New Hygrophila Plant
I haven't updated for awhile but there have been some new developments in the aquarium. First it doesn't appear as though the Crypt is going to make it. The small leaves that were growing melted yet again and died. Now there are just two stumps left. I'm going to go away for Thanksgiving and if they don't come back or at least show some signs I'm going to pull the stumps out and garbage them.
Left side of the tank where the Crypts should be.
I also bought some Pygmy Chain sword and some Hygrophila for the tank. I'm not sure what type of Hygrophila it is so if anybody has any ideas or suggestions feel free to let me know. The Hygrophila is growing like a weed now that it has been in the tank for a week or so. The Chain sword isn't doing as well, likely because of the light level. We'll see how it develops over the next several months.
The Hygrophila in the back and the rearranged right side
The whole tank
Cut back the Crypt Wendtii completely
So the two Crypt Wendtii I bought were melting completely so I decided to completely cut them back to the roots and see if they grow back. In the pictures I'm attaching you can't see what is left but there are two small stems on the left side of the tank. Hopefully with Flourish Excel dosing and light they will grow back.
Left side of the tank
I'm also getting a little bit of white/grey fuzz algae. I'm slightly overdosing on the Flourish Excel to attempt to get rid of this. Additionally I removed a decent amount and scrubbed some of the plant leaves to get it off. After this I did a 40% water change so things should improve, especially as the tank cycles.
Whole Tank
On the right side of the tank the Val in the back had some leaves that were cut when I got them. These leaves were deteriorating and although they were pearling it didn't look pleasant. So I pruned the leaves that were brown and all that is left is healthy, shorter, growing leaves. We'll see how that goes and whether it grows high. My only worry is that it is planted directly under the filter output so it may grow weirdly or be pushed into the tank and not grow straight up. We'll see how it goes.
Right Side with Trimmed Val
Aquarium Page Added
I've added an aquarium page to the website to track by new 10g setup. I'm going to be combining this page and blog updates as a personal aquarium journal. This way I can track the growth of my plants, fish, and other assorted creatures in the tank.
The aquarium is a 10g Aquatic Edge setup that I've been slowly tweaking as I go. I have Flourite Black Sand substrate, a small piece of driftwood, and a large rock from Chinatown in terms of decoration. For my flora I have a combination of plants that are listed on the aquarium page that I've recently added. I'm planning on dosing the tank with Flourish and Flourish Excel for plant nutrition. Right now in terms of fish I have five Glowlight Tetras just for the sake of cycling the tank and providing some entertainment. I hope none die but if they do I can replace them with more attractive and entertaining fish once the tank is cycled.
Once the tank is cycled I intend on putting either Neolamprologus Multifasciatus or German Blue Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) in the tank. They require different water qualities and I'm not quite sure which direction I would like to go yet.
I'll be taking pictures and uploading them to the blog, picture album, and aquarium page so if you want to follow the tank development feel free. Email me if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions.