thing is a beast! It has easily _five times_ more (and then some) the amount of media inside the canister, as my HOB. 

I've got it running on my empty ten gallon QT right now. To test for leaks- the only flaw I've ever read about was people finding the plastic fittings cracked during shipping. And to make sure I know how to setup and use the thing before cutting holes in the back of my aquarium stand to install it. I rinsed the new media in used tank water when I set it up, and threw some hornwort and a few handfuls of trumpet snails into the QT. Just in case their waste helps to start seeding the media with bacteria. 








I am very glad I set it up on the QT to test it. A few days after setup I unhooked it all to make sure I know how to clean and restart the filter, and found that one of the hoses wasn't snug enough on the fitting to get pinched tight by the piece that threads up over it- glad I discovered that _after_ I shut off the valves so only a little water spilled out. Shoved it on more tightly. No fear now.

I took off the spraybar and the intake hose to coat them with plastidip- makes it black with a thin coating of rubber. I don't have a lot of practice using spraypaint (this applies the same way) so didn't get it on very evenly- some parts look nice and smooth, other areas it is beaded up or thin and the green of the pipe shows through (if you look close). However I don't think it will be too noticeable once the parts are back in the tank.








For the time being, the pieces are sitting out- they're supposed to cure 3-4 days before going back in the tank. I wanted to keep the filter running meanwhile, so I'm temporarily using a hose clip to keep the intake hose in position. I've only got one hose clip though. At first I held the output hose with the suction cup clip for the spraybar, but the hose is slightly wider than the spraybar and I don't want it to stretch that clip out too much. So I wrapped a rubber band around the neck of the suction cup and around the hose.

This morning the rubber band came loose. Luckily I was in the same room and at the sudden gurgle and rush of water, I ran over there, flipped the closest shutoff valve and unplugged the filter. _So_ glad for those valves- stopping the flow was immediate. No damage done- I mopped up the puddle and the few items under the cabinet that got wet were easily dried. Made my heart jump for a minute though! It's two more days before I feel confident to put these fittings in the main tank (surfaces still a bit tacky)- so I'm going to get another hose clip at the store today (they're cheap enough).


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*new java fern and some propagation*

I added some java fern to my main tank. Usually at the store can only find the narrow needle-leaf java fern, or sometimes windelov, they never seem to have the regular standard one. This week I came across some and bought two tubes. I really could have just got one. Separated out there were ten rhizome pieces with two or three nice leaves each and a few small bits I banded to a pebble in case they grow.








Initially I tied them onto the front end of my driftwood log, on the left side against the glass. But after a day or two realized I'd prefer them more in the background...








Added a sprig of rhizome and leaf to one of the windelov fern clumps in here- that got trimmed out of the tenner.








Took apart the plastic strips I was trying to grow flame moss on. Trimmed off all the grown-out strands (not many) and undid what I could from adhering to the plastic. Instead I glued it down onto more small stones.








Here's the first two stones I did- the larger one got its first trim, and the small one I added some to the sides.








Next day I rescaped the corner of my tank that has the driftwood piece (post upcoming). While moving some plants, noticed that pieces of the rhizome or root that curve up off the ends of my crypt retrospiralis are growing new shoots! 








I've successfully multiplied my anubias and buce plants by cutting pieces of rhizome, so I figured it could work with these too. Also cut one rhizome piece of crypt balansae, and a few small ones of wilisii 'lucens'.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*I installed the new filter on my thirty-eight*









I am very happy with how streamlined it is in the tank- no more bulk on the back showing, the intake is narrower and the spraybar fades into the background. I wrapped the thin piece of sponge that had been blocking the HOB outflow around my intake tube, so it won't suck up shrimps. It just barely fit.

It took some fiddling to get the right position with the spraybar. At first I had it directed straight out across the tank, and flow was too strong. All the fishes were struggling against it, shrimps getting blown around some. Then I pointed it angled upwards, so it broke the water surface an inch or two out. But I felt like that was creating too much surface turbulence- maybe it would gas off too much C02? Finally I twisted it around to point straight backwards, so the spray hits the wall at close quarters. That makes a nice gentle ripple. The plants still sway slightly around the tank, but the fishes are all relaxed- lively even. I think they appreciate the increased filtration already!

No more bubbles in the corner- took out the little sponge filter- I don't think I need it anymore. A bit nervous taking out so much sponge material from the tank itself- but I squeezed them all strongly into the filter, and put all the flat pieces of media and ceramic rings from the HOB in the canister. No ammonia spikes, not even much increased nitrates with the change. I do have an irrational worry that one of those hoses is going to leak- from initially having one not pinched by the screw piece properly- but it's been humming away nicely for several days now without issues.








My youngest is fairly astute- she walked by the tank last night and probably noticed that it was much quieter- no more splashing sound from the bio-wheel turning- and saw the HOB parts stacked in a bucket waiting to get put away. She said in obvious alarm: "Mommy, your tank isn't running!" She's only five, but apparently she's picked up on how important it is for the aquarium filter to be working! I showed her the new one under the stand. She was duly impressed. 

I think this side pic is kind of funny because light from the nearby window I was trying to block w/a curtain shows in such a way it looks like it's beaming up onto the male fish. You can see here how much skinnier this intake tube is than the old one- and I got a thin enough piece of sponge around it that I didn't have to put an elbow piece on to keep the intake off the wall. Shrimps can't get into the intake. I suppose a baby trumpet snail could, except there's no way for them to reach it unless they crawl up a crypt leaf that's touching.









You can maybe see from that full-tank shot that I redid the driftwood corner. Nervous at pulling so many large plants out of the substrate, but I got a siphon hose and used it while I pulled each one slowly, so it sucked up a large part of the mulm and substrate ferts that got released. I undid the new java fern and the bolbitis from my log and swapped their positions so bolbitis is in the front where I can see it, and the taller java fern is on the back end. Rearranged where all the various crypts in that corner are, the rhizome pieces that I hope will sprout new crypts are rubber banded onto pebbles so they will stay sunk, and put near their respective species. Vallisneria are all in the space behind the big crypt wendtii now. I also moved all my little anubias nana 'petite' clumps into the far background, behind the apono crispus row under the heater. I like that arrangement better. 

Now- not to touch anything for a long time! Just let the plants grow. (If I can keep my hands out of there haha).


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## guitarstevie (Nov 30, 2016)

Hi Jean. Very nice tanks and journal. Have enjoyed reading it. I too have a very happy apongetons which has consistently had 3 or 4 flowers at a time above water over the last month or so. I took this picture today of a flower which was blocked from the surface by growing into a giant anubius leaf above it. It is developing differently. Do I see seed pods?
Steve


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

guitarstevie said:


> ..... It is developing differently. Do I see seed pods?
> Steve


Thanks. Hey, that does look like it's developing something. I always thought the flowers had to be allowed to grow out of the water, to form the seed- apparently that's not the case. Hope you get some seed!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*overhead shots*

Had a day to myself recently. I took the light strip and lid off my main tank, removed the hornwort (which is looking super healthy lately!)








set up lights on either side, blocked window glare best I could and stood on a stepstool to get an overhead photo (it's two photos patched together where the brace makes a seam- so not perfectly aligned)








Here's a few closeups looking down, these taken with the light strip back on the tank. Crypt wendtii is looking marvelous! I really do think having a significant gap of time between dosing the macros and micros has made a big difference for my plants.








To its left you can see crypt retrospiralis and wilisii 'lucens' against the wall, blue-green of anubias afzelii, brighter green in front of that of the 'asian' crypt I still haven't identified. Just to left of that cluster and front of the anubias are the smaller round leaves of buce 'emerald green' showing (it's the only one I have left in this tank). Behind the anubias back left corner some java fern I recently added.








Right from the wendtii is the hygro compatca thicket. Round clumps of subwassertang on their baskets and sponges below, a few long points of aponogeton crisups leaves above. Can barely see the anubias nana 'petite' below the apono stems- top of photo. Crypt becketti petchii shows its leaves flanking the wendtii also- they are thinner and the striping longitudinal.








Right from the hygro thicket- the same subwasser bushes below, 'windelov' java fern bottom right, the other crypt petchii above that. Whorl of the base of apono capuronii top left, one of its long leaves reaches into the picture from the top right. More apono crispus leaves- the brighter, ruffled green. Center of it all is the small group of ludwigias I have in here. The stems have got mixed up- I have at least two kinds, maybe three- but in adjusting to my tank conditions they have all come to look so similar.








I didn't take a closeup of the farthest right corner for some reason. And the bacopa is looking great too, so I ought to. Leaves on the tallest stems are bigger than ever... Last time I took an overhead shot was a year ago, here.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*mistakes*

I accidentally damaged some of my aquarium equipment. When swapping out the old filter for the new last week. Getting all the parts of the HOB ready to put away for storage, I wanted to clean it well of water deposits and crud. Scrubbed most stuff under hot running water with a toothbrush, and I set the sponges in scalding hot water for five minutes. Then I put all the plastic parts in a pan of boiling water, for five minutes (I've done this before). Except I had my hands occupied when the timer went off, and thought "Oh, it will be okay for another few seconds." NOPE. I went over there to take the pan off the heat too late. Several of the pieces got warped:








I can't use these again (those ends are supposed to be round). Which is really annoying, because I had already bought a second set of this adapter to replace one part that was cracked (my patch job with aquarium sealant wasn't sufficient). Well, between the two sets I probably have enough usable parts to fit one prefilter sponge back on the HOB if I have to, someday.









More aggravating is what happened with my new canister filter! So many folks told me this thing would be dead silent, I wouldn't even know it's running. Not so- mine has a persistent gentle hum. Which I easily ignore most of the time, it's really only noticeable in the late evenings when the house is really quiet. But it's my own fault it makes a sound at all, I found out.

The instructions in the packaging weren't so easy to understand. I watched a few instructional videos online but somehow missed the important point that when you are servicing the filter, ought to drain the water before opening the lid. I didn't, the first time. And couldn't figure out why it wouldn't come open. I tried a bit too hard, before stopping and thinking about it and opening the valve to let water out into the sink. Suction released, lid comes open okay. But I'd bent one of those clips that snaps the lid tight onto the canister body. Now it doesn't make a tight perfect seal- so I think a bit of air leaks in and that makes the hum. Because if I press down on the lid while it's running to make it _very_ tight- the sound stops. Kinda mad at myself now. I'm tempted to try and bend that clip back into shape, but the metal they're made out of seems flimsy, and I'm worried I will snap it in half.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*Fin damage*

Wish I'd upgraded my filter sooner! I kinda thought this canister was overkill for my tank when I first put it on, but oh no- tank looks so much cleaner- the water very clear. Fish seem happier- there has been lots of spawning going on and my kuhlis are really active. Even more significant, this persistent what-looks-like-fungus that some of my cherry barbs always seemed to have, disappeared now. It was never enough I felt motivated to treat the tank with meds- just a few pale patches on some of the fish- but very noticeable that suddenly its all gone. They look great. There are a few minor injuries- I thought from all the recent sparring going on. Smallest male barb has lost pieces of his tail and dorsal fins again. However I think it will heal quickly- looking close I can see already new clear tissue filling in.








And this female has a very tidy piece missing from her tail. It's such a clean piece, right from the center. Really made me wonder how it happened.
















Was it possibly a shrimp? They _are_ nearly as large as the barbs, now.








Because this morning yet a third barb has a chunk missing from her tail- Not as tidy as the other one, but right from the center of it again. I am really suspicious the amano shrimps are attacking my fishes at night when they are asleep?


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*maintenance notes*

Today was the first time I cleaned my new filter. The fine filter pad (last stop before the tank) was very dirty. I rinsed that one out thoroughly, gently rinsed the coarse blue pad, left the rest alone. It was easier to do than I'd expected, and I managed to bend that one clip more or less back into shape. A big plus of this new filter setup: I'm loosing hardly any water to evaporation anymore. Used to have to top off a half gallon or so midweek, but now there's no need. Small downside is that it's no longer easy to lift out the intake tube for rinsing. I don't want to undo the snug fit the intake hose has onto the elbow of the intake pipe, and the way I've sewn the coarse sponge onto the slotted prefilter it might be tricky to get that off/back on the pipe. This week I just picked the largest bits of plant debris off the sponge with tweezers, when cleaning. The shrimps do feed there constantly, but I don't want a lot of debris building up.

Plants are doing well! Last week I cut and replanted some stems of hygro, extending that thicket even further to the left behind the mother crypt. This week I had to trim and replant the tallest bacopa stems- they hit the ceiling again.








Not sure if apono capuroni got the message when I cut back all its tallest leaves- I took out three today that had enough height to hit the water surface and curl back down.

I'm really pleased with the new arrangement I have for tethering hornwort stems in place. Clipped onto the braided fishing line, it's easy to slide the individual stems back and forth when I'm working up there. Getting the clips on/off the line is a bit tricky, I just have to do it carefully and maybe with a little practice it will become easier. There's a lot more space for stems now. Last week with trimming I added four more clips to the row, this week I added another six. I think that might be the max- there's now over twenty individual stems on the line.

Not doing so great is my 'grassy corner'. I had been using it as a feeding spot for so long- the kuhlis always zip over there right away when they smell food. But all the little bits of rhizome I'm hoping will grow out kept getting disturbed by kuhlis and snails uprooting. Today I lifted the log out so I could get the tweezers into the 'grassy corner' area and replant some of the crypts, also wiggled the rhizome pieces a good half inch down into the substrate, so hopefully they will stay put now. I'm going to avoid feeding in this spot until those plants are well rooted again.









I've started putting sinking foods in the opposite corner instead, where the elodea thicket is. It's getting denser as I cut and replant stems fairly often. You can see the barbs above hesitant to force their way in, kuhlis down below at ease winding in and out of the stems.








I found out what a tough, undemanding plant subwassertang is. Last week one bit got siphoned up when I was cleaning the tenner upstairs. Not having a free container to put the piece in, I dropped it into the fish pitcher which held some newly conditioned tapwater I hadn't used. Meant to add it to my growout subwassertang jar but I forgot about it completely when putting stuff away. For storage during the week I have that fish pitcher inside the clean white fish bucket, under a table. With a lid on it. So I doubt much light got in there, through two opaque sides. I was surprised when I got out the pitcher for use today, to find a nice green bit of subwassertang floating in there. No algae, no melting, it looked perfectly healthy. And it had absolutely no nutrients all week! Just plain (conditioned) tapwater.

Those subwasser bushes I made on sponges are not working out. The bits are too thin where they were glued on, or for some other reason coming loose. The small one I made two weeks ago has lost over half its greenery,








and the 'bridge' piece is only doing slightly better. I might have to give up on that idea








and just stick to using baskets (or tie netting over a different object to anchor down, hm).


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*more photos from yesterday-*

There's a gap in the hygro thicket from a recent trim- hygro compacta on the left, the few rotala stems on the right. Anubias nana 'petite' in the background, taller anubias congensis to the right. Aponogeton crispus graceful over them all... The anubias nana is looking peaky but I think all those little ones are doing better now they are in the back under deeper shade- newer leaves (hard to see so small) have healthier color 








Bolbitis heudelotii. Sure is a slow grower. In the new position I can better watch its gradual progress...








Bucephalandra 'emerald green' still has nice, gleaming color but some of its leaves are starting to get black algae so I'm afraid I might need to move this one out, as well.








Baby green crypt has grown a few more leaves- I looked back and can't believe the last image I took of it was six months ago- and it really hasn't got that much bigger. Maybe because it's against the front edge of the glass where there is less light?








Here it is in front of the parent plant.








Closeup of eloda stems- they really are kind of delicate and pretty- semi translucent with very pale midline vein. Oops- after taking this photo notice there's a piece of dead stem stuck in there horizontally- must go in and clean out a few bits later when the light is on (hard to see in that corner when I'm doing scheduled trim work the tank light usually isn't on).








I think my olive-colored nerite snail Dimple is dying. Found it upside down in the back of the tank, operculum seems a bit loose. But it doesn't stink yet... I put it in the front. Hasn't moved in hours.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Most things look good in here. My olive nerite snail died last week. And the hillstream loach I shouldn't have had (it lasted two months). I took out the subwassertang clumps on sponges- including the 'bridge', and trimmed the rest. Found there's _three_ baby crypt becketti 'petchii' growing! And another new baby crypt wendtii sprouting too.








Crypts willisii and retrospiralis in the grassy corner are coming loose again. Had to peg one back down with a thin plastic strip folded in half. Even though I'm still feeding in the opposite corner, it seems the kuhlis disrupt too much. Worse, I found tiny black tufts of BBA on some willisii leaves and very tip ends of many on the big crypt wendtii. Simply removed those leaves. It really thinned out the clump of wendtii- but all the leaves that had it showing were older, outside ones- some of them came away easily from the base so maybe the plants was getting ready to discard those anyway. Buce had some black spots on leaves, too- I took off three of the worst ones.








Good news is that the pieces of retrospiralis rhizome are all sprouting- looks like two plants from each segment. 








Thinned out many leaves of apono crispus last week (and a few longest leaves of capuroni). Not sure why the aponos didn't look well- none of them had hit the surface in weeks and many had worn looking edges, lots thinning out and loosing color, melting? I added root tabs last week for them.








I did something to 'tame' the spread of my capuroni. I fit a rubber band around the base of the stems- to hold them a bit more upright not so sprawled out. It wasn't easy to do- and I damaged a few leaves a bit. Missed some of the smaller ones, too. Will try to tidy that up more on friday, but don't want to put my hands in the tank again right now.








Found a very simple way to keep hornwort down on substrate, without the annoyance of retying rubber bands each time they need a trim. I slipped the stem end through a glass bead. Left foliage on the node just below the bead, but clipped short- so it's just enough to hold it on. Really tickled with this- why didn't I think of it sooner? It works great.








Brought over some strands of flame moss trimmed out of the tenner- and glued onto the stones where there are a few gaps. Some of the strands I originally glued down don't seem to have recovered well... looking close can see tiny tufts of algae on here, but the shrimps do their job.
















