24 January 2016

tenner things

Well already I see response in the plants that went into my tenner a week ago. Some good, some not. Staurogyne repens is gone- I couldn't get any of it to hold down and gave up on that. Most of the monte carlo melted away to nothing. There are still a few little bits of plants in front of the skull, but I think they're stems of dwarf rotala that I missed when I moved stuff:
The pennywort is still here, and it even grew two new tiny leaves, but it has floated loose again too, I've tried pegging it down.
Bacopa monnieri came loose too. One piece too far gone to keep, the other two I replanted in a different corner.
Creeping jenny I am not sure if this one will make it. Bottoms of stems melting away and most go too quickly. By the time I get my hands back in the tank to replant loose stems, there's nothing substantial enough to grasp. I only have five stems of it left.
Downoi also might be a goner- the stem broke off and I have pushed it back into substrate several times and it won't stay. Need a peg. Not sure if it can grow new roots at this point. Ends of leaves are melting.
I am pleased with the ludwigias- a lot of the bigger pieces I bought as potted plant even still have their red top color. I wasn't expecting them to hold on to that.
The tiny repens one -here just under the oto- is growing new leaves and they are rounder than the original ones.
When I made the driftwood log in the thirty-eight all buces, plucked off the remaining java ferns (which don't seem to do well in that tank for some reason) and tied them onto the skull here. Some in the front over the teeth, some in the back.
I left one piece of java fern behind. It surprised me by growing from a rhizome fragment on the wood so small I had forgotten it was there. Too little to move- I wouldn't have anything to tie it by. If it grows a bit bigger maybe I will bring it over here too.
I don't want to keep shifting plants around, need to keep my hands out and just leave things alone now. But the ludwigias keep sending their aerial roots into the sponge filter, and I can't see bacopa caroliniana or watersprite for the jumbled mess they are with each other. So I moved one stem of ludwigia, moved most of the bacopa over against and behind it, and put the sponge filter further into the corner, between the wisteria and bacopa. Looks distinctive now (I hadn't realized how well my wisteria is doing!) and hopefully that keeps the roots out of the sponge (so I can lift it out to rinse now and then without trouble).
Current full tank shot-
I just wish I didn't have so much of this happening.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

It's easier to plant in sand. I use playsand 100% aquarium safe and it's 4$ for 50 pounds at lows