underwater gardening

did a bit of that today. Cut out dying leaves- from a few apnogeton, a few java fern, a third of the leaves on the amazon sword, same for the crypts. I want to be able to see if the new leaves stay healthy, but it's hard to compare when my attention keeps going to the older ones still dying off from changes. So far it still looks promising- the younger leaves that looked nice last week are still holding their green.

I also spread apart the clumps of crypt wendtii- turns out I have more than eighteen individual plants, if separate the crowns. There are still two or three paired up, but the rest in their own space now. I was pleased to see they all have healthy, long white roots. The leaf color is nice, strong veins with pink and purple undersides. The newer leaves are still nice bold blue-green, without any algae encroaching yet.

Now I've got a kind of crypt thicket growing in the front corner of the tank.

I left the biggest one in front of the java/driftwood cave, but the kuhlis still feel exposed, are cramming themselves under the log.

The rotala is growing and growing, tallest stems in each grouping have reaching the surface!

In the smaller tank, I removed the thread that held java moss onto the fake skull, and put the loose bits in the water jar. There are still quite a few threads of moss clinging to the skull- just what I always wanted them to do. I have trimmed those stems very short, to encourage branching and more growth. No pics of it thought- it is so small and fine I can't get the camera to focus.

The anubias in there are looking great- the newer leaves have bold color and less brown mottling- new shoots still arising, and the java ferns, while poor in color, are sending up new fiddleheads so I'm hopeful for them, too (the plants never repair old damaged or deficient leaves, but grow new ones in response to better conditions/nutrients).