Some of my new java ferns have awful looking foliage with blackened areas spreading. But just yesterday I spied the fuzzy roots of a new baby plant sprouting under a leaf- it's in the upper left corner here.








And on the pebble where I fastened a few leftover rhizome bits that didn't have any foliage, there are a few new leaves sprouting! so soon I will have to find a proper place in the tank for those as well.








The flower on my anubias afzelii finally faded. For a while it had a thick yellow part sticking up in the middle- stigma?- with fat yellow shapes on it almost looked like corn kernels. The fishes picked at it for a while. It did not develop into anything, so I finally cut it off.








I got two more nerite snails in a swap for some plant trimmings w/another member, so back up to four. A zebra, and a horned olive colored one. They're already crawling around the tank actively, feelers out and waving. Will try and get some pics of them soon- I usually get one of new snails in hand before adding to the tank but I was in a rush at the time.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

That last post was catching up on two weeks of nothing (because I'd been sick) and this is the regular weekly notes. Except there's nothing much to tell. 








Rearranged a few plants- mainly so I can see this one-








Echinodorus finally looks healthy, and I can tell you it has nice white root growth because I shifted it. Pulled up (very slowly) the group of green crypts that was in that corner- they keep hitting the glass and then don't have nice shape. I traded places with the two- so now the green crypts on this side of the tank are flanking the crypt becketti petchii.

I'm attempting to set up another tank haha. It's a 29 gal that someone gave me. I was going to just keep it on hand in case I ever need a spare (might be a nice size to quarantine angelfish) but a friend of a friend has to get rid of a tank and asked me to take his fishes. I can't take them all, but he has these lyretail swordfish that have the most amazing long filaments on their tail fins. I picture them in a minimal tank with just upright hornwort and a lacy shrub or two of windelov fern on the bottom... want to try growing those in just diffused window light (through curtain)- the bowl in my daughter's room she still has crammed with trumpet snails and hornwort, it's always green and far less algae than you'd expect. She feeds it _nothing_- I just top it off with old tank water now and then. And I'd like to see if it's a real pain to manage three tanks before I decide if I'm really going to get a bigger one for angelfish. Thinking now it would be cool to convert my thirty-eight into a semi-tropical and keep a paradise fish, when the time comes that the cherry barbs hit old age. Which could be as soon as next year. . . .


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Needed very little cleanup this week.








I like capuroni better now it is tied at the base.








Appears that all the rhizome pieces I cut off crypts willisii, retrospiralis and even one balansae, have sprouted. Pictured are crypt retrospiralis.








Aponogeton crispus looks much improved this week- no decaying foliage or algae. I think it benefitted from the root tabs. Forming a wall behind the rotala indica stems, here.








No more signs of BBA on the crypt wendtii either. See its baby- front left of in the picture.








Echinodorus seems to be doing okay with being shifted- although a few outside leaves have browning spots so maybe it is going to drop some. The green crypt I put in its place suffered more- a lot of its lower leaves yellowed and it started to come loose from the substrate, had to tug it back down.

Elodea thicket is really filling in again since my last adjustment with ferts (still dosing macros and micros separately).








Earlier in the week I dropped in garlic-soaked betta pellets for the kuhlis, and all the shrimps came out of hiding to get some. There's still five in here- even bigger now. Here's a pic of one of my newer nerite snails- an olive-brown horned one like my late Dimple. This one has nicer 'horns' than my old one. I also have a new zebra-striped one. They were trades for some plants with @stormx22 recently.








The only plants that looked a bit poorly in here this week were the hornworts- maybe because everyone else did so well there wasn't enough nutrients for them? I've noticed some of the hornworts have shorter internodal spacing than others- and this makes them difficult to put on the clips. I don't know why some and not others. Thought at first it was a plant response to environment- but they're all in the same tank. I have started removing the ones with shorter internodes- if it is an individual plant variation thing, eventually I will only have the wide-spaced ones in here.

Rinsed out media in the canister filter this week. It still makes me a bit nervous opening it up, as if I might forget a step with the valves and make a flood. Went smoothly for me this time.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

tanks look nice  wish I could grow crypts, I haven't tried. LFS doesn't sell them and when I order plants I order like 300$ worth lmao


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Thanks. Stores around here don't have many crypts either- I got most of mine online.... Have you looked for other members selling or offering RAOKs? I know when more baby crypts grow up in here, I'll probably start thinning some out- but that will be a good while yet.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

JJ09 said:


> Thanks. Stores around here don't have many crypts either- I got most of mine online.... Have you looked for other members selling or offering RAOKs? I know when more baby crypts grow up in here, I'll probably start thinning some out- but that will be a good while yet.


 Yea I have seen the RAOK, may have to try one sometime!


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## MtAnimals (May 17, 2015)

For holding your hornwort down,it works well to take several strands,and loop them into a "U" shape and hold them down with a rock.Makes a nice bunch that way and they stay down.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Thx for the idea. I might try that in my other tank (this one has them as just floaters now)


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Main tank got too cool yesterday. I forgot the water in pipes probably still near freezing, and guess I added too much colder water with the 50% wc. It felt cooler to my hands than normal, when pruning plants, and some fishes were hanging around suspiciously still, then I looked at the thermometer surprised find it was only 72° and the heater wasn't kicking on. Can't see the light well because plants now grow up in front of it, even harder to see numbers on the thermostat dial. I'd have to lift it out of the tank to check it and lacking time, floated a bottle of very hot water (could see the heat waves emanating off it in immediately surrounding tank water) and that helped it warm up a bit more. Later in the day unplugged the heater, plugged it back in and now it triggers on. Hope this blip doesn't mean it's faulty, I've had it just two years!








The flame moss I glued onto stones is growing up! I am loathe to trim it, although that might make it sprout more along the lengths and get thicker.








It's easiest to see when the tank lights are off, otherwise glare bouncing off the paler stones the fine green strands get lost, visually. Need darker-colored base rock, for them to show well I think. This one is ok in that regard.








I removed the upended basket w/flame moss patch out of Samblu's tank, took it apart and started another stone. Hello, kuhli!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Reading some back issues of Aquarium Fish International magazine and outdated fishkeeping books lately. Little things I learn and try to implement for improvement. One was if you're going to fast your fishes once a week, do it on the water change/maintenance day. Because if you clean the filter media, the bacteria colony has a little setback. Not feeding that day gives the bacteria an easier time catch up to the fish waste load without getting ammonia or nitrite spike. I never thought of this before. Don't know if my tank has much of blip- I always test the water at the start of maintenance day, to see how much ferts I need to dose. Well I'm going to fast them on friday now, instead of sunday. In case it is one of those little things that does make a difference.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*few pics of the plants and inverts*

Plantlet under the java fern leaf has grown quite a bit








Young crypt retrospiralis I started off the rhizome fragment is big enough now to show the crinkled leaf texture. I like it so much. But the other piece I was trying to root seems to have died- found it floating with the bit of stem shredded and melted away...








Tethered hornwort has changed shape. All the needles are shorter, and lie flatter to the stem than they used to. Must be something about the conditions.








Newer zebra nerite snail- hadn't taken a photo of him (her?) yet.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*the new guys*

Satisfied that they are doing well, I wasted no time transferring the serpae tetras into my main tank. Floating.








Released.








They look really striking in the planted tank. Very handsome fish. I am becoming more and more taken with their rich color. Their scales really gleam.








This one is Blank. None of them seem too distressed with the change in scenery (but do the gills look a little red? I tested for ammonia and it's zero). So far are not bothering my cherry barbs. Sizewise they are just a bit more in length than the barbs, but have so much more height to their bodies they look a lot larger. I am going to keep a close eye- don't want them to bully the smaller fish.








I want to get more of them as soon as I can, so there's a decent school, maybe up to seven.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*full tank shot*

Haven't done one in a while-








Apono caupronii is sprawling again- I took the band off its base because a few new leaves were escaping it and others getting pinched too much. Have retied it now but that was just after this pic. Its huge bulb has gradually been consumed by the plant, almost nothing now. I'm wondering how safe it would be to split this thing (it has two crowns)... I'm surprised to see that crypt becketii petchii is getting taller than my crypt wendtii. Didn't expect that. Realized after I took the photo that the thermometer had come loose and floating odd angle- oops! That's fixed now.

Not much else to say here. I trimmed and replanted the tallest stems of hygro this week- will probably do bacopa caroliniana next week, as I find I like that plant better when it is about half the height of the aquarium....

The serpaes seem to be doing okay in here _so far_ they are not bothering anybody. You can see them in the picture- two are on the left near the tank wall, one in the center swimming past the apono crispus. I like having slightly larger fish in the aquarium, and their rich color with that lustrous sheen is something else.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*feeding stuff*

I have this feeding strategy I use about once a week to make sure the kuhlis get enough, due to competition from the barbs which readily feed off the bottom. I have a baby-food jar in the freezer with moth larvae in it (I collect live food when I can from the garden -no pesticides- or in the house- mostly fruit flies, fungus gnats and small moths but also sometimes insect larvae). These moth larvae are just big enough the barbs can eat them with an effort. I soak betta micro pellets in garlic juice (or just tank water) until they sink, then suck them up into a medicine syringe. Then drop the larvae into the tank for the barbs- they stuff their faces and sit around working on the mouthfuls, so I can squirt the betta bites into a thicket of dense plants where the kuhlis easily go. Most of the barbs are busy with their stuffed mouths, and the few that aren't can't get into that thicket so easy. So the kuhlis get a really good feeding.








Other day I did this with the new serpae trio in the tank. Knowing serpaes have a reputation for being aggressive at feeding time, I prepared extra soaked betta bits to drop in the tank- I figured they wouldn't strike at the surface for the larvae yet (still kind of timid in here and don't seem to realize food comes when I open the lid- slow to approach when they see the other fishes feeding). It all went as usual- and yes the serpaes got excited when food was dropped in- dashing all over the tank. They are so luminous, so much vigor and shine! But they weren't going after food. They were chasing each other, and looked like a pair was spawning again- in the bacopa/elodea thicket. The one-eyed serpae (I call him Blank) flared and competed, but was excluded from the spawning activity- when I squirted in a few soaked pellets he did move curiously at them but some barbs dashed in and got them first. So all the extra food I put in was on the substrate, and the kuhlis absolutely stuffed themselves. Their tummies were super full- I could actually see the pinkish, round shapes of the food through the belly wall - and they lay around afterwards as if with a stomachache. Good thing next day was one of fasting for the fishes, and a water change to clean things up. (I tested the water next morning to see if an ammonia or nitrite spike from the increased fish load, zero ammonia and nitrtie. Although one of the serapes has a bit of cloudy eye).

Not sure yet how the aggression risk will work out. I saw one of the largest male cherry barbs displaying to Blank and chasing him around the day the serpaes were introduced. Day after I saw one of the serpaes chasing a barb. So far no actual injuries. It's very hard to tell the sexes apart, but I think I currently have two males and one female. If I can, will need to get more females when I increase the school.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

that picture tho, bleeh


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

BettaBettas said:


> that picture tho, bleeh


I know! They're small- only about 1/4" I usually don't touch them w/my hands (well I did when I first collected them) but pick them up w/tweezers

Actually, when I'm done with what's in my tiny freezer jar, I don't know when I'll find another lot of larvae the perfect size. Any smaller the cherry barbs will gobble them up quick, any larger they won't be able to eat them at all. These were just the right size to plug their mouths and keep 'em busy!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Quick picture (no effort to obscure reflections). Seems like this week my aoponogeton crispus have really busted out some growth- the leaves are very broad and hitting the surface again. I had to trim a few out that were getting too big, it's been a while since needed to do that. 

The 'asian' crypt bunch next to my crypt wendtii is changing shape and color- surprise! I think it has been doing this gradually since the last alteration I made to ferts dose. Leaves and petioles have both lengthened, some of the foliage is turning darker, stems and primary vein turning reddish. So I still don't know what it is!

Crypt retrospiralis are getting nice and tall- but also to my dismay this week I found some tufts of BBA on a few. I hadn't noticed the glass on that side of the tank was starting to get lots of algae spots- the very dark green, stubborn kind. I spent so much time scrubbing algae off the glass today my fingers cramped. I have a suspicion that those dark algae spots turn into BBA when it spreads onto nearby plants, but not sure. Nitrates were lower in the tank this week (surprising, since I have a few more fish) that always seems to correspond when I see BBA crop up again too.

Need to get better photos but have been so busy (vegetable garden outside needs a lot of attention right now w/the seedlings and all). My trio of serpae tetras seems to be doing ok, although I have not seen them eat much yet. They are not bothering the barbs and act very shy. Hoping that when I get a few more they will start to feel more comfortable in here.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

My three serpae tetra in here are still doing well- as far as behaving themselves goes. They are actually quite shy. I don't see them eat much- when they cherry barbs go crazy at food offerings, the serpaes hide from the ruckus and then slowly drift out of the plant cover as if to see what's going on- so I reserve a bit of food and when they start to emerge I dip my fingers in the tank with a pinch and release some. They never come to the surface for it. Of course with the second pinch of food the barbs come swarming, so I only ever see the tetras getting little nibbles. Kuhlis however are getting fat with the extra offerings- if I try two or three times to make sure the tetras get some- all except one, Sassy, who is starting to look alarmingly thin. Still eats but loosing weight... so I am going to treat this tank for parasites again. Sassy is one of the newer striped kuhlis I got several months ago; didn't go through the round of parasite treatment I did when lost Snaky Fish. 

I want to start with a dose of General Cure but don't have enough on hand- my pkg is almost done and I could not find any at the local stores. I went to both looking- at PSmart the label was on the empty shelf so I asked when more would come in? a supply truck was arriving that night, I was told. Went back a day later, still nothing. I asked an associate if any might be in the back and he tried to sell me some liquid that regulates pH. My pH is fine- it's 7.6- and this is probably _parasites_- how will that help? He insisted that the pH adjustor would "fix everything." I left without buying anything. At the other store- PetC- they didn't have it either I asked anyway. They tried to sell me an immune booster but admitted don't really sell medications anymore- just these natural type cures like melafix. It was disappointing, now I have to order online and wait another day. I know I used to find this kind of stuff at the shops- why have they quit carrying it?

Anyway, I got two new serpae tetras yesterday. They are in the Window Tank with the swordtails for now. It's kind of going to be a QT for tetras- if need some treatment I'd rather do it in there than in the main tank. Want to get their numbers up to make the serpaes feel secure- but not exactly sure how many I can add before it is pushing the stocking level... I've plugged stuff into AqAdvisor but I don't know how to account for trumpet snails as there must be hundreds in here...


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Had three new tetras in the window tank but they were already harassing the swordtails so I moved them over already. The six serpae tetra look splendid in this tank together. I had a small concern that the new ones would teach the old ones nippy behavior, but they are all busy flashing their fins at each other. Striking at food at the surface now, too. I fed a bunch of small moths to the cherry barbs yesterday, wondered if a serpae could eat the moth, their mouths look smaller. One of them gave it a good try, lost its grip, and a barb nabbed the insect from him.

Today they got blanched lettuce. Bit of romaine leaf, minced up fine. They all went for it eagerly and I was glad to see the serapes finally eating well. Saw one chasing a cherry barb who got too big a mouthful and couldn't get it all down at once. Even one of the black kuhli loaches sampled a bite, but didn't eat it. Whatever bits are left will get cleaned up by the shrimps and snails I bet. I'm interested in who eats it because never offered them lettuce before.

Tank got a bit of trim- bacopa stems cut and replanted, also some of the hygro (which I think now is really a ludwigia hybrid?). I don't know what the green crypt is doing, some leaves stay bright green, others are getting longer and dark like the Becketti petchii! On the same plant. There's a bit more BBA tufts showing up in here, always on older leaves. Not sure if that is from some imbalance when I was gone and fishes unfed, or from adding six more fish so recently, or because had a few small deaths. Horned nerite snail died, and so did one of my Amano shrimp. Probably it was old. I found the tiny carcass. One serape has an odd bump on its lip- looks like a cyst. Don't know what that is.








The fine polishing pad (white piece) that came with my canister filter started falling apart. I replaced with a piece of polyester quilt batting cut to size.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I started dosing the tanks for internal parasites today. My striped kuhli Sassy is looking thin- the head definitely bigger than the narrow body, where all the others have nice girth. Conflicting info online about whether General Cure would harm shrimp so better safe than sorry I pulled them out. Set up one of my little plastic tubs with a few gallons of tank water, small sponge filter, bit of fake decor for them to hide/climb on, and a handful of gravel for the good bacteria.

It was not easy to catch them. I'd seen in someone's video how they catch shrimp by simply placing the end of a wooden skewer in front of the shrimp which would climb onto it and then he just lifts them out. Mine would not do that. Every time I approached them with the tip of a skewer they move away. Then I tried sinking small clear plastic cup to lie on the bottom, and gently chase the shrimp into it. They are very quick and skittish though. Easiest way turned out to be just guiding them into open areas in the front of tank, and then catching from behind with the cup. And I found all of them. Turns out my fifth shrimp didn't die after all (I just found out they can live five years or more!) so what I found must have been a shed exoskeleton, one of the largest and most complete I'd ever seen thus my mistake. 

Fishes proved they have very good memories. To my kuhli loaches it must have looked like I was placing a food trap- they swarmed all over the plastic cup when it was on the bottom, going in and out inspecting all the corners, it was actually pretty funny.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I had a big problem with my main canister filter this past week- details here http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/9-equipment/1153690-help-my-canister-filter-has-leak.html. Long story short the canister body cracked near base where I screwed input fitting too tight. Saved from a flood by the fact that I had it sitting in a tupperware bin to catch such an incident, and the leak was slow. I shuffled filters- put the HOB biowheel from the swordtails' 20g tank on this one, went out and bought a new internal filter for the 20g (because I couldn't find a sponge filter at store, and my spare was running on the shrimp container), and put what media from the canister wouldn't fit in those filters, into buckets with airstones running, to try and keep most of the bacteria colony alive while I wait for replacement parts.

I learned a few things from this. Overflow bin a very good idea! Hand-tight doesn't mean what I thought it did. I'm pretty good now at managing emergency setups in a pinch: have been testing the waters daily and none of my tanks show any ammonia or nitrites even though their filters got changed out and the temporary replacements have less capacity. Tested the little shrimp bin too- they were fine as well. While all this is going on, I was still treating the 20H and 38 for parasites with API General Cure.

Also learned: having extra equipment around is a very good thing, even though I get irritated at clutter and try to sell/give away things I don't use anymore. I found after a few days I actually like this internal filter on the 20g better than the HOB so I'm thinking of putting the biowheel back in a box and just keeping it for a backup to use on the main in case of emergency again.

Also learned: I am definitely at my max number of tanks. Having five things running in my living room (plus the betta tank upstairs) felt like too much for me. My main tank, the 20g with swordtails, the temporary bin for shrimps, and two buckets of filter media with airlines to house the bacteria while I resolve filter issue. It was enough to handle already having the shrimp bin running- because it is a constant thing on my mind, checking on them several times per day, testing the water to make sure no cycle happening, siphoning out a bit of waste and replacing with some new water, monitoring the food to make sure I'm not putting too much that's not eaten (the shrimps are not very active due to the cooler temp) etc. With the two buckets that's another thing as well- I glance in there every time I walk by to make sure the airlines haven't clogged, and the hum of two air pumps running in this room is aggravating, and I can't imagine how people do it, keeping multiple multiple tanks. It is too much for me to think about and care for. Three, I'm good with. Throw in a hospital or QT tank running for some reason and I'm at the limit.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

The parasite treatment (at least this first round) is done, so after 50% wc I moved my shrimps back into the home tank. (It may get a dose of levamisole next week, but that's ok for shrimps at using half or less). It was easy to catch them. They were all hiding between the leaves of that one fake plant, still. Must have come out at night to feed because the food did disappear (more than what just two snails would have eaten) and there was tiny shrimp poo to siphon out of the container...

Noticed when I lifted them out in a plastic bag to acclimate back to the main tank, one of them its tail and part of the rostrum were blue. From cooler temperature? or because it had just molted (there was a shed skin in the tank)?








All lined up waiting for release. I made sure to feed the fishes on opposite end of the tank while I released the shrimps out near their favorite hideout under the driftwood, so they wouldn't get pestered (not that I've seen any fish bother them, but I wouldn't put it past these serpae tetras).


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*I moved the cherry barbs out of the 38gal tank*

Everything was fine up until a few days ago I noticed more cherry barbs had pieces missing of their tails. I thought at first it was from the usual sparring- there has been a lot of breeding behavior lately, the cherries seem to be at it at least twice a week. They get excited at water changes, at thunderstorms, at live insect food.

But when I looked closer one morning and saw that every single cherry barb had a ragged, bitten tail I knew it was the serpae tetras. Shameful thing is that I _like_ the serpaes. Should I feel bad for favoring them over my cherry barbs? who went through my learning curve.... but I love watching the serpaes, and I'm only just fond of the cherry barbs- even though I've had some of those over four years- so the serpaes got to keep the best digs in the house (if you're a fish) and the barbs moved out into the temporary tanks.

All the extra equipment had only been rinsed and dried off for a day (from the shrimp container). The QT got setup again with half tank water/half new (to keep water chemistry close to home), the 50 watt heater, a handful of gravel out of the main tank in the sponge filter base to seed it, most of the hornwort floaters out of the 20H to bring over more bacteria, a small bunch of subwassertang trimmings tied onto a stone, and the usual bridge decor for hiding spot plus fake plants.








It felt like I spent all day at two things- moving fish and doing laundry. I set the bottle fish trap with sinking food, and the kuhlis really had a great time going in and out of the trap gorging themselves. Every time two or three barbs got into the trap I'd lift it out, tip them gently into a baggie, float in the other tank, adding the new tank water every ten minutes until acclimated enough to release. It would take half an hour or so for the barbs in the home tank to get over being frightened by the trap getting lifted out/replaced, and approach it for the food again. Near end of day little bits of disintegrating pellet were drifting out the air holes of the trap, so it wasn't as effective anymore. I caught the last few barbs with a net. That took a_ lot_ of patience, as I didn't want to panic all the fishes in there or rip up plants... but I finally got them. I put the females in with the swordtails in the 20H, and the males into the 10g QT. Want to keep them separated so females don't get chased around, and have time to heal.The males seemed to feel right at home in their tenner. First one released hid,








but when I put a few more in they immediately started sizing each other up, and when all five were all in there they were darting around displaying at each other and playing in the current from the filter. Fed eagerly when I offered peas this morning.








You can see how much their tails are torn,
















but I think they should heal. None have fungus or rot yet. For the time being, I'm doing small daily partial wc (one gallon) to help with that. Tested parameters first few mornings- no ammonia or nitrites and their behavior tells me they're feeling fine.








I guess if I have any updates on them, will include in this tank journal- don't really want to start another one for my QT tank- going to wait for their fins to grow back and then decide if I need to find them a new home...


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Cleaning the tank was kind of glum, today. Hornwort was doing great- I had enough trimmings to throw more into the cherry barbs' tenner. But I found a lot more BBA cropping up on leaf margins- on aponogetons crispus and capuronii, on crypts retrospiralis, wendtii and beckettii. Even on some little fronds of bolbitis fern, which I hated having to trim off. Thinking of taking out some of the weird green/brown tall/short crypt, so I can actually see the bolbitis, now that it is growing more. Also found that the leaves of anubias afzelii were specked with tufts of BBA. I took them all off (the plate of tank trimmings was piled high today) and it only has two leaves left. Can't see that plant anymore for the green/brown tall/short crypt in the way, so I moved it to back wall behind some aponos. Maybe it is getting a bit too much light. Irritated that BBA is showing up again so much- does it have something to do with the sudden reduction of fish numbers in here?


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

The tank has a very different feel with just serpae tetras and kuhlis.... the serpaes are starting to figure out that when I lift the lid it's not reason to hide, but might be food. I have started giving them more fresh foods- greens and insects- lettuce and dandelion leaves both were gobbled up. They have eaten small moths, tiny caterpillars and aphids from my house and yard. The moths and caterpillars I freeze for later use, the aphids I chill a few hours in the fridge then feed same day so still very fresh- and it makes them stop moving, too. I found out some can be aquatic- crawl down stems to feed on plants underwater! So I only give in small pinches to make sure the fish eat them all, or chill them in the fridge long enough to stop life.

It can be funny feeding them aphids. They often spit one out and then snap at it again. One tetra grabbed at a clump of aphids and a few must have still been alive- one crawled up on its head, just above the mouth. The fish jerked around and managed to get it but sure was funny a moment seeing fish swim around with a bug meal on its face!

A few of the aphids were missed and sunk to the substrate- kuhlis blazed past them at first, going nuts searching for the food they were sure I'd put in the tank when heard the lid open. Later I looked very close and actually saw some eating the bugs too- so I'm glad I have another way to give them a fresh treat. They never do get much of the soaked bloodworms unless I set the food trap (but then they scratch themselves, so I don't do that often anymore). All my kuhlis are positively pudgy now from the lack of competition on the ground- except for Sassy. I'm guessing it might be internal parasites- going to do a levamisole treatment later this week for that.

I really like preparing greens and catching bugs for my fishes. Not about saving money- a less-than-$10 container of commercial food lasts them all for over a year anyway- but it just feels satisfying and they sure love it. Between the peas, lettuce, dandelion, moths, caterpillars and aphids (soon there will be zucchini too)- in the summer I may now only feed dried/prepared foods two or three times a week. I haven't had fruit flies show up in my kitchen for months (something the rest of the family is glad of) but when I do, will collect those for the fishes again too.

Funny thing, when I tried to feed the serpae tetras dandelion greens a second time, they wouldn't eat it (this was yesterday). Not sure if they weren't hungry, or didn't like it because it wasn't as fresh? (had kept a few days in the fridge in a sealed container in damp paper towel) or if it was because I hadn't blanched it as long- basically just dipped in boiling water and then into freezing... Today offered them blanched garden lettuce- this time I boiled it a good two minutes, and minced fine. They ate that. So from now on for greens I will only pick one small leaf at a time, and make sure to dip it in the boiling water long enough. Just so you know- I don't apply any pesticides or chemical fertilizers on my garden or lawn. I even refrained from spraying organic home-made bug repellents this week (soap, oil and water) because then wouldn't be able to gather bugs for the fishes until after a good heavy rain. So far my every-other-day hand picking is keeping them enough in control the plants are doing fine. This morning some of the tomato plants did not have a single aphid on them (they are still small, so I can check almost every leaf)

I was worried about one fish this week. Noticed a few days ago one of the older serpaes had poor color, looked pale and a bit thin. It was hiding and not coming out to eat as much. Also getting picked on by the others. Whether it hides and doesn't eat because it gets chased, or gets harassed because it is unwell and acting differently, I don't know. It is also the fish that has had cloudy eye and popeye. I didn't realize how bulging its eyes were until had the newer trio to compare. Just yesterday the swelling started going down- now one eye looks almost normal. I wasn't really expecting much improvement- since it's an older fish and I don't know what caused the swelling in the first place- so glad it's looking better.

Frustrated- at myself- over the filter again. I went to replace the canister with new part today, since I needed to pull a piece of sponge out for the 20H- one of the smaller, extra pieces stuffed in there. Figured since I was going to empty the canister halfway to get the sponge piece, might as well swap canisters. It wasn't until I had the canister all the way empty and put in the circular grid for the bottom that realized I had the wrong size replacement can. My filter is a 2215, _not_ a 2217! So I put it all back together and called up the company to do a return. Well- good thing the epoxy job I did on that crack is still holding fine.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Did tanks maintenance today because treating the 38 gal w/levamisole which means today it got a 50% water change and tomorrow a 75%. That feels like a lot of work. Also wrapped in black plastic for darkness. And noted on the calendar to repeat in three weeks. Today I moved one of those unidentified crypts in the front corner- to the back of the grouping- so that bolbitis fern that is slowly growing out more visible. I want to see it. Also trimmed off a few of the longer leaves, just to clear the view. I was a bit surprised to find there was very little algae, very few dying-back leaves to trim off, hornwort mostly looked healthy with longer, strong needles and even watersprite is improved. Usually I take a few of the lower leaves off each watersprite bunch, that is browning. This week- none.

I'm wondering if the difference is the lighter fish load (since cherry barbs all moved out). Because I mistakenly thought I had the bigger filter, I had plugged into aqadvisor and it was telling me more fish okay. I did think the tank looked too busy, a bit crowded; I hadn't pushed it to the limits of the stocking calculator's suggestion, but it was close. Now that I realize I'm a size smaller w/my canister know that I can only put four more serpae tetras in there, to hit the limit. Which is fine with me!

It also might be a factor of feeding more live and fresh foods recently. I do see a slight film on the water surface when looking up from below- like fine dust- it doesn't bother me too much- I think it's from fine debris even though I rinse the bugs and whatnot, or from hairs off their bodies? (for example, the tiny moths are furry) Not sure. I thought the film meant the live food made the water a bit dirtier, but it's not actually disintegrating into dissolved mess like some of the flakes and pellets do...

Irritating was to find a freshwater limpet on the glass. I noticed earlier in the week there were two small, very fine scratches- on the inside- that hadn't been there before. The week before I had cleaned the glass inside w/algae scrubber. I bet I got a tiny limpet caught in the scrubber- and scratched the glass with it. Must have transferred some over here accidentally from the betta tank. Gah. 
~

On another note, I took the aponogeton capuronii trimmings of long leaves out of the window tank and put it in the male cherry barbs' tenner. Instead of hornwort, which was shedding needles all over and melting into a scattered mess. I had been cleaning up most of it each week and tossing in new trimmings, but getting tired of that. To keep a bit of floating cover in there, I tried putting these long capuronii leaves draped across the surface, and the handful of s polyrhiza culls from the betta tank. I know those will probably die just as quickly- there's simply not enough ambient light in that location- but maybe not as much of a pain to clean up each week.

Their tail fins are growing back, though not as fast as the females'. They seem quite content in their little temporary home all by themselves- well, not _all_ alone- I added a few trumpet snails to help clean up food on the bare bottom. The barbs often swim up and down and around in the corner of the sponge filter, playing in the current.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*Looks like I lost a shrimp recently*

I found it when I was watering plants outside, saw something on the soil like a bit of red leaf? picked it up, it was a shrimp from my tank.








This time I'm pretty sure it's not a shed exoskeleton, but the shrimp itself. Surprised how red it is. Must have siphoned it out of the main tank by accident last time I did a water change, and didn't see it in the bottom of an orange bucket. Until I watered plants. So now I only have three or four amanos, depending on whether or not the _last _one I accidentally siphoned really was a shrimp or its shed skin...


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I've had to move my fishes around again. 








Two of the older serpaes in the main tank have been looking poorly lately- paler than the others and hiding. The one with bulging eyes is starting to look very thin, it does come out to feed but at the very end when there's not much left. The one missing an eye still had good color, but hid behind the driftwood almost constantly. I'd see it come out after dark, but it would just hang still in a corner of the tank, not interacting with other fish or coming to eat. It must have fed at some point because wasn't emaciated like the other one... So the other day while doing tank maintenance I saw the one-eyed fish laying on its side under some plants. Did not look good at all. I nudged it and it scooted a short distance, hung up in some stems head down gasping. It was so listless I practically caught it with my hand. I was debating whether to euthanize right then- I've never had fish doing this badly recover, and I don't know what's really wrong with it anyway- so for the time being I gently put it in a small bucket of tank water with plant trimmings, put a towel over the bucket to shield it, and left it there while I went on working. The fish didn't make it. I buried it under the forsythia- that is becoming my burial tree.

Meanwhile thought I ought to catch the skinny one with popeye, to see if I could treat it. I gave it an epsom salt bath and moved it into QT. There were four new serpae tetras in QT- I've had them almost a week now. They are younger, smaller than my adopted tetras, and curiously have distinguishing marks. On the first six, the spot near the eye is oblong, a flame shape. On these newer fish, is a small faded blot, almost just a dot. I wonder if all the individuals from that certain spawning have this smaller mark, or will it change when they grow up? These four were settling in, a bit nervous still, I've kept a bit of cloth draped across the back. Same day that I lost Blank and took the popeyed tetra out of the main tank, I saw that the two smaller ones in QT were getting beat up by the bigger two- chunks out of their dorsal and tail fins. Sigh. It reminds me of when I tried to get otocinclus- they would always die in quarantine because I couldn't keep enough algae going to feed them. How can I keep these fish in QT where they get harassed so? I thought four would be enough to have a relatively peaceful space, but no. They all have great color, though.








So- I swapped them. Moved the bigger two young serpaes into the main tank, and put the popeyed skinny older one into QT. Now there's three in QT- one loosing weight and bulging eyes I'm not sure how to treat but figure extra clean water can't hurt so I'm doing daily 25% wc. The two new ones I hope to see their fins grow back before I introduce them into the main. In that regard, the fiesty pair I put in there are doing great. They're quick enough to avoid getting injured by the bigger fish asserting themselves, but can't bully anyone else now, ha. So I see lots of chasing but no damaged fins. And once again I feel like I'm seeing relief of an influence of fear- I have the same number of fish in here, six.

And suddenly I see all my fish again. None are hiding now the sick ones are out of here- up until now they mostly hung out in the back under the aponogetons during the day, coming out to feed and in the dawn/dusk hours. I was beginning to think this species just doesn't like bright light. But now that the individuals have been shuffled around, if I look at the tank from across the room, I often see four, five, six fish out and about in the open. If I walk up they move quickly back into hiding, but are far more confident now. It's nice to see them!








They're starting to learn, too. One will come up to investigate when I open the lid. I'm teaching a signal- I do a gentle repeated tap on the support bar of the frame just before feeding. Most of them come out of hiding at that signal, now. They are kind of picky about food, though. I found the refusal of dandelion leaf was just because it had been in the fridge a few days- next time I offered that fresh prepared from the garden and it was gobbled up. Today I offered them aphids and other assorted tiny bugs from the garden- however the insects had been in the fridge a few days (cold enough to start a film of ice, so still ok in terms of freshness I think). The serpaes bit and spit, didn't really seem to like the bugs this time. I dumped a clump of the same bugs in the window tank next door, and those cherry barbs swarmed all over it in a flash. _They_ don't refuse anything!

I have noticed one downside to feeding so much fresh foods, though. The suction cups holding heaters and things onto the back tank wall have gotten awfully scummy with that white biofilm- in my other tanks, too.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*Just a quick note-*

I will update more when have pics again. I bought two new amano shrimp, so have at least five again now. I moved the three serpaes in from QT. The older one with popeye (I unfortunately always think of him as bug-eyed so his name is Buggy) is looking better- it has gained some weight no longer thin and pinched looking- left eye looks almost normal, swelling has gone down in the right. Color still a bit poor with the mark on side faded/gray, but I read recently that this happens when they get old... The two younger, new tetras I had in QT started to grow their fins back. Smallest one is the boldest to come for food. Larger of the two very shy and hung in the back of the tank breathing hard. I thought it was mostly from stress? in the bare bottom tank stresses them out, they seem continually nervous I really wanted to put these three fish into the main tank- it was due for second round of levamisole treatment- which boosts the immune system too I've been told- so maybe that would be good for these guys plus the entire day of darkness calm them down.

So I took a chance, even though the newer guys had only been in QT a week and a half..... and wow they were excited when I floated them temporarily in a plastic bag in the main tank. _Pressing_ against the corner trying their hardest to swim through the barrier into the main. They wanted back in there with their buddies_ immediately_. Now I have nine. 

In darkness now, and tomorrow I will see how they're doing.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Well, good news is: my shrimps survived the levamisole dose just fine, although the newer two still look very pale. My kuhli Sassy is putting weight back on- the head no longer looks wider than body, and is getting some decent girth. So glad to see that.

