This weekend I trimmed the rotalas again to bring them to shape. I kept the stumps and replanted the tops, hopefully with more density it will grow more well defined.
The buces that I had glued back the week before were again swimming around. Gluing under water is tricky... This time I delicately glued it to a small pebble, at the comfort of my desk, without hurrying. Then I brutally glued the pebble to the large stone in the tank, without saving on glue. I dare it to float away this time!
I did some shy trimming on some of the most damaged anubia leaves, just to get a feeling for it. Maybe trimming them will be a good thing, they are getting quite dense already. I also removed some of the more damaged Staurogyne repens leaves, both the eaten ones and the old ones which suffered the first wave of instability when I assembled the tank. The plateau is still looking bad, the carpeting plants are all weird, the Althernantera minis are permanently angry, but it is stable...
I noticed a weird trend among the pinnatifidas, I originally planted them mostly on the center log facing the wall side of the tank, but through growth and death they are all on the opposite side now. I don't dare imposing too much on them since I have always had bad luck with them, so I'll let them do as they want for now. I did move a single sprout back to the wall side to see how it goes.
My Alternanthera reineckiis have always had mood swings with me. When they look pretty, they grow too much and I have to trim them, then they get angry and twisted and sometimes die. I used to remove the top and keep the base untouched, following advice from the 2hraquarist site that says that they don't like having their roots messed with. This time I just replanted the top and it looks to be doing better than on previous attempts. Let's see how it goes.
I moved one of the wave makers down to a middle-height position. It doesn't affect the surface significantly anymore, but it should help spread the CO2 through the lower parts of the tank, all around the rock plateaus. The other wave maker is still near the surface boosting gas exchange. They alternate through the photoperiod, 25 minutes each and 10 minutes of peace, every hour. At night the cycles are longer.
Finally, another picture of the new fishes, the nannostomus. I got 8 of these, but I'm on the hunt for more. They are very delicate and curious. They like to hang at the surface as well as close to the plants, and their 45° tilt is charming.

The buces that I had glued back the week before were again swimming around. Gluing under water is tricky... This time I delicately glued it to a small pebble, at the comfort of my desk, without hurrying. Then I brutally glued the pebble to the large stone in the tank, without saving on glue. I dare it to float away this time!
I did some shy trimming on some of the most damaged anubia leaves, just to get a feeling for it. Maybe trimming them will be a good thing, they are getting quite dense already. I also removed some of the more damaged Staurogyne repens leaves, both the eaten ones and the old ones which suffered the first wave of instability when I assembled the tank. The plateau is still looking bad, the carpeting plants are all weird, the Althernantera minis are permanently angry, but it is stable...
I noticed a weird trend among the pinnatifidas, I originally planted them mostly on the center log facing the wall side of the tank, but through growth and death they are all on the opposite side now. I don't dare imposing too much on them since I have always had bad luck with them, so I'll let them do as they want for now. I did move a single sprout back to the wall side to see how it goes.
My Alternanthera reineckiis have always had mood swings with me. When they look pretty, they grow too much and I have to trim them, then they get angry and twisted and sometimes die. I used to remove the top and keep the base untouched, following advice from the 2hraquarist site that says that they don't like having their roots messed with. This time I just replanted the top and it looks to be doing better than on previous attempts. Let's see how it goes.
I moved one of the wave makers down to a middle-height position. It doesn't affect the surface significantly anymore, but it should help spread the CO2 through the lower parts of the tank, all around the rock plateaus. The other wave maker is still near the surface boosting gas exchange. They alternate through the photoperiod, 25 minutes each and 10 minutes of peace, every hour. At night the cycles are longer.
Finally, another picture of the new fishes, the nannostomus. I got 8 of these, but I'm on the hunt for more. They are very delicate and curious. They like to hang at the surface as well as close to the plants, and their 45° tilt is charming.

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