new arrangements

A while ago I made a few alterations to the window tank- with the plants. Which ended up taking me over two hours- tying plants onto sticks and things is tedious. First I took out the sticks from the tank- they're now waterlogged enough to sink unaided.

Gathered up all the small graphite rocks from back wall that had the 'red' java ferns tied on- a lot of leaves have died off but most of them grew new ones, too.

Fastened onto the maple sticks with rubber bands.

Added some clumps of subwassertang (saved from the fry box).

Set in the background of the tank- the java ferns much more visible now. Especially when the lights are low or window curtains shut.

And the cories seem to like having space under the sticks- a shelter in the background.

I do have a nice little thicket of elodea forming. Cleared out a bunch of dying, melting foliage and lower stems, quite a few are growing new tips out I was even able to divide some.

I also took all the baby windelov ferns off the pale rocks- don't like how they stand out- and re-tied onto darker rocks (taken from the small vase that holds arrowhead I grow in tankwater).

The mother windelov fern is so much bigger than at first! Some of the rhizomes are