Bad news: the tetra I thought looked poorly is dead. It wasn't just stress- there was white patch on the upper part of the mouth? and when I pulled the body out and looked close- the top of the mouth was gone- degraded- eaten away by something? I looked at the other small, newer tetra and it was starting to show similar symptoms- hanging in the upper portion of the water or hiding under plants, sitting still, not responding much to things, breathing hard. Peering _very_ close it looks like there's two small white tufts on top of nose. Fungus? I decided to treat with API Fungus Cure (Victoria Green B and Acriflavine)- it can also treat popeye and guess what, when I set a baited food trap, the only two fish that didn't approach curiously and start displaying/chasing were those two- Buggy and this smallest tetra... That says something to me about how they're feeling... 

Buggy's eyes are looking better, by the way. But I felt like I ought to give him a dose anyway. The small tetra is also the only one whose fins aren't growing back. Everyone else looks pretty darn spunky.

It was difficult to catch them in the planted tank, since they weren't interested in going near the food trap. I tried a few times to guide into a corner w/net and cup, but then did something new (for me). Got two small panes of lexan -leftover from when I made my sliding lid. I put one upright to block an area- then it was suddenly easy to guide the fish against it. They panicked when ran up against a barrier where there used to be none- and I caught my two fish within five minutes. 

They're in green water in hospital tank now...


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I have felt a bit glum about my main tank, lately. Mostly for the fishes. 








After the dose of levamisole, all my kuhlis are doing well. This is Tiger, looking as if he's gazing out of the window. The other striped one Sassy, is getting some girth now.








Sometimes they still scare me. I know they like to hang out and drape over plants to relax- in alarmingly still poses- and I've gotten used to that. But this one was hanging completely still with its tail curved up. The only other time I've seen a fish with the body curved in a stiff _u_ like that was a dead one. I watched him a long time and then gently nudged him. Relieved to see him scurry away!








The serpae tetras are fewer in numbers. After Blank died, I lost the one with popeye as well, and another that had got fungus on the mouth. Few days later another tetra in the main showed signs of fungus on the head. I put it in quarantine and treated it with kanaplex. Looked as if the fungus spots on the head were gone, but the mouth was deformed- as if the fungus ate it away, or part of the jaw broke off. It wasn't eating and I had to euthanize.... I've kept a close eye on the five left in the main tank and they look healthy, although the largest, oldest one seems lethargic- it always comes out last of all to eat... Don't want to get any new ones until I'm sure that none of the others are going to come down with something...








You can see in that last pic of them how my flame moss in front is shorter- I trimmed it recently, started two new stones. It does seem to be growing in thicker now.
















This bit of hydrocotyle tripartita I moved over from the betta tank has been slowly growing too, but I can't figure out where to put it so I am just letting it float. I thought it would look cool twining around the filter outtake hose, but can't get it to stay in place there.








The anubias afzelii I moved into background is recovering- no more black spots and it has a new leaf growing.








Bolbitis fern is finally becoming somewhat visible- helped by the fact that I removed another few of those unknown crypts in the front (sold). Their longer leaves are becoming dark blue-green now. And the long crypt becketti leaves, with their olive green hue, have grown through the crypt wendtii now and surpassed it in height. Making an interesting cluster there, which I don't yet have a good photo of.








Other notes on plants: my elodea is doing really well now. When it grows a new shoot, the other terminal end doesn't die back, they both stay green. Bits that break off I'm putting in the window tank. Hornwort was really healthy this past week- so thick with many stems I didn't even bother to unhook and trim from the base end (which is usually weaker/deteriorating) but just pinched it back to a new plume. Watersprite on the other hand, looks terrible. I wonder if because hornwort crowded it out and hogged all the nutrients. One of my aponogeton crispus sent out a flower stalk again! But I accidentally chopped it in half, shutting the tank lid.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*Here's my thirty-eight after two weeks of no attention*









it was hands-off, just minimal feeding (less than half the norm). Seems like the plants hardly noticed. A few crypts and aponogetons bleached out a leaf or two is all. Hornwort grew like crazy, I had to trim every single stem of that, by more than half. Put a lot into the window tank as floaters. One plant that did deteriorate a lot was the watersprite. It looks terrible. Worse than when I first started and didn't know about dosing ferts. I guess when there was competition at the surface with few nutrients, hornwort won out. Back on schedule today. A benefit of feeding less, is the shrimps appear to work harder! Usually my flame moss and subwassertang have had tiny tufts of algae hairs (very pale, almost clear) but now that is almost all gone. I am really liking these two amano shrimp. They are very bold. They come right to the front of the tank and grab for food amongst the kuhli loaches. I often see them in the daytime scaling plants right out in the middle of things, and one of them likes to get up to the surface and scavenge among the hornwort needles. It's funny to see him scurrying around upside-down there. The serpae tetras are getting more responsive to my presence- they come out pretty quickly to see if there's food now. But still, only the younger (smaller) ones will eat frozen bugs - aphids mostly- from my garden. The bigger fish spit it out. Kuhlis, shrimps, and in the other tank, the swordtail and catfishes, aren't as picky. Samblu (in the tenner) won't touch them. He'll eat frozen moths and caterpillars, but doesn't seem to like aphids unless they're fresh. Hm.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*some updates*

*07/06-* Got three new serpae tetras. I wanted particular ones out of the store tank, because many in there had torn fins, dorsals half ripped off, color washed out from stress. I could tell the employee (she said she was new) was really doubtful about catching the particular individual fish I wanted out of a darting, frantic school of twenty, so I very nicely asked if I could catch them myself, and she was relieved to let me! With some patience I got the trio I'd had my eye on, pleased. 








They also didn't seem stressed while floating in the bag, just eager to get into the tank with the other serpaes who came over to check them out. When released into the tank dashed around getting acquainted with the resident school while the kuhlis below scrambled around after the food I'd dropped in.









*07/07-* One of the new tetras has white on the lip it's a blister looking thing, I've seen them have this before and it goes away. Normal response to my opening the lid and_ tap-tap_ has been for two or three of the boldest fish to come out to see, the rest follow slowly and the oldest one stays back in the plants until almost all the food is eaten. So I was happily surprised to see, the first morning after the new trio put in the tank, that when I approached to feed all eight fish came up front right away. They really do feel secure with greater numbers.

Almost every morning there is chasing, flirting and spawning going on after I feed them. It's different from how my cherry barbs were- the males would beg and pester and coax the females with their flipping pectoral fins. With the serpaes I've noticed it's the plumper females that seem to initiate mating- she will swim ahead of the other fish, quivering her entire body madly and flipping the pectorals in that begging gesture, circling around up behind and to the front to shake and entice again- then leading the male into the plant thicket to spawn. I just read an article about this species that confirms that yes, the female is the one who quivers in front of the male when she is ready. 

*07/09-* I noticed the other day a tetra seemed to have white on its mouth, but it was hard to see it well. Next day saw that it definitely looked like it had fungus or some disease- mouth and top of the head all white, it was hanging near the top of the tank breathing hard. I hurriedly set up a five-gallon tote for hospital with sponge filter half tank water, half new but when I went back to catch the fish (which was far too easy) it looked really bad. Parts of the eyes had white film over them and they bugged out, under the gills inflamed red, struggling for equilibrium and rolling upside down. I caught it gently as I could and moved into the emergency bin, but it couldn't right itself and died right there. I hate seeing fish die. It seemed to happen _so fast_. Buried under the forsythia. (Not the same fish that had the white blister on its lip)

Keeping an eye on the others- smallest one has kind of ragged fins, it probably gets picked on. Surprisingly they seem more confident, even with numbers down to seven again (maybe once again, the sick fish had made the others feel uneasy). Next morning when I walked by the tank, six of them were right out front, didn't even wait for the signal of me lifting the lid or tapping. I wanted to give them some fresh greens but all the lettuce and dandelions outside are bitter now. So I blanched and minced up a bit of celery leaf. Surprised how well they all liked it. Kuhlis, cories and Fabio in the window tank, all ate. It was hilarious to see the shrimps grab pieces of celery and walk off with it, I saw an Amano holding one piece while eating another.

A bit surprised that nitrates were still higher in the tank on cleaning day, at 40ppm. Plants look good though. Is it because I took out so much hornwort and the watersprite last week? Because a fish was ill, or have I lost a snail. I can only see two of my three nerites.

*07/11-* That smallest tetra with ragged fin has a white blob on edge of the dorsal. Might be a bit of fungus infection starting? At the same time, noticed there's a slight film on water surface. Checked the water quality, nitrates were normal at 20ppm, but I went ahead and did a small partial wc anyway. Since I wanted to remove some of that surface film, I was scooping water out with a cup, making a strong backflow to gather some leaf debris that was floating, too. And I caught this in the cup. 








A _spider_! In my tank! What, how? Looks like a hunting spider of some kind- I let it go in the garden. There's not much of a gap in my tank lid- maybe 1/8" around the filter pipes. That spider must have been seeking water, and found more than it expected! Glad I got it out, wondering if it was the cause of the film, hope there aren't anymore crazy arachnids in my tank (remember the slug?)

*07/15-* I cleaned out the canister filter this week. It was time- and that's probably the reason I had higher-than-normal nitrates the week before. Flow is much better now. My Amano shrimp have molted again- they look huge! For a week I've been doing small partial wc, daily because of the serpae with white blob on its fin. The fishes loved it, and the suspected fungus spot disappeared by thur- now it looks like healthy clear fin growing back. Some of the plants didn't. Hornwort has converted to short, denser needles again. Crypts are dropping some leaves. Subwassertang is one plant happy enough with the lower nutrients; its grown up so much starting to lift off the basket mesh surface. Time for a serious trim.

*07/17-* I have read often about how great mosquito larvae are for fish food- perfect nutrition. Even about how to collect them, but I never really recognized them until I peered close into this puddle in my yard on top of a tarp, and saw tiny things jerking around in the dim water. Not too hard to get them with a gentle siphon of finger on end of straw. They're evasive, though- especially the bigger ones- if see or sense end of the straw coming, jerk down to the bottom and I have to wait for them to come up to the surface again. Their movement is very herky jerky. I've got some in my little idea of a container pond, too- in spite of having laid a piece of window screen over it apparently a mosquito got in.

I don't want to put the dirty water in my tank, though. To clean the larvae first I pour them through a fine mesh shrimp net, gets out most of the dirt. Then dump the trapped larvae into a small container of tank water. Let the remaining specks of dirt settle. Siphon out the larvae into another jar of clean water. Siphon back out of that jar individual specks of dirt that still get through. Then I hope it's pretty clean, or at least diluted enough. Doesn't take long to do.

Adult serpaes _absolutely love_ to eat these little wiggly things. And I really like this form of pest control!


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Very nice tank and I like your aquascaping - hope you don't mind but I may take some plant and tip ideas from you for my tank - except of course that spider! lol (we really don't get spiders that big down here in Florida - you northerners get all the big bugs!)


Watch out for mosquito larvae - if they somehow survive in the tank they will hatch into mosquito's and then you'll have them flying around in your house, and biting you! I feed them to my cherry barbs and my wife's friend asked me if I was going to give my fish Zika. Oh boy.


Congrats on the new serpae additions.


Mark


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Aframomum said:


> Very nice tank and I like your aquascaping - hope you don't mind but I may take some plant and tip ideas from you for my tank - except of course that spider! lol (we really don't get spiders that big down here in Florida - you northerners get all the big bugs!)


Thanks. I'm flattered that you found my tank inspiring! Please do- I'd love to see how yours turns out. The spider really wasn't that big, it's just a very close-up photo. It was maybe half an inch across.


Aframomum said:


> Watch out for mosquito larvae - if they somehow survive in the tank they will hatch into mosquito's and then you'll have them flying around in your house, and biting you! I feed them to my cherry barbs and my wife's friend asked me if I was going to give my fish Zika. Oh boy.


Ok. So far I have not seen any get to pupal stage- it looks as if they are all eaten immediately. That's funny. I don't think mosquito larvae can transmit _any_ disease to fish? I looked it up before I started feeding them.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*a few new pics*

fulltank shot: with the subwassertang recently cut back, revealing all my young crypts-








Here's my young crypt wendtii- and there's another one further back sprouted up near the driftwood.








and a bunch of little crypt petchii








I don't know why this young one of the unnamed green cluster is still slower-growing than the others








My one buce in here- 'emerald green' - is doing surprisingly well, sprouting a new leaf.








Hygro thicket has gotten very tall, I've let it grow higher than usual.








More pictures coming soon! I'm trying to get some photos of the individual serpae tetras, because I'm slowly starting to think if them by name... but it's hard. They often spend the afternoon just resting each in its own spot around the tank, rather motionless- but once I lift the camera up they dart away to hide in the plants of course.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Nice photo's - your close-ups are always clear. Hope your serpaes are getting more comfortable with their new home. 


Actually I think she was kidding about the Zika thing. I'm sure the fish aren't at any risk. 


I must say that you have some very fine tuned fingers for attaching all the plants to different surfaces in your tank. I finally attached my one small anubias today to a plastic plant base with some fishing line - it must have taken me multiple tries and at least 20 minutes before I got it. It was quite the challenge to say the least! 


My 20L journal is here if you want to take a look (its had some ups and downs): http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/12-tank-journals/1179401-20-gallon-transition.html


Mark


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Well although my other two have troubles, I'm pretty happy with my main tank this week. So I took a bunch of pictures. Trimming of algae-ridden and dead leaves was really minimal, and when I went to scrape dark algae spots off the inner glass didn't find as much as usual. I trimmed and replanted most of the bacopa stems and the tallest hygro- this pic was taken just before that.








After waiting so long, the crypt balansae- one of my favorites- is finally starting to grow taller and show up in the background. There's actually two back there- a baby one from piece of the rhizome I separated. I like how it's mixed in with the vallisneria foliage. Just to the left and base of that 'grassy' stuff, can see the java ferns regrowing- they look really healthy although still short.








One plant that rarely needs a trim got two leaves taken off this week- echinodorus in the front corner had some black algae spots on lower leaves. I do like this plant, it would be nice to have it more of a focal point but I don't want to move it, seems to grow slowly.








A while ago I took the rubber band off the base of aponogeton capuronii. I got the sense it didn't like that- foliage wasn't looking quite healthy and I think part of the reason was the constriction. I thought it would sprawl out and get in the way of everything but has taken to growing more upright- and rooting itself down off to the side of that huge bulb, which is beginning to shrink, too.








My aponogeton crispus have all 'hit the ceiling' and this time I am letting them trail across. Crypts stand more upright beneath them now. Other plants don't seem too shaded- in fact maybe it is helping against algae. I do believe my oto is starting to look a bit thin- considering moving him into the widow tank for a while... when that's all sorted out. (He ignores zucchini and wafers, so I don't know what to feed him if the algae is diminished. Maybe I need to pick out some snails and reduce the competition).
















Photo of the 'apono wall' taken from low angle.








Left front of the tank- I love how it's starting to fill in. 








Short end- this side looks - cluttered? I think it would appear tidier, and the pretty bolbitis fern more easy to admire- if I moved the crypt retrospiralis. But I don't know where else to put those... unless I add them to the 'grassy' patch in the back.








Other short end is nice and neat- enchinodorus front corner, clump of bacopa centerpiece, elodea thicket in the back (getting thin because I keep putting cuttings of it in the window tank instead of replanting here).


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*kuhli loaches!*

I really do like these guys, and haven't featured them in a long time. Here's one of the black ones- I think it's Sid- resting in the bolbitis fern.








Sid again- on substrate at front of the glass. A bit out of focus, but I'm always pleased to see their barbels in nice condition.








Too much red in this pic because the light fixture was ramping down in 'sunset' mode- a kuhli draped across windelov ferns, resting. I still feel a bit alarmed when I come across them lying limp like that!








Funny thing recently about the kuhlis. In spite of how I questioned the quality of hikari sinking wafers in another thread, I went back to the store again looking for another food for my cories, and got it anyway. Nothing else looked better. I've been giving it to the cories every other day, and started offering some to the kuhli loaches in this tank, too. I try to feed the tetras on one side of the tank, and drop the sinking wafers in a thicket of plants on the other side, in hopes of keeping the tetras from finding it as quickly. They aren't as avid to feed off the bottom as the barbs were, but will shoulder their way in and dart for a bite. I think they've bitten a few of my kuhlis, too! some have pieces of their tails missing, darn. This time I fed after lights-out, hoping that would keep the tetras from finding the food so easy.

I want to keep giving these wafers because something notable happened. After an _entire year _of remaining skinny while the others gained weight, my striped kuhli Sassy has changed for the better this week. Sassy used to hang back and approach slowly kind of disorientated or uninterested, when food was offered. I was starting to wonder what other kind of treatment I could give it, after so many rounds of parasite meds not sure what else to do... Then yesterday I saw that this kuhli wasn't looking quite as thin, almost normal body weight (the others are getting hefty). Today I saw that when I dropped in wafers, Sassy moved quickly across the substrate beelining for the thicket where the food was. I haven't seen that fish move so fast in _ages_. I do think something about this food is better for it! 

But it cracks me up how the amano shrimp steal it. A wafer is as big around as the shrimp's entire body circumfrence, but the amano takes the whole thing! I've seen a shrimp do this twice now. Three or four kuhlis will be crowded around the wafer nibbling on it, all their energetic wiggling- and the shrimp calmly walks up between them, picks up the wafer, and simply walks off with it. Haha! I have to get a photo of it next time, it looks like a _huge_ amount of food for one shrimp.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I'm planning to get a few new fish soon- paradise fish for my window tank, another tetra (or two or three) and maybe a few amano shrimps for the main. This time I want to properly seed the quarantine filter- before I have always just taken substrate out of the betta's sponge filter, or swapped out the sponges- but I still often get a cycle on the QT tank that's not good. 

I have ordered another corner box filter for my QT- it can hold more media. I opened up my canister midweek to add some sterilized pieces of extra sponge between the layers in there- in the process doing a small partial wc on the tank of course, and rinsed out the upper layers of sponge and poly. I didn't rinse out the lower coarse sponge or the ceramic rings but poured out the water- wow it was dirty! Maybe I should stick with my once-a-month routine of cleaning this filter. 

I thought last time I did something like this I had pulled out all the extra sponge pieces, but found some were still in the canister. So when the box filter comes in a few days I plan to set up the QT tank and run it with those sponge pieces- they've been in the canister for weeks if not months now- the ballast for the filter (and final layer the water flows thru) will be gravel from the destination tank and sintered glass media out of the canister- both well-established- so I hope this will avoid a cycle.

Looking forward to some fish!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*more new stuff!*

*Leaves-* I have been thinking for a long time about adding a bit of leaf litter to my aquariums- in particular I wanted to get indian almond leaf, or catappa, for my betta tank. It's said to have antibacterial properties that help keep the fish healthy, as well as lowering pH which is more like the waters they naturally come from. I found a company that sources leaves, seed pods, driftwood and other natural materials from around the world specifically for use in natural style aquiarums: Tannin Aquatics. They very kindly sent me a sample package. Reading on their site I found out about more kinds of leaves that are good for fish health, or grow microscopic biofilm that feeds shrimp and cories. Also my tetras would like the tannins and softer water the leaf litter creates, too.








My package included three jackfruit leaves, one loquat leaf, four guava leaves and seven catappa.








As per recommendations on the site I started prep by gently boiling some of the leaves- loquat for twenty minutes, guava and jackfruit for 10-15 (added in stages).








Then put them to soak in freshly dechlorinated water with carbon (for cleansing). The catappa leaves are more fragile- I didn't boil them but just put in the soak. I don't have loose carbon in a bag but I do have some cartridges with activated carbon for a filter I don't use anymore, so I put one of those in the bucket:








I'm starting with a very minimal amount of leaves because I'm not sure how much it will change the pH, and I don't think I want the tank waters stained dark. I'm kind of testing that effect beforehand- as I change out the water from the soaking bucket, I save some in a little jar so I can see each day how the tannins reduce. First changeout the water was quite golden. Second it was pale, barely noticeable. Maybe next time I'll just soak one day- the tannins is what benefits the tank, so I don't want to remove _all_ of it... (but I don't want brown water, either).

*Bolbitis-* ROAK from @Karackle (thanks!). This box was _way_ more generous than the bit I got from an online seller in november. Laid out in the bottom of my eight-gallon QT bin here- so you can see the size.








How lovely green








In my package there were four very nice-sized rhizomes, plus three smaller ones and a tiny baby frond growing off one of the main pieces.








I thought bolbitis fern mainly grew by extending the rhizome, but this one surprised me (just like the windelov)- the baby plant has a tiny rhizome growing off of a root hair.

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The algae and necrotic tissue I had to clean off was minimal. I found only one pond snail, and while wiping leaves with my fingers, dislodged an egg mass. For now the plants are in the QT bin with aeration- I have to figure out where I will move the crypt retrospiralis to, before I can plant them in that spot in the tank (picturing a full thicket on the left side, in front of the filter intake).


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*serpae roll call*

I can identify my individual tetras now, and am starting to think of them by name. They each have a black mark behind the gills, with a distinctive shape. I was curious if I actually had a fry from these tetras, would I be able to guess at the parents by the size/shape of its marking...?

This is *Diamond*, the 'boss' fish, dominant in the aquarium. You can tell because all the fins are in perfect condition- no torn or uneven edges. Nobody touches Diamond. Its mark (I still have trouble telling apart males and females) has very crisp edges at the bottom, ending in a neat point. I've also noticed when it swims, momentarily there's a bright horizontal line where the tail fin creases on itself.
















*Spark* is my oldest serpae tetra, the only 'adopted' one I have left. Its mark is similar to Diamond's but not as crisp. It is often rather faded, more of a liver color. It also sits more in the back hiding under aponogetons, and usually comes out last to feed (but then eagerly, as if it had just woken up). I call it Spark because it was among those who first triggered my interest in keeping this species. Also it has a few individual scales on its flanks that really gleam and reflect the light- one on the left and two on the right side. These photos are a bit blurry but I was trying to catch that gleam.
















*Dot*- name is self-explanatory. Shy fish. Hides a lot. Usually in the back with Spark unless its feeding time.








*Broad*. Or sometimes, just *Wide*. The spot on its side is so wide compared to the others. Like someone blotted it with a fat sharpie marker.








*Lino*. This one's mark by contrast is very narrow. Like a line.








*Truck*. His marking is roughly square with two circular blots underneath. I used to think of it as 'Note' but Truck is better. He's pretty bold.
















*Punk*- this is a very poor picture since it is one of the more active fish- seems to have the biggest personality. This fish is displaying and showing off to the others all the time. It tries so hard to be important in spite of being smaller (is my thought). It jerks the dorsal fin wide and swaggers around- once my daughter's friend was visiting and looking at the fish laughed: "that one looks like it has a mohawk!" Punk's marking is rather indistinct, kind of like Truck's but with just an uneven smudge under the squarish shape.








The name of this photo in my files is _punk gleam spark_ and even though it's blurry, shows the distinctive features well. Spark above- you can see the gleaming pair of scales. Punk on the bottom has his fins jerked wide as possible in display and I caught on camera this particularly striking move where the displaying fish tilts its body perpendicular to the water surface so the light bounces off its side. They flash and shine- bright like brand new pennies. It's wonderful to watch.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*new serpaes*

The other day I went to the lfs and they had no serpae tetras. I did get three more amano shrimp for this tank- my older ones are looking _huge_ and someone at the fish club told me once they reach inch and a half in size, that's it, end of lifespan (about a year). These new shrimps are so little in comparison! I'm trying to find a chance to get a photo of two side-by-side, new and old so you can see what difference.

Today I had a chance to visit someone a few towns south of me who had lots of tanks- literally, two main rooms of his house they line the walls. It was _awesome_. He mostly breeds cichlids but had a community tank of various tetras- I got three to round out my school at ten. (He was only re-homing because his girlfriend wants more colorful fish in the tank.) All his fish looked in excellent condition, I have no fear of bringing disease home, but well, just for temporary observation have this new trio in my ten-gallon QT- for at least a week or two. 

The new serpaes look great in there- cautious but relatively relaxed- no clamped fins or hiding. I have it draped for darkness today. Didn't notice this when I was helping the guy catch the fish- but one looks like it doesn't have the typical dark marking behind the gills. At first I thought it was a different species of very similar tetra? But looking _very_ close I can see the faintest mark in that area. I wonder when the fish is colored up will it be a pale gray smudge or still barely visible. Looks so different.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

New serpaes settled in very well overnight. I uncovered the tank this morning. They ate a bit of flake and are pretty lively. Not nervous of my presence but they _are_ camera-shy so this was the best I could do for photos. You can see that they have wonderful color and their fins are in good shape- and they were flirting and displaying to each other. (Upper left is the one with very faint side mark)








One looks like a gravid female-








lower right, the one with the faint almost-missing mark.








My new box filter came in yesterday- a Lee's economy corner filter. Before that I had this QT set up with just small sponge. I suspected it wasn't enough for three adult fish. I filled the corner filter with the bit of blue/white media and larger gravel pieces out of that sponge filter, also added from the 38's canister sintered glass media, three layers of sponges and two of poly.








I thought this would house plenty of bacteria- it is easily five times or more the surface area of media than the smaller filter had (whose sponge piece I dropped back in the tank for the bacteria it holds, btw). But this morning I have ammonia reading 0.25. I guess it still needs to catch up to the fish load. (The sponge pieces did get a bit of a rinse when I added them to the filter, just because they got dunked in tank water- but I didn't _squeeze_ them out.)

So between this and the window tank, I now have two different styles of box filter- both made by the same company. They each have pros and cons, I have found out. The triple-flow one in my window tank has better design for drawing up water flow from underneath- but it is trickier to cut media size to fit- and the plastic seems thinner, more prone to breaking. It is quieter of the two, the air stone inside breaks up the flow into small bubbles. I don't mind its sound. (Granted, you're actually supposed to put in loose carbon and filter floss- that easily fills up the space. But since I wanted to use media out of the other filter I did it this way. Just have to be sure there's no bypass. Same with below).

This newer one feels sturdier, and it's a lot easier to fit media inside- I just cut a simple wedge, then poked a hole in the sponge or poly and tore it to make space for the air tubes. It also sits on the bottom well, I have no issues with it floating up. Downside is the noise. There's no airstone, it makes loud bubbles. I reduced the air flow a little. I guess it doesn't matter so much as this is temporary setup, and if I'm going to set it up in a hurry sometime for hospital tank it's easier to have a simple design for fitting the media in (if the fish go thru QT without needing meds, I will just lightly rinse the media and return it to the main canister until next time. But if I had fish in QT with some highly contagious, nasty disease -and couldn't be sure to kill it by sterilizing- I'd throw away the sponges and media, re-cut new spares next time).


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Got the corner filter a little quieter on the ten-gallon QT. It had some air bubbles stuck inside among the sponge layers. I carefully removed the lid while it was still in the tank (unplugged) and using a wooden skewer gently worked around the edges of the sponges to release the bubbles. There's still some air stuck down in the bio-media balls though- it periodically goes _blub blub blub_ which is annoying. I'll try to get that out when I clean the filter in here.

You can see how crazy quick the roots of sweet potato vine grow- I put these cuttings in the QT for the serpaes just four days ago:








Incidentally, I no longer believe what is said that bare-bottom tanks make fish nervous. My serpaes that were acting nervous in QT before? probably because they were _unwell_. These serpae tetras act just like those in my main tank- come up to the front in hopes of getting fed, spar among themselves, I have even seen spawning behavior. My cherry barbs played in QT. Behavior really can be telling. I think the ones that come in from chain pet stores exposed to myriad disease and probably traumatized from being handled roughly or bad water conditions- those cower, hide, act nervous and shy. These serpaes I got from the home of another aquarist- they act totally confident and look vividly healthy (knock on wood). I'm _so_ tempted to put them in the main tank already but going to wait...

I've named them already, so help me....


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

yeah it's a cycling happening now in both the QT tanks; that wasn't just an ammonia spike the other day. I thought with the media, plants and handfuls of substrate transfered, and since I had nitrate readings, they had an 'instant cycle.' Nope. This morning I was happy to have a clear _zero_ ammonia reading on both tanks, but then tested for nitrite- both high right now. Water changes in progress. I should not have been so impatient to get the fishes. They show no signs of distress, I just hope the cycle is over quickly and they will not suffer too much harm.

There was something of a scrum in my main tank this morning. I fed small caterpillars to the serpae tetras in hopes of keeping them busy while I dropped in sinking wafers for the kuhlis on the other end of the tank. It did not keep them busy long enough. The tetras were dashing around grabbing at wafers and every now and then someone would manage to carry one off a little ways before dropping it- in the process breaking them apart a little so I hope the kuhlis did get their share. Meanwhile the two largest amano shrimp each grabbed a wafer for itself, which still makes me laugh. A smaller amano tried to carry one away too, but it wasn't big enough to drag it far before a serpae nipped at it and the shrimp dropped its prize and scurried off, but not far before it came back- man those shrimp are bold!

There has been more scuffling lately among the fish. Truck and Lino both have torn fins, and Spark has a nip out of the dorsal, too. Diamond remains top of the pack. Of the three in QT, (which I have named, but not yet got individual pictures) 'Nito and Wedge appear to be dominant- Smudge has a bit of torn fins now. I hope when I get these three into the main tank the numbers in the school will be high enough the aggression will level out.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Cycle finished on the serpae's QT tank. I did a partial wc to lower nitrates and the fish were very flirtatious afterwards. The one I call 'Nito (very faint shoulder mark, so I think of it as an 'incognito fish') is definitely the dominant fish in there- her fins are untouched- and also definitely female. She's trying very hard to get the others to spawn. I can't tell if they are uninterested, or also happen to be female. It will be interesting to see when I introduce these to the main tank, if 'Nito and Diamond have a confrontation to see who is top of them all.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)




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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

My three newer serpae tetras have been in QT two weeks now- they look to be in robust health and show no signs of illness. The dominant female has three times been trying to encourage the others to mate. In fact the last time I think they did- I saw the quivering together and springing apart movement, and afterwards the two subordinate tetras were going around picking stuff off the bottom glass- probably the eggs.

This one is the boss female, 'Nito. She is really camera-shy so it was the best I could do for an individual photo. Afraid of me, but bullies the other fish- perfect finnage. Because of her faint shoulder mark that looks like someone erased it, I think of her as the 'incognito fish', thus her name.








Wedge has a shoulder mark very similar to that of Diamond and Spark in the main tank, but flatter on top. Tail is really getting bitten up.








I call this last one Smudge. Its marking is so very like Punk's that when they are in the same tank not sure if I will be able to tell them apart. (The face is not really as red as this picture makes it look)








The close similarity of these fish's markings to others in the main tank makes me think they came from the same set of parents at whatever fish farm they originated... even if a different spawning, I wonder if they would have inherited the same looks.

Anyway, even though they don't look to have fungus or fin rot from the damage, Smudge was starting to hide behind the filter to keep away from 'Nito, and I got worried watching them beat each other up in QT once again. I decided to move them into the main tank already. Keeping QT set up for a few days so if needed can isolate them again. I acclimated them to the main tank in the evening, after lights-off (and they don't turn on again until noon the next day, so a good amount of time to settle in).

As before, when floating the serpaes were eager to get through the plastic barrier into the tank proper - as soon as they saw others of their kind in there. Some of the residents came up to check them out. When I netted them into the tank, there wasn't a large fight as I expected. Yes Diamond is chasing 'Nito around a lot, but they all seem relatively calm. Everyone came up eager to feed in the morning. I don't see any new fin damage. I gave them some small worms from my bin (washed in tank water), and those fish went wild! There was a ton of flirting, chasing and sparring going on. I saw Diamond, Nito and Wedge all doing the begging spawning shimmy in front of others, attempting to lead them into thickets. They all still look very healthy but Smudge's fins are pretty ragged and Lino is avoiding everyone else, those two seem to get the worst of it.

While the serpaes were so busy trying to grab each other's worms and chasing around, I fed the kuhlis sinking wafers on the other end of the tank. Shrimps came in to steal their share, again. One of my smaller Amano shrimp looks different this morning it doesn't move the swimmerets legs and looks bulgy underneath. I do think it is berried! That will be my first one to do so. (I know they will just become fish treats)


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

It's nice to have a decent school of fish in here again. They seem to have figured out most of their disagreements- I don't see chasing as much anymore, just a few displays now and then- and all the torn fins are growing back. The newer fishes are learning quickly to come to the top corner for food when I tap- and they all look health- nobody sick since the introduction.

The other day I tried feeding crushed shrimp pellet bits to the tetras on one end while I dropped a whole pellet for the kuhlis on the other end. One serpae tetra grabbed the whole pellet and was dashing around trying to hide with everyone chasing it. I was afraid this fish might choke like Pinkie did- his mouth was streched painfully wide with half the pellet sticking out. He was so busy avoiding the other fish didn't see me with a net so I caught him against the glass- that startled him enough to drop the food so I guess it wasn't actually stuck in his mouth. I stuck the food piece under a log where the swarm of kuhlis kept the tetras at bay for a while.

Something is off with my plants- I don't find as much black algae spots on the glass this past week but more is showing up on plant leaves: various crypts, aponogetons, the echinodorus. I have a_ third _aponogeton sending out a flower shoot. But some of the apono leaves and more of the bacopa have holes- looks like decay. I have a suspicion the aponos are finally overwhelming my tank, blocking light and hogging nutrients from the other plants? 

I'm considering removing the three largest, or even all of them.... but not sure yet as it will be very hard to get them out w/out making a big mess of my tank... and I am not actually sure if _they_ are the real problem.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Still in transition- three of my aponogeton crispus gone, and the last two are sold, due to go out the door in a week and half. I was pretty despondent about that for a while- but I can already tell the other plants are responding to the absence- growing greener, thicker now they have more light. I didn't realize how much the aponos were actually crowding them. It looks pretty thinned out- two of those plants I removed were pretty massive for this tank size...

Today I moved in the largest of the bolbitis ferns I got from another member weeks ago- having finally taken down the QT. Also bought two gel packs of hygrophila corymbosa at the store- they were kind of pathetic- this was the total sum of stems from both packs.









I want more of these bright leafy stems in the center of my tank, and I figure the best way to find out if what I have actually is hygro was to get more of it and see if it transitions to look the same. The first pack I bought was labeled 'temple plant', this one was 'hygro compact' underneath said _hygro corymbosa_ I think it's the same thing will find out soon enough and know for sure.

I am not sure if I will keep flame moss- it looks terrible. Thin and pale, wispy, black algae marks on the stones. Might just scrap that idea. Still have a bit of fissidens on the driftwood, but it is overwhelmed by the bolbitis (which is looking great!).

Elodea thicket is dying off, and springing up new shoots a much brighter green. Crypts are all putting out new leaves. I'm thinking of soon buying a few more plants online- definitely want some more apono capuronii to fill in the space (they stay smaller, especially if I trim to train height right off the bat this time)....


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*berried shrimps!*

End of last week I noticed something different about my amano shrimps. The two largest were definitely berried- carrying eggs in their swimmeretes. Looking close I could see small dots in the center of each tiny egg- rows and rows of them thick under the shrimp. Here's the best I could do at photos. On one shrimp the eggs looked very pale grey or clear-
















and when she perched underneath an aponogeton leaf, the eggs looked green from the light coming through the leaf!








The other shrimp, her eggs appeared to be orange. I don't know what causes the variation
















Here you can see both of them- the one with orange eggs on the left, the one with pale eggs on the right, lower part of the intake sponge. Up top on the intake tube there's a smaller amano shrimp.








The shrimp were flipping their swimmerete legs to fan the eggs, a motion that seemed odd when I first saw it, that's what made me notice. I really wanted to see it happen when they dropped the eggs or released the larval zoes- which I know won't survive, just be fish snacks- but I missed the moment. Next day the shrimps' swimming legs looked free of burden, and they were rubbing/cleaning them in another motion I hadn't seen before. Well, maybe there will be a next time. I've read that once they start producing eggs, the female shrimps are constantly carrying some. (No big deal for regular shrimp keepers I suppose, but for me the first time seeing berried shrimp in my tank was exciting).

