A long, full update:
April 9, 2021
Livestock:
- 7 blue Ramshorn Snails added to tank (from Aqua Bid). I’m a believer that their positives in the tank outweigh their negatives.
- Shrimp are molting, which suggests positive signs in the set up.
- A few Ghost Shrimp were introduced from my small tank a few days ago.
- The Cherry Shrimp I got from Aqua Bid are really good specimens. The females are vibrantly red all over, and many are carrying eggs. A few tiny babes were in the batch and they are still alive and seen around the Hornwort. There are at least a couple of small males.
Endlers:
Originally, three males were purchased, but one did not survive overnight. A few days later, five new males were added to the tank, with one being a guppy hybrid and twice the size of the other fish. All seven shoal together most of the time, but sometimes a few will break off and go to the other side of the tank. I’ve noticed the Tiger’s (or maybe Snakeskin) flair up/show off more than any of the others. Whether it is to their own reflection or another one of their tank mates. There’s often chasing, but no nipping.
Tank Notes:
I decided not to add the half coconut shell after all. Since all of the plants are growing, there isn’t an ideal location for it. I did not want it to stick out like a sore thumb and take away from the jungle/nature feel of the tank.
Water perimeters are ideal with GH being on the high end of the spectrum.
Plant Updates:
Hornwort and Frogbit:
Half of the floating hornwort was removed as the floating frogbit has now covered the entire surface of the tank. I presume a little at a time is better than a large adjustment on a new tank.
Val Asiatica and Dwarf Sag:
Melting has stopped and both the Val and Sag plants have returned to near full vitality. They are each looking brighter and stronger. I keep checking for new plantlets.
Nana Anubias:
The last time I mentioned the Anubias, it was experiencing a yellowing of one of it’s leaves. That leaf quickly fell off, and there have been no issues since. It, like the other plants, is perking up nicely.
Flame moss:
A large section of the Flame Moss was experiencing pretty sever melting. However, out of the old, new “leaves” (moss arms) are growing in its place. There haven’t been any algae issues with this moss.
Christmas Moss:
This moss definitely took a little hit because of the hair algae (there’s still a little left), but it is hanging on. It is a slow grower, but I haven’t seen any growth at this point, compared to the Flame Moss. I assume that as the hair algae continues to disappear, the moss will make a comeback. It’s also in a more shaded area than the Flame Moss.
Glossostigma:
All four bundles of Glossotigma experienced leaf melt. Three of the sections are looking healthier and beginning to grow. One of them has a single strand of green growth, but I feel like it will recover. (Note: The new growth is growing up rather than out wide. While this plant is usually used as a carpet, I’m not worried either way. I just love the look of their little leaves).
Water Wisteria:
A large part of the stem had begun rotting. I went to remove it and saw that roots were growing and a new stem system was growing out of it. I removed the rot and replanted.
Bacopa:
All stems are growing like weeds! They are still having some algae issues (brown algae), but the amount of it continues to reduce.
Dwarf Hair Grass:
Out of all the plants, I really expected the Dwarf Grass to fail. It went through the least amount of melt, started growing new grass the quickest, and has begun slowing spreading. I’m beyond thrilled as I love the look of DHG. (The DHG is planted in the sand capped section of the aquarium).
Crypt wendtii:
All three Crypt’s are looking fantastic. One of them, however, was uprooted recently…I suspect it was from burrowing snails. It was replanted and continues to look good.
Banana Plant:
Similar to the Hair Grass, the Banana Plant had nearly no issues from the start, and began sending roots into the substrate surprisingly quick. (The Banana Plant was just placed on the substrate without any anchor or partial burying of the tubers). In fact, so much so that they can be seen on the side of the glass.
Pennywort:
I mentioned that the Pennywort came in an “ok” condition. All the worst leaves have died off, leaving only one or two “good” leaves on each bundle. The plant is still holding on, and looks much stronger now that part of it has died back.
Anacharis:
Has adjusted well. It took a few days, but the color and appearance is improving.
Ludwigia:
Not much has changed since planted earlier this week. The only noticeable difference is that the stems have strengthened and they stand straighter.
Lucky Bamboo:
Nothing new to update. I suspect they will begin growing again sooner that later. I put a stalk in my small jar previous to these stalks. After a few weeks I noticed new leaf growth on the original. This leads me to believe the three stems will follow a similar pattern.
Madagascar Lace:
Not much to note except that the plant looks healthy.
Java Fern:
The Java Fern has been struggling a bit, but hasn’t had any rot or melt. I suspect it will improve in time. I may add some additional (and smaller) Java Ferns to the driftwood at some point.
Plant Thoughts and Discussion:
My 12g long has been going for about two and a half weeks now. So far, I can’t complain about much at all. However, I find it really interesting that I only had a single stem plant die completely. I almost expected some die out would occur whether from allopathy or other competition. Hence the wide variety of plants used.
Maybe I got dealt a good hand, who knows. But, based on my previous research the true test will be in next few months as to which plants climb up the hierarchy scale.