Younger amano and an older one- they're catching up fast!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I'm noticing more changes since I took out those large apono crispus. More black algae spots cropping up on buce and larger anubias. So I took out the last of the buces this past friday- half into my tenner where they seem to do best. Thinking of doing the same with anubias afzelii and anubias congensis...








The two bolbitis pieces I experimentally put in the window tank don't look so happy- at least, they are not doing anything. No growth, no obvious decay either. But the larger rhizomes and fronds I put in this tank- they all have new fiddleheads coming up! I am so happy. You can just see one here in the center of the photo, above the subwassertang.








I love fiddlheads. Here's a tiny one coming off the java fern 'windelov', has just uncurled:








My other windelov in here is starting to 'walk' off the anchor stone. I shoved a small flat rock up underneath the rhizome that's extending, hope it will attach itself then I can cut loose and have a new piece.








Here's new stems of hygro corymbosa I planted. I'm waiting to see what shape the new leaf growth has. If it keeps different form than the other, I'll assume my older plants are hygro polysperma? (I'm not the only one confused about this- found several forum conversations where people are trying to figure out exactly which form of hygrophila their 'temple plant' is. Maybe it's a hybrid?)








original hygro thicket in the rear, new stem planting in front of it.








the bolbitis fronds:








I've noticed with removal of those aponogetons, there is better current in the tank. I think the long leaves were obstructing the flow! More plants sway gently now, and I hadn't seen that effect in a long time. Also elodea is showing much better color than it has in a long time, and hornwort on the surface is growing out, nicely spaced needles again. I don't know how the apono leaves could have kept light from hornwort, as the stems floated above them. Guess they were simply competing for nutrients.

My fish seem to appreciate the more open space to swim around in. But they also seem to feel a bit exposed- when I walk near the tank they bunch up, all dart off in the same direction. Seem to feel the need to stick together now. I actually like seeing that- it is pretty to see the fish moving together in tighter group. I hope they don't feel too distressed with the increase of open space









I got a few new plants this week. Hope they fill it back in (without being overwhelming like the apono crispus where). I ordered from a different company this time- WetPlants- figured it would get to me quick as they are located relatively close in NY.

Last two aponos are not out yet... but their replacement is these capuronii bulbs, which probably won't grow out the roots in the few days' overlap. So they can start to adjust in the tank, and get moved into their location after I pull the crispus. Not too attractive, are they. But hey, if they grow I'm fine with it.








I was a bit surprised at the crypt parva- I guess I should have paid more attention to the description and ordered a grown pot of it. I received two crowns, and they're three times the height crypt parva grows in my tank. Probably it will melt and revert to smaller size... I was looking forward to separating out tons of tiny plants to fill the foreground of my tenner with this... not happening now.








Here it's in the tank- there's an established (if that's the right word) crypt parva just in front of it on the left. (Nice bolbitis behind!)








The crypt balansae I got is really robust looking! Its strapping leaves twice the width of mine in tank- but the roots are _short_. I wiggled them down into substrate and they held okay.








Well, I don't have a full tank shot yet because it's looking really disorganized now.... in a few days I'm finally pulling out those aponogetons, and re-situating some of these new plants, and then -waiting for it to grow in again.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Sold my last two aponogeton crispus. How I am going to miss that plant. As the smaller one was even smaller than I had estimated - I would have priced it lower had I seen it better before removing from the tank- the buyer accepted some bacopa cuttings to make it up.








Now my bacopa thicket is short and stubby- but multiplied in size. I took the cuttings just above where leaf die-off had occured on the lower portions. Then cut to the ground and replanted the short bare tops too. They ought to regrow. I've spread the bacopa thicket thus to the left, under the capruonii. Which really has space now. My two new apono capuronii bulbs had to get shifted while I pulled the apono crispus- as I expected, they hadn't grown any roots yet- and they are both sprouting!








Siphoned out ten gallons of water while I was removing those plants- and still there was mulm and unearthed ferts from root tabs scattered through the water column. I tried to clear it all out. The shrimps look fine, and the tetras are not irritated- but some of my kuhlis are? When later I fed gold pearls the kuhlis went nuts digging after the bits in the substrate, and some of them would suddenly jolt back up again- I think they ran into fert particles.

I've replaced my heater- the prior one, although barely two years old, had water bubbles inside the glass. (It was made in china.... ) I removed it and dried it off and a day later there was _still_ water inside it. Which means it's leaking somewhere I guess, and would fail soon. I got a new 100w aqueon pro, now adjusting in the tank. It's nice and sleek, unobtrusive with the black housing.

Will get full-tank pics soon. I don't really like the way it looks right now, with hygro adjusting itself and bacopa all cut down and aponos missing.... the bolbitis ferns are lovely, though. Some of those fiddleheads are unfurling new leaves now. I expect the capuronii bulbs will shoot up lots of new leaves in the next week or so, _must_ remember to prune as they hit the surface, so I can train the plants to stay reasonable size...


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*well, here's what it actually looks like-*

feels so empty to me, with that green wall of apono crispus all gone...








I also recently moved all those 'basket' mounds of subwassertang to sit behind corners of things- a clump of windelov fern, an elbow of the driftwood- so now can see into the tank floor from the front. It's fun to have an open view of the kuhlis scurrying around again. While I was removing the sold plants, I realigned the tall bolbitis' rhizomes again- so as they extend go parallel to the tank wall not the angle they were at, would have hit it soon. Resituated one of the new crypt balansae- it won't stay down. I rubber-banded a glass bead to the backside of the stem at base. When it seems to have rooted I'll snip that off.

I have the two new aponogeton balansae spaced out so that when they grow up, will interweave through the fronds of bolbitis. I_ think _that may look nice; have to wait and see... one of them has a double crown like my first, so if I ever get brave enough to split those, I'd actually have _five_.

I'm kind of hoping to the effect of a gradual shift of plant leaf size/color of the same shape going through the tank- if I can describe my idea- so from left to right in the background: narrow leaves of vallisneria then wider leaves of crypt balansae, then apono capuronii which on the far end of the tank mingles with the narrow crypt becketti petechii in front... and same kind of drift with the hygrophila thicket, then a few stems of rotala, some of ludwigias, mixing into bacopa stand which fades out with elodea thicket in the back corner... it's a visual thing I don't know if I can make it look like what I imagine.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

The other day, midweek, I noticed more fine particles than normal, loose in the water column of my main tank. Thought back and pretty sure it's been five weeks or longer since I rinsed media in the canister. Plus looked like Sassy had a few small sores on the skin, so cleaner water would help. Plus I wanted to take a bit of media out to add to the filter in my tenner (had new fish and an ammonia spike). So I opened up the canister filter here- yeah, it had lots of dark mulm. I rinsed half the sponges and poured out the dirty water from the bottom, but left the other parts to clean next time.

I did a small thing to make it easier when I get in here. Finally made some mesh bags to hold the bio-media- I'm tired of scooping it out with my hands every time. This netting once held oranges- has been rinsed clean. Sewed ends shut just below the metal crimps with fishing line, then used pliers to undo the crimping and remove the metal pieces. First bag I sewed shut the other end before placing it back in the canister, other two bags (one was already in there) I left open at top and just fold over under the grid that sits just below canister lid/motor housing. Then I can still remove some of the bio-media pieces if I need to, for another tank...








A few days ago one of my red tomato nerite snails died. I'd found it several times lying upside down or on its side. Turned it upright and it would move a bit, but then a day later I'd find it upside down again. I pulled it out of the tank and it didn't smell bad yet but the operculum was loose so it was over. I am not surprised or sad, really- at best guess I'd had this snail nearly three years. I think I only have two nerites in this main tank now? one tomato and one zebra...








Quick full tank shot. Lights were going down end of day, so there's some odd red patches on the foliage and substrate... Last maintenance day I trimmed and replanted tops of all the newer hygros- in front and to the right of the thicket. Looks cleaner now. I still can't tell if they're going to grow out the same, or are a different species/variety?








Apono capuronii bulbs have sprouted more young leaves- but on one the shrimps ate the bulb so much they kind of hollowed out the underside of it and now it is floating. The shrimps were_ really_ attracted to that bulb. At one point I saw six of them on it, and it looked like some were trying to shove others off. I need to replant it in substrate, and get better photo of the tank, but I've been preoccupied trying to decide how/if I should treat this tetra that has a lump on its nose...








Oh, and some of the plants looked peaky, so I thought it was time to add root tabs. But maybe I didn't need to? I was putting them in around the larger crypts and apono bulbs, when my planting tweezers snagged in a clump and pulled out partially-disintegrated mess of an old root tab. I siphoned out the cloud that made in the water- but if the plants hadn't fully used up the tabs I put in nearly two months ago, I guess they didn't need more again. Oops.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I just finished setting up QT for that serpae. It's actually one of my favorites in the tank- the one I call Punk. Recently seems to have reached mature size- and in the top of the hierarchy, too. I noticed a few weeks ago that Diamond- previously untouched by the other fishes- had a few nips out of the fins; now Punk and Spark are the untouched ones. So- I don't always notice individuals among my tetras, but this one fish happens to be a particular favorite... 

It was tricky to catch- I tempted the fishes to the front with food but they got skittish of course at the net (so kuhlis pigged out below on the gold pearls, totally unconcerned). Used two to try and corner the one I wanted. That fish _knew_ it was singled out and in real panic. It ran up and down into corners seeking a way out- and then made an evasive move I haven't seen before. It dashed up the tank corner and flipped its body horizontal to lie flat at the surface just above the spray bar. Sure made it difficult to net there! He _really _wanted to not get caught. Then later after equalizing temp in the bag, it wouldn't easily go out into the actual QT tank! I poured a bit more tank water into the bag to fill it out and then gently tipped it sideways. The fish was so desperate- to get away from my hand I suppose- it kept going frantically into corners of the plastic bag, and then wouldn't turn around. I ended up tearing a corner off the bag to release it. 

I set up the 10g QT as usual with sponge pulled from the main canister, half home tank water, half new, 50w heater, stuffed the tank with fake plants. I don't like it sitting straight on the floor but have no available surface for it, so this time I placed it on a stack of a few boards (leftover from building a stand)- it's about four inches off the ground silly I don't know why I prefer that. With a thick towel under to make the bottom darker, and I've also draped the entire thing with another cloth to keep it dim and calm. It's in a corner of my bedroom which gets very little foot traffic. Will re-evaluate how to treat in the morning, I'm so tired now.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*I gave up on a fish that lost equilibrium*

It was the one called 'Nito. Tried treatment. I had it isolated in the fry box (you will see that in the corner of the tank in picture) so I could easily catch it for epsom salt baths. It had been ill for a week, and isolated for five days. I don't know what this could have been, other than swim bladder disease- I fasted the whole tank for two days when I first noticed it, then fed them all peas. No change, the affected fish looked a bit worse. It was struggling to swim upright with a kind of rocking motion. Caught the fish and started giving it epsom salt baths twice a day. It did look a bit swollen or bloated at first, and that symptom went away. But the trouble with balance only got worse. For three days it kept batting its nose on the mesh side of the fry box trying to get out into the tank, any pause in paddling its pectoral fins and it would start to sink tail first. Last two days it wasn't even trying to get out of the box, just padding around nose up tail down, gasping occasionally at the surface. I offered pea bites again and it was not interested. I did water tests and partial wc on the tank, nothing seemed amiss, no other fish affected. In all that time it hadn't pooped once, so if there was a blockage it wasn't coming out.

Maybe I didn't do strong enough epsom salt baths? Knowing tetras are sensitive I started out doing them for ten minutes before re-equalizing the water, using 1 tsp per gallon. Then I used a teaspoon and a half, and the final time, 2 tsp, keeping the fish in the bath 15 min. It didn't seem to make a difference. The strangest thing was something I saw of its behavior. During the last bath the fish was aimlessly paddling around the bucket keeping itself upright like usual. Normally it flees in a panic from the net, but this time when I eased the net into the water and slowly moved it towards the fish to corner it, the tetra turned straight into the net, and laid down on its side as I lifted it out. I thought at first it was just exhausted or disorientated, but the instant I dipped the net into the fry box it calmly turned and swam out of the net, and went back to batting its nose against the mesh wall. Its motions in and out of the net could have been coincidence? but I do wonder if it was becoming familiar enough with the bath experience to know the net in the bucket would put it back in the tank? I don't know.

After three days of epsom salt baths I left it alone in the fry box for two days, hoping time and the laxative would work... but no. Finally I started to feel guilty at keeping it alive, its nose was banged up from bumping on the netting all the time, and it looked like it was really struggling. I didn't know what else to do. I folded 'Nito into a damp paper towel, euthanized it quickly with a rock, wrapped in a large leaf and buried it under the hydrangea. Luckily the ground there wasn't quite frozen yet.

So now I have eleven tetras, nine in the home tank and two were still in QT. This photo of the main tank has corner shielded with a cloth, where the fry box hung. I was trying to reduce stress by keeping it shaded.








My other ill serpae, Punk, just moved out of the ten-gallon hospital tank back into home tank. It went through a full treatment of metronidazole and praziquantel. The lump on its nose looked a little flatter, otherwise no change. Still acted alert- distressed at being alone in strange quarters but only showed that by going pale and refusing food. (I didn't offer much, not really expecting it to eat). No clamped fins. At one point I had the fish floating in a plastic bag and when it paused to rest from escape efforts in the corner, I was able to get a very close look at the lump on its nose with a magnifying loop. It's not fuzzy. It looks like a white mass inside the nostril, with swollen bubble of skin- a blister?- over that. It was actually pretty cool to see the texture of the fish's skin and colors so detailed- but I still am unsure what this thing is. It doesn't look like any parasite, doesn't look like lympho or air-bubble disease. I guess a cyst. Or some other kind of tumor. Probably not treatable. Nobody else in the main tank has caught it so I am crossing my fingers its not very contagious, and put the fish back home.








Still never know quite if I'm doing the right thing. Should I have kept 'Nito alive longer, given it more of a chance, or was it done for anyway. Should I have kept Punk separated longer to try different treatments?

Bump: Last friday I moved some fishes around. My two serpae tetra that had been in QT (a good long five weeks) still looked pretty good. I didn't see any reason to keep them separate any longer. They were pretty eager to get out of the bag while floating to equalize temperature,
















and the other tetras came to check them out. That's Spark bottom left corner, with the rich liver color.








They grouped together immediately. New pair were a bit paler than the others for a day or two, now I have to look at their markings to tell them apart. I've seen some sparring between Dot and Spit, but otherwise its pretty calm. Ziggy is still rather timid.








More updates soon on a bit of rescape, plant growth, and a change in my ferts routine...


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*large update so lots of photos-*

Something different is going on in here lately. There was a week where I skipped doing ferts, and the plants looked fine. Healthier, even. I skipped because the nitrates were high. But the plants looked so good at the end of that week that I went lean another week- did a smaller wc (about 30% instead of 50%) and instead of dosing dry ferts, I just added some root tabs. Another week like this, and the plants still looked good- and there were still high nitrates. Which kind of puzzled me, because I hadn't added any KN03. Maybe it was the decaying apono bulb? or stuff from the root tabs that escaped into water column. I watched the levels. Next time I did the 30% wc again, and put in a few more root tabs just around the stems that looked kinda peaky- hygros, bacopa, and some of the crypt balansae. That's when vallisneria runners shot out from the background, and my crypt parva or willisii seems to be spreading too. New baby plants are coming up in the front corner.

I decided to take a chance and try using a different fert source. I have this little bottle of Aquafertz root tabs I got once when ordering plants. Also got their long-handled applicator tool. This is the first time I've used the fertilizer tabs. I have actually put the tool to use just to nudge a leaf aside or poke something on bottom of the tank- because it reaches. But got frustrated trying to place the root tabs with it. No matter how I positioned it, the tab would not release off the applicator end and stay in the substrate. I ended up just using the regular long tweezers. Easier than the API tabs- these are smaller. I read the details of Aquafertz on the site- it's supposed to be used in conjunction with a substrate the company also makes- which is "a fired fractured clay substrate " that holds the ferts in for slow release. I wonder if the fired montmorillonite clay I used can work the same? So, I'm giving it a try. So far, so good. It's been another week, the plants all look the same. Hygros are growing a bit faster (I will have to trim very soon, they have nearly hit the surface for first time), nothing is slowing down or yellowing...

Current appearance- I'm still getting used to it.








The fishes are too. I think they really miss the shelter those broad apono crispus leaves provided. They're a lot more skittish nowadays, often in a group and fleeing to the other side of the tank when I walk by. I'm hoping to fill it in with more hygro cuttings and apono capuronii, but it's taking time to grow-
















I started cutting off capuronii leaves that were too tall on the mature plant, so that one is thinned out now as well. Don't like when they bend and droop over from the surface.








I lost one of the capuronii bulbs. The smaller one, that needed to be weighed down with stones. It simply got eaten into a hollow nothing by shrimps and snails, and then disintegrated. No roots. The other however looks quite healthy, has two crowns, and is starting to take off-








here's a pic two weeks later. It's putting down roots now as well.








I moved a few plants around week before last. All the bacopa stems out of the corner- some are here in front of the apono capuronii bulbs. Also lined up the smaller anubias 'petite' across the back wall. (Dunno why this photo came out so small. Sorry).








And I shifted all the tall fronds of bolbitis to the far right.








From the side the fronds kind of blend with narrower leaves of apono behind them.
















A week later- You can see some of the fronds have grown out thicker, and there's more root mass below- which is great because I also moved the stones with 'windelov' java fern to sit between the bolbitis rhizomes and the rest of the tank at left. Hard to see the windelov because they're now behind the crypt thicket and leaf litter patch- but they kind of blockade the bolbitis into the corner.








Now it's fairly easy to favor the kuhlis- I just distract the tetras and drop sinking food into this corner. It's hard for the tetras to get through the stiff bolbitis stems, horizontal rhizomes and tangle of root threads, so it gives the kuhlis time to eat below. There's now some little fiddleheads coming up-








My crypts are pretty happy. I've found new baby plants coming off runners on either side. 








But my favorite area of this tank right now is the driftwood covered in short bolbitis.








It looks nicer from above, to see the pattern of fronds.








Here's that entire short end- but I took this picture when still had a sick fish in the fry box.








Final note: hydrocotyle is still in this tiny pot. I think it grew three new leaves. But I don't know if I want to keep it like this much longer. It does poorly when I forget to water it _every_ day.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Using Aquafertz root tabs and doing only 30% wc still seems to be working well in my main tank so far. All the plants look happier. I have little baby crypts sprouting up in the front of the tank- parva or willisii in the corner, definitely some petchii and wendeti. Younger leaves on the crypt wendtii look really robust (deeper color and nice hammered texture). Vallisneria are sending runners out beyond their bounds again, crypt balansae has more new leaves and is melting the old ones, elodea looks the best it has since the week I brought it home. Hornwort floaters look fantastic. Still a bit baffled why my nitrates are consistently higher than I'm used to- I wonder if it is the use of leaf litter (I added even more this week: one catappa leaf, one each of guava and jackfruit, two of pin oak).
















The fish look very healthy- even Punk with the growth on nose. Fish behavior has changed; since I went away for vacation and came back, they are thrilled to see me every time. They quickly flock to one end of the tank or the other, where I stand. Respond even quicker if I tap-tap the top brace as feed notice. I tried to get this end shot showing how nicely the apono capuroni is when backlit- but the tetras swarmed the glass. I notice most of them have clean, undamaged fins now. Either a dozen is the magic number for peace, or they have simply settled all their differences.








I still don't know how well these hygro corymbosa will grow up- they have melted severely and I keep pushing the remains of stems with a few top leaves, back down into the substrate. Here's one in center. I haven't yet seen one recover enough to grow out new leaves to compare it...








Moss have failed me. All the strands of flame moss I had glued onto rocks died, and then the glue started lifting off the rocks in patches, thin sheets. I think I had glued them on too close together, so the moss itself never took hold on the rock. Oh well. I used the stones to tie down some of the java fern trident babies- still attached to bits of mother leaf.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

My older amano shrimps are almost constantly berried now. 








The three malaya shrimp are getting very dark in color. I don't know if that means something about their age or health...








I have a feeling the last two nerites in my main tank are getting old... At the pet store today to get some food, I picked up two more zebra nerites. With some trepidation as in a few of their tanks I saw some fish with signs of ich... . . one of the prior outbreaks in my tank occurred the day after bringing home snails from a pet shop so I have suspicions the disease can be carried on snails. 








So to be safe I've put my new snails in a QT plastic tote with some aquatic moss and about a gallon of water. I acclimated them usual method and then plucked out of the shop bag to place in the water- no shop water into the tote. I put the tote on top of the fridge for warmth. Going to give it small water changes daily and move the snails to my tank at end of the week.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Quick full tank shot this morning. Just ignore that subwassertang basket that's upended in the corner- I need to resituate it but am not putting my hands in the tank until saturday.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

New snails got acclimated and added to the tank on water change day, I forgot to mention. They're cruising round munching algae quite at home. This morning I got a photo of a berried amano walking across a leaf, in ambient light.








On the side, my bit of pennywort in a pot is much happier to be constantly damp. I had it sitting more or less all the time in a tupperware dish of a few inches of water. I put it back on a little drip saucer, because the soil is growing mold and I don't like that. Probably I should have not used regular potting soil. I am going to let it dry out some.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I didn't plan to do a lot of work on the main tank this past week, but kind of got carried away. Started out moved around a few plants- subwassertang (not very happy in here right now), windelov ferns on stones. Trimmed off some crypt leaves, am starting to cut out the older of the taller bolbitis fronds. The younger ones are growing in nicely upright, but the tall original fronds lean over and pull the whole mass sideways.... I want to gradually remove those and see how the younger stuff grows in. Replanted some bacopa stems, cut a few in half. Left hygro thicket alone this time.

Then I saw one of the bolbitis fronds on the small side- rooted on driftwood piece- was starting to reach off the hardscape. I clipped it and tried to re-fasten in a different spot with rubber band. Very tricky. Got frustrated and ended up lifting the whole thing out.








It was much cleaner than I'd expected underneath- no buildup of mulm (I wonder if I have busy shrimps to thank for that?) And I was kind of surprised- and very pleased- to see how healthy and filled- in these plants are. Even the java fern that is kind of forgotten in a corner, looks pretty good and has a few tiny baby plantlets growing on root threads! see lower right corner








and here:








I'm pretty tickled with this. It's been a long time waiting for this bolbitis to grow in. A year. It was just tiny itty bitty plant clump I bought then.








I refastened that clipped rhizome piece with rubber band, and found another longer one growing into air on the back side, trimmed that one too. Simply wedged it back in among the others in the middle.

This tiny bit of windelov fern showing up in the thick of it all. I remember when it was a _tiny_ little thing!








I'm having second thoughts about just doing the root tabs. Some of the plants don't look quite right, although nitrates are still on the high end (40-50ppm at end of week). So today I went back to the old routine: fifty percent wc, dosed dry fert macros (lean) and liquid micros. And things were pearling after. I seldom see that effect in my tank, so feel like I did something better.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

End of my tank looks a lot more open, now that I've been cutting out the older bolbitis fronds.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Punk still has that cyst on the nose. It's gotten larger, but hasn't broken open, or spread to others. Seems Punk's position in the heirarchy is slipping- dorsal fin nipped and tail bitten this week. The cyst is close to reaching its eye...








From the other side can see it bulging over the top of the face, like a bubble. (I did research "gas-bubble disease" and conclusion is to not do wc with drastically colder water. But nobody else ever got this in my tank).








Totally unrelated picture, because the funny kuhlis cheer me up. Here's Curly in the bolbitis fern- the black kuhlis seem to really like this spot in the tank lately. You can see the long, curved barbels that made me name him Curly.








I saw some different behavior among them today. The black kuhlis would wriggle up against each other, and one would kind of lie sideways on the substrate and shimmy its tail. (Made me think of a dolphin beating a circle to stir up mud). It looks like Sluggy is starting to get a thicker area on top of his head. I seem to remember reading somewhere that mature males develop a nuchal hump their nose? Hm.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

The other week I put root tabs again- and quite a few of the plants are responding. I had totally forgotten there were a few fragments of crypt parva rhizome left in here- and two of them sprouted new leaves. (They could be bits of crypt willisii, but I think it's parva).








I am still a bit confused if these plants in the center of my tank are ludwigia repens or hygro something. Because so long ago everything was melting and dying and I never really knew which ones grew back. I'm guessing it's really the ludwigia, though- because the hygro corymbosa I put in here is pretty much all dead now. That last bit in this pic (center, smaller rounder leaves) just melted away this week. I'm letting some of these stems grow tall enough to hit the surface- if one flowers maybe then I can tell for sure.








Full tank shot:








In ambient light (and before hornwort was trimmed for the week):


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Wow, your tank has gone through some changes, but it still looks quite impressive! 

Your "Apo wall" was amazing, I'm sure it was a hard choice taking them out. Looks like you'll soon have an "Apo corner" instead!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Aframomum said:


> Wow, your tank has gone through some changes, but it still looks quite impressive!
> 
> Your "Apo wall" was amazing, I'm sure it was a hard choice taking them out. Looks like you'll soon have an "Apo corner" instead!


Yes, it sure has. Thanks!
I do miss the apono crispus sometimes, but it sure was getting overwhelming. All my other plants doing so much better now. I actually have a second pair of apono capuroni in middle front of the heater there, soon it will be tall enough to see and then the background will fill in again...

There are more changes recently- I've added different rock with buce (trying that again) and took out some of the red clay pot shards. Have lots of pics from the past two months so I need to do an update here soon!


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Looking forward to your updates, as always you include a bunch of pics to enjoy! 


I also have an Apo crispus - placed it almost smack center in the tank and really have to prune the largest leaves routinely to keep it under control. I think I remember you trying some different methods to try and keep the mass of the plant contained (or at least not going everywhere)? 


What buces are you adding? I just got my first 2 to try out - a dark blue and theia green. 


BTW, love the fish names!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Aframomum said:


> I also have an Apo crispus - placed it almost smack center in the tank and really have to prune the largest leaves routinely to keep it under control. I think I remember you trying some different methods to try and keep the mass of the plant contained (or at least not going everywhere)?



Well, I once tried bunching up the base of leaf stems in a rubber band, to hold it more upright. I think that made the plant unhappy. I also took off leaves regularly but it never flowered until I left it alone.... these capuronii I have been trimming from the start to stay a certain height and so far it's working really well!


Aframomum said:


> What buces are you adding? I just got my first 2 to try out - a dark blue and theia green.


I just got some tissue-culture buce 'green' and 'brownie ghost' from the petco. I was so stoked to find it because never saw buce for sale there before. Have a LOT of pictures coming soon as I have time to sit down at the comiputer more...


Aframomum said:


> BTW, love the fish names!


Thanks, haha. I can still identify all the fish in the tank by name. Need to do some more individual photos, too. Some are starting to get their mature colors now which I really like to see.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*from the end of Feb*

I can't believe how far behind I was on this tank journal. 

*from 02/06*- Closeup of a zebra nerite snail on bolbitis. 









Full tank shot. Look closely in the center, just right of the hygro (ludwigia?) thicket. 
The newer apono capuronii just reaching mid tank height at this point.









*02/07*- 
Have some moss came in with some other plants, I didn't know what to do with at first so I was keeping it in a jar. It grew pretty well there in spite of the cold. I sold a good portion of it and kept the small bits to grow out more while I figured out what to do with it in my tank.









It has this neatly branching pattern of growth, and the strands seem quite a bit thicker, tougher almost wiry compared to the java moss I had before. Maybe it's taiwan moss?

















The tiny bits I kept, were in the _tiniest_ jar I have.

















*02/22*- 
The plant itself is answering my question: ludwigia or hygro? The far right, smaller one in this picture is changing shape since ferts have been adjusted (root tabs added again) It's finally growing more, leaves getting longer, narrow and brighter green. I absolutely know this was this stem of ludwigia repens that came out of my tenner months ago- it had the rounder leaf shape and darker olive green with purplish undersides. Well, I don't have to wait for chance flowers now to identify.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*updates from March*

*03/03-*
One of my Malaya shrimp. Had just molted the day before.









a smaller Amano shrimp- I can still tell the younger/newer ones by size, but they are quickly catching up to the older trio.









I think all three of my zebra nerite snails are male









quite a few times now I have seen mating between the orange tomato nerite and one or another of the zebras (but never between two zebras) and the position of the snails is another reason why I guess so. Except I don't know how reliable that information is, where I read it. But the tomato nerite is my oldest one now- appears to be slowing down- and if new nerite eggs quit appearing after its gone, then I'll know. 

















*from 03/04-*
Tried to grow the moss on things. Rubber banded some onto pieces of a broken clay pot (sterilized, edges sanded)









This one blocks a gap into the kuhli loach space under the bolbitis ferns. Kuhlis can go thru the gaps under the shard, serpae tetras don't fit and won't push their way through the bolbitis.









I tried again to use plastic mesh. This time folded in half and cut a curve. Laid moss bits inside, folded it shut again and sewed the edges with fishing line. Where the plastic was creased it bulges a bit, just enough to wedge a suction cup holder onto.









It doesn't look like much, yet. The shrimps like to walk on it, but of course none of them did so while I was taking photos.









*from 03/06-*
Wall of bolbitis fern became very effective. I've cut off nearly all the original, older stems and much of the young foliage presses up against the glass. It's enough to keep the serpaes from getting down among the roots under the rhizomes, so it is very easy now to selectively feed my kuhlis. Since I blocked the last gap with pottery shard, their last passage is closed. I made a feeding tube and can simply insert it into the spot, drop the morsels in. It's funny to see the tetras dart after the food they see falling thru the tube and then stop short, baffled. Other day when I fed hikari loach wafers, one of the black kuhlis started to swim up the tube after the scent!









I've noticed that when it's not feeding time, the black kuhlis tend to be on one end of the tank around the driftwood piece and under the wendtii plants. The striped kuhlis hang out on the other end under the bolbitis wall. Here's Albert, Sassy and Tiger.









*from 03/12-*
Moss started coming up thru the mesh shelf









*from 03/22-*
main tank shot (specks are air bubbles from refilling the tank after wc)









I moved the larger pot shard out of Perry's tank, into the 38gal. He wasn't making use of it anyway. Using some small rubber bands, fastened on top all the little java fern 'trident' plantlets, gathered from both tanks. It's hard to get a photo because the plantlets are still small, but they are growing.









This larger clay cave is slighty behind some of the crypts, I wanted it to be more subtle in the layout

















they're such a bright color, which should get softened in time with java ferns and moss planted over- right now echoes the serpaes' colors









End note- found a tiny bit of crypt rhizome that sprouted. I think it's another piece of willisii.









*from 03/26- new crypt!*
when I took my last otocinclus to a new home a few weeks ago, I wasn't expecting anything in return. But I admired an unknown plant in the other aquarist's tank, and he gave me a younger specimen of it- this cryptocoryne cordata.









I planted it (temporarily maybe) in the back at the end of the anubias nana row, behind the apono capuronii









here quick short end shot-









its taking the spot of this anubias lanceolata which I took out and put in the tenner in place of a crypt lutea which I removed for a swap-









*from 03/28- *
I noticed these leaves of my newer (although several months old now) aponogeton capuronii has very brown margins, and mottled spots if you look close









I wondered if it was just some individual variation, but the young leaves that came up last week, are bright green all the way through- can just see them here in center-









the Mother crypt wendtii bronze is getting quite lush- and there's a shrimp on one leaf









I'm glad I planted anubias nana 'petite' across the back- when the lower leaves die off ludwigia stems it's nice to see them back there. They do well in the extra shade under the heater. I've trimmed a few and replanted their tops, to fill out the row.









When leaf litter starts disintegrating I move the webbed leaf remains to the back of the tank, where they shade the small anubias a bit, and get picked over more by the shrimps.









moss shelf is growing out more! but I'm already thinking of redoing it with black plastic instead









*from 03/30-*
I learned how to tell the male amano shrimps from female by the dots on their sides. This one is male-

















this one is female- obviously from the eggs- which for once are in focus!









I think before I only had females- certainly most of them usually looked berried, the past few months. And I never saw them interacting, unless one displaced another off a spot. But now these three new smaller ones with the tidy dots, sometimes I see them chasing the larger berried shrimps. So I think the ones chasing are the males. Not as if I'll get any baby shrimps out of it...

I got the closeups because when I recently put some new plants in, the shrimps were so eager to chow down on BBA on the older leaf margins (I removed a lot by hand, but there were remnants) they didn't pick it with their claws, but kind of crouched and pressed their mouths straight onto the algae clumps. It was funny. And cheering.

It's also amusing to see them crawling around upside down under the floaters. Shrimps were chowing down on the tufts of algae on crypt leaf margins, until one noticed I'd put frogbit and red root floaters in the tank. Then they clambered around upside down all over those plants. Very eager to pick at whatever was among the root hairs. One grabbed a bit of red root floater that was disintegrating, and promptly starting sinking. Held on until nearly reached the bottom, then neatly hopped off onto a nearby plant. I couldn't help giggling.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*wow, I have really neglected this journal*

here goes with more backlogged updates : from *03/31-* 

I was very pleased to do a swap of aquarium plants with a local fellow "planted tanker". (My phrase). I gave him a sampling of buces, several medium-sized crypt lutea and crypt wendtii bronze, a half dozen crypt parva and a rhizome piece of crypt retrospiralis.

In return I got: a handful of frogbit and red root floaters









I really like the frogbit. Hoping it will do well and maybe replace hornwort in here









A small clump of riccia. I don't quite know what to do with this yet, but it sure is a cool plant.









some very minute, supposedly rare? anubias nana 'pangolino'. It's the smallest anubias ever.









They were culture-grown, so this clump of rhizome is kind of a lumpy mess but already I see new leaf growth









I tied most of them to bits of rock to hold down, and placed under my bolbitis driftwood. They look very much like buce!









Here's the one clumpy piece, in the tank.









Also a very lovely crypt undulata- long softly copper-brown foliage.









It had quite a bit of BBA along the leaf edges, which I cleaned off in a dip and manually pinched off using my fingernails. I didn't get it all- and the amano shrimps immediately started eating it.









Also a few rocks. "Dragon stone". Thinking what to do with them...









*from 04/06-*
I had the riccia in this tank all of one day, then I took it out. Filter current pushing tiny bits of it scattering everywhere. I was afraid it would start growing all over the tank. And I don't have strong enough light reaching to the bottom to grow it tied down.... It's now in a container by the window, while I continue to fish tiny y-shaped green bits out during every water change. 









Even dealing with this small amount to get a few good photos, irritated how it scatters and clings to everything. I found bits on my clothes later, on the table surface near the bowl, on the bathroom floor across the house. Far worse than duckweed in my opinion.









Shame, because it's such a cool-looking plant. I just don't want to deal with it in the tank.









Most of the red root floaters I received melted, and were torn apart by the amanos. Frogbit appears to be out-competing the hornwort for nutrients; at least, since I added frogbit my hornwort in the main tank has dwindled to near nothing. I pulled what was left of the hornwort stems and moved them into Perry's tank.









Pennywort alongside the tank has doubled its length again. It really likes being kept waterlogged, but I don't like how the sogged soil gets crusty mold. Perhaps I will replant in some aquarium gravel, just keep that saturated... I'd like to try some in one of my heated tanks again, if I get enough of it growing to keep some in reserve in case of failure.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*yeah, time for some catching up again*

from *04/06-* 
Sometimes I can't help myself. I stopped in the pet store to buy something for my cat, and of course browsed through the fish department. From store 'B' I found, for the first time ever, tissue-culture bucephalandra in gel. Heard it was being done, never seen it before. I bought the only two on the shelf, one packet of 'green' and the other is 'kapuas brownie ghost'. Tickled pink.

Across town on the way home I stopped at store 'A', just to look. Noticed quite a few small ramshorn snails in the tanks. I thought of my paradise fish and asked the associate if I could have a few "pest snails" (but not the pointy ones). He obligingly plucked out some ramshorns for me. Tied the bag shut and handed it to me, then I saw there was a small bumblebee horned nerite in there. And a few pebbles the snails must have been clinging to. I pointed out the nerite and said "I'll pay for that one" so he wrote the item number on the bag. So I paid $2.60 for this handful of snails-









five little ramshorns









and three horned nerites.









The buce packets were $10 each. This handful is the sp. 'green'









This is the 'brownie ghost'









individuals are very tiny- I will have trouble fastening them down. Separating out into little individuals was quite tedious. I don't like how dense and clumpy tissue-culture plants grow. Thus painstakingly teased and pulled and cut apart the little plants using my smallest aquarium scissors and tweezers.









By the end of all that, light was low in the room and I was ready to be done so I got some poor photographs. I have two small glass boxes picked up at thrift shop because they looked like would make a decent containers for plant cuttings, fitting neatly on windowsills. I plunked the divided buces into these containers with a few cups of tank water. The little horned nerites went in with the buce 'green'









and the ramshorns in the other with the 'brownie ghost'









I didn't see any ich at the store the snails came from, but playing it safe again I kept the snails in a short quarantine period. The plants will give them a bit of oxygen, and the snails can feed off the dead parts I was unable to remove with tweezers. I put them on top of the fridge at night wrapped in a wool scarf for just-enough warmth, and each morning am doing a small water change siphoning out the bits of snail waste and adding some new tank water. I frequently pick up the container during the day just to look at it- see the little snail feelers waving gently around- make sure they're still alive and the movement I think oxygenates the water some.

I am trying to decide how to use the buce in my heated tanks. Currently cleaning and testing some rocks- that's for another post. Should be ready to use the safe ones in a few days, and if the snails need to stay in longer I'll give them hornwort.

I really wanted only ramshorns. To feed Perry. Not sure if he will eat the largest- I think he would only eat the tiny young ones, and if the oldest died or got eaten I would pull others to keep in a separate little tank for breeding... 

Not sure where I will put the bumblebee horned nerites. I like the idea of them in the tenner, with a betta. I don't want to overload that tank by adding nerite snails... I guess they can live in the main tank until I'm ready to put my next tank plan in action... but I don't know how long that will be, and it will be harder to find them to remove from the big tank...

Another new thing- I moved the white plastic ledge from the main tank into Perry's- it blends in better there. Made a new one out of black plastic canvas for the main tank, using all the trimmings. Will show photos when something is growing. There is so much more to note, but now I'm busy having to get the garden started outside, too.

*04/07-*
Over the past few days I've been prepping stones for my tanks. Those 'dragon stones' I got in a swap, and a handful sourced from my yard. Most was pieces of quartz, I set a lot of that aside for later use in maybe another tank, keeping one nice squarish chunk with a pink hue that's rather pretty. The other rocks are granite and slate. I scrubbed them all under running tapwater with a tank-only toothbrush, set them in boiling water for half an hour, and soaked for several days in dechlorinated water. To avoid harm (exploding rocks) the boiling was done very gently- brought the water to a rolling boil, then lowered the heat as far down as it would go and maintain a gentle simmer, put a heavy lid on it and exited the kitchen until rocks were done. To kill any organisms. The two/three day soak was mainly to be extra sure by testing pH at intervals, to see if the rocks affect the water. All safe.

So yesterday I tied the little plants on. Some of these photos are hazy because the plastic bin I set them in after tying down has semi-translucent sides.









Buces on slate:

















Buce 'green' on the chunk of pink quartz.

















More buce on dragon stone:

























I have one more piece of dragon stone- thinking of putting the anubias pangolino on that. Most of these pieces should go in my tenner, as buces do well in that tank for me- but I don't quite have the room. And I want the dragon stone in the main tank, because I think the kuhli loaches would enjoy using the tunnels and cavities. So will try these few buce in there again. If they start getting too algae-ridden in the main tank, I'll pull them and put something else on that rock.

*04/10-*
I've added my newest features- dragon stone and buces- to my main tank. Had to do a little rearranging, and took out the largest clay arch as well. Smaller one got moved to the background. Here's one dragon stone I tied buce 'brownie ghost' to. It has a small row of the bacopa caroliniana in front of it- sadly the only stems I have left of that plant. I think it preferred the brighter light on the window end of the tank...








The other main rock has buce 'green' tied on to it, and I put it between the ludwigia stems and the samller crypt becketti petchii.









Side note: one of my close shots of that caught my one named amano shrimp walking across. I don't know why, but this shrimp is different. Its body has a blue hue, and its little pincer hands move twice as fast as the other shrimps'. It's always going super-speed with the pincers. I think of it as Mr. Blue Blast, haha.









I have more buce 'green' on a few smaller rocks tucked under crypt wendtii- hoping the shade will keep them from attracting too much algae.









Third dragon stone is just in front of the other crypt lutea and becketti petchii grouping. I've found I like the appearance of my crypts better when they are set off against a stone or flanked by another plant- as this one is in front of the subwasser bushes.









Took all the bits of java fern 'trident' off that clay shard I removed, and re-fastened them onto the end of this stone. It's hard to see them, still small but finally growing out new leaves. Shrimp is walking between them.









Incidental picture- recently I made yet another change to my ferts dosing schedule. Instead of dosing the micros a few hours after macros, I now dose them a full day later. It really does seem to make a difference. I hadn't noticed my windelov ferns were looking a bit poorly in here, until they suddenly looked better, standing straighter and appearing more green.









The tank layout kind of has two distinctive sides, where the plants are grouped around this rock on the left flanked by ludwigia. (Also, in this pic you can see my new moss shelf, which doesn't have any moss growing out of it yet. A few weeks ago I trimmed all the ledges and clay pieces, and used the trimmings to make this new shelf. The white one got moved into Perry's tank).









and on the right side, where the rock, crypts beckettii petchii and lutea are backed by apono capuronii and bolbitis fern. In the bolbitis there you can see the bumblebee horned nerite on side glass. I put the largest one in here (two smaller went into my tenner, when I picked out thirty or so trumpet snails to send to someone).









Full tank shot. Overall it has a much lighter, natural look with the clay pieces removed or hidden.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*more backlog of updates-*

*from 04/16-*
I've had to lift out the dragon stones to re-fasten some buces that came loose (several times now). And I moved the anubias pangolino onto rocks-








and this little bit under crypt becketti petchii on its own small rock








because I made a ditch on the short end of the tank where they had been. There's been ugly dark algae in a wide band on the glass under substrate level there, and some alarming-looking bubbles of gas. I've done this deep clean on bottom edge of front glass, before. I simply used the hose without the wider vacuum fitting, siphoned out all the substrate from that edge into a bucket through a strainer.








Crypt parva roots seriously exposed. Healthy looking! I was going to gently sift substrate back over them, but want to leave the low edge of glass exposed so the snails can do their work- and already the ditch is gradually getting filled in again as things sift down. I thought I'd have to scrape the algae off by hand, but already is barely noticeable as the nerites and trumpet snails have been eating it.








You can see where all the new floaters are pushed to one side by the current, the tank is distinctly shaded now. Much denser cover than the hornwort ever gave. I am watching to see if this is an improvement or detriment for the other tank plants. I can allow floaters to spread across the entire tank, if it seems a plus, or remove a layer of plastic off the LEDs so they get stronger light if needed...









*from 04/18- *
I picked up a tissue-culture packet of crypt becketti. I've put the two largest bunches in the main tank, one in Perry's tank (gently divided) and the last one in the tenner. To see where it does best.









*from 04/24- *
I adopted a kuhli loach from a guy who had to move. It's a striped one like Albert- with the dark bands running together and mottled appearance on the stomach. But more yellow base color (I wonder sometimes if Albert is chronically unwell and thus pale, but he is getting thick in girth, so not too concerned).

This new fish hid for a day (it went into QT for time being), then started coming out regularly when I dropped in food- betta flake and pellet, sinking hikari loach wafer, crushed shrimp pellet. It's cute to see it poke its head out from under the leaf litter, and slide in curves on its belly across the glass bottom.









*from 04/15-*
I think I saw amano shrimps mating.








The other day when I fed hikari wafers and NLS pellets, I swear the shrimps were fighting over the food. I saw one of the smaller male amanos walk in among the fish (who seem blind to the food once it falls on the substrate, but can smell it, so they shadow the shrimps and kuhlis waiting to see _them_ find the food, and then try to steal it) and pick up two pellets and make off with them. It hid by perching upside-down under the moss shelf to eat undisturbed.

There must have been another single pellet of food somewhere in this one spot at the front- I bet the kuhlis rummaging around kicked a bit of substrate over it- because a few shrimps kept congregating there, constantly going over and over feeling every substrate grain. And they seemed to be getting irritated at not finding it, or trying to fend each other off- the big dark one Blue Blast kept jerking around and shoving others out of the way. I'd never seen the shrimps tussle like that it was kind of funny.

*from 05/07-*
moved my adopted kuhli loach into the main tank. It has a few stripes just behind the head, and the rest of the body mostly black with spots on the top and belly. I kept think of how its mottled look is similar to Albert's, but with more actual stripes. Somehow that turned into the name Monty.

I wasn't sure how easy it would be to move this one out of the QT tank- which still also houses snails and my new betta, so I wasn't going to empty it out and have bare room to catch him. I set the fish trap with the cap on for a small kuhli-only door. (Which didn't matter- the betta wasn't interested in going after the food). I baited the trap with a kuhli favorite- sinking hikari wafer. The kuhli obviously smelled it and pretty soon was out searching around the usual places on the tank bottom for the food. All around the trap, but never to the entrance. When he didn't find the food near its scent, he started looking everywhere else, even questing up into the tops of fake plants. He'd rest a bit and then search again- all day long. I kept checking because I was anxious to move him as soon as he was caught. I noticed he would systematically go back and forth across each leaf, so hoping to guide him in I removed the bottle cap door to the trap, and place a leaf like a ramp.

The apple snail went in. I took it out and re-baited the trap with a shrimp pellet. Monty the kuhli kept looking, a bit more energetically this time, with longer pauses in between searches. Then I swear he had a fit of frustration. He suddenly started darting wildly around the tank thrashing his head back and forth, then lay still for a very long time. Dismayed, but still not wanting to chase him down with a net, I took the trap out. Then Monty started repeatedly going up and down the tank glass. I placed the net nearby, in a low horizontal position, and left it there for a while. Then once when the fish cruised up, I neatly caught him on the way back down. Phew. The acclimation into his new home went easy after that. He seems happy to be in the bigger tank now with lots of plants, things to hide under, and seven new kuhli pals.

I don't have any pictures for this post because although Monty is out and about with the other kuhlis- especially at feeding time- so I can usually observe him and tell, for instance, that he is healthy-looking and holding his weight- he is very nervous and quick to dart away hiding if I am too close to the tank or move suddenly. I can only watch him if I am slow and sit quiet. Eventually I hope to get photos of him with the others. It's obvious now how the four black kuhlis have their spot under the bolbitis ferns on the left side of the tank, and the four striped kuhlis hang out under bolbitis thicket on the right together. Cute.

*from 05/29-*
My second, smaller aponogeton capuronii died. It was loosing leaves at a steady rate- new ones stayed small and then faltered. I finally pulled it out- there were nice long white roots but the bulb was squishy and felt hollow, disintegrating. I don't know why it failed. Too close to the other one? I had given it root tabs regularly (once a month) maybe that wasn't enough. The other has quit sending leaves above the water surface- I hope this is because I've managed to "train" it and not because it is starting to fail as well.








On the other hand, many of my crypts are more lush than before, and have fewer dying leaves to clean off each week. The crypt cordata has grown more new leaves. I have added a few more handfuls of amazon frogbit from two other planted tankers- some of it always seems to be dying off but maybe it is all still adjusting. There's enough new and healthy-looking leaves I don't worry too much. A few weeks ago I deep-cleaned the right edge of the substrate under the bolbitis thicket- see the downslope- and trimmed some of the bolbitis that was running into the glass wall. It was more than I expected. I moved the trimmed pieces into Perry's tank.








Not much else new here. I'm happy with crypt becketti. The new leaves remain small making it a nice bright accent in the front of the tank.








It's calmer at feeding time because I moved the four black kuhlis out, into the new 45. The striped ones aren't as visible- they do come out at feeding time but not blasting around the tank like the black ones did- and I see the shrimps crowding into feeding areas quicker.

*from 06/05-*
I only have one aponogeton capuronii now, the bacopa is down to two small stems (which appear to be dying) and the elodea is also doing poorly. I've started moving some of that into the 45 to see if it does better there. Everything else is fine. Striped kuhlis hang out more on the left side of the tank now that the black ones are gone. I guess that was a preferred spot and the black kuhlis were dominant to them.








from comparison of earlier pictures, I can see my frogbit is not really thriving. There's less than before.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*Have a last look at my planted 38*

Tomorrow I am taking it apart.








The serpae tetras will move into the 20H, and my paradise fish will move out into new quarters. His new tank will take center spot in our front room, in place of this one. I finally realized the tetras just aren't my favorite fish anymore, and although I love the plants and feel like I worked hard on this one, well, I get a bit bored with it now. I want to do something better for the fish that shows me more personality (my paradise fish). 

So- I think the ten tetras and few kuhli loaches will do fine in the 20H... they might even like it better because the planting will be thicker. Tomorrow will be a stressful day for them, though. My plan is to put them in a five gallon bucket with airline running and some of their filter media and the floaters, while I rescape the 20H with their plants (the ones that need warm water. Bolbitis and a lot of crypts will be moving into Perry's new tank). 

I don't know if I'll remember to take any photos of the in-progress work tomorrow, I might be too busy trying to take careful steps so I don't stress out my fishes too much. But I'll post the results. I think my journal should follow the fishes- I'm going to maybe change the title on this thread to reflect that- (I've already done so in my signature).

Hey, small good news- the frogbit wasn't dying after all. Most of it looks really healthy now. I think it was just going through final adjustment. I'm waiting to see if it starts to multiply.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

It's always sad to hear about a tank getting taken down - but yours had quite a nice run for 3 years! I have to admit that I've taken some inspiration and ideas from you, both plant selection (Apo's) and equipment (AquaticLife Edge) that have proven to be spot on. Thank you very much for all you've put into your journals! Will definitely be following along with your new endeavors. 

Good luck with the tear down and move.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Thanks, @Aframomum. 
I will certainly miss this tank. I spent an hour just sitting in front of it yesterday. But I am very eager to get a new setup going for my paradise fish... and I just can't keep two large tanks in the room. The plant I will miss the most, is the aponogeton. I am trying to decide if I will keep it in the 20h for a while, or sell . . . . it has always been one of my favorite plants.... however, now I may be able to try crinium in my unheated tank- which I never had space for, before!


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

*here's the teardown-*

in case anyone finds it interesting, ha. It is the finality of this tank, though.

It took all day yesterday. I only got two photos of the actual tank as it was coming apart- first five gallons of tank water went into clean buckets, with all the floaters. Took off the background, fish got nervous








Removed equipment and hardscape items, fish got frightened. Took a long time to catch them all. I don't know why I forgot to set a trap for the kuhlis! I caught one easy, the rest with some trouble. The last one was in the tank while I uprooted all the plants- carefully, but still a huge mess of mulm and I worry he suffered from the ammonia. I couldn't find him until all the plants were out of the tank, and I had to corner him by placing a pane of plexi exactly the width of net from the tank wall, and slowly scooting it towards him, when the water was down to inches. Poor fish. Very pale.








Shrimp were easy to catch, in comparison. All livestock safe in clean buckets now, with airlines, media from the canister (lightly rinsed), some plants and leaf litter. I've been testing the water twice a day- zero ammonia or nitrites so far, low nitrate. I can tell the fishes are pale, and the nerite snails are sitting just above the water line, so they're not happy. But I hope everyone lives thru it.








Plants went into bins and buckets. I was surprised the bolbitis thicket from the right side of tank all came up in two clumps, that clung quite firmly to the stones I had windelov fern rooted on. On top of them here all the crypts and other plants...








The vallisneria from Perry's old 20H. Because that is going into the new tank too, of course.








Funny, this one made some tiny narrow leaves. Wonder why.








more plants: ludwigia repens var arcuata, hornwort, crypt undulata








You know, when I look at the plants in the tank I'm always seeing a dying leaf here, algae-spotted one over there, making a note of all the ones to trim or clean up on maintenance day. But now out of the tank and up close to my eyes- they all look pretty darn healthy to me!

I don't usually hold plants in the orange 5gal buckets (those are for tank wastewater only in my house) but I ran out of containers, and this was the cleanest looking one. More crypts, for the 20H where the serpae tetras will now live.








The canister filter was surprisingly dirty. And I hadn't gone that long since rinsing it out. And the bottom of the tank- once I scooped and siphoned out most of the substrate- was a murky mess of brown sludge. I guess it was high time to redo this tank anyway, if the safe-t-sorb was finally breaking down.









And that's the end of it. Thanks for visiting my journal. Check out my other tanks- should be links in the signature below.


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## Thelongsnail (Dec 2, 2015)

Just finished reading this from the start and I have to say that it was really enjoyable and informative. I now know that one of my mystery plants is mondo grass and will move it tonight, so thank you!

I know that this is the *planted* tank, but it was really good to read about livestock and to see a successful tank without CO2


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

@Thelongsnail, thank you! Yes, I am just as much about the fishes as I am the plants. While I love gardening and growing things, I did tear down this tank to give my favorite fish more room. But I miss it sometimes. (I only have one tank right now that gets high enough light to need fert dosing, and I still don't run any with C02).


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I finally gave away my group of serpae tetras. They've been living in a 10g for over a month because I had to put one of the angels in the 20- I don't see the angel problem resolving any time soon- and I feel like it's really unfair to them. They went to a new home yesterday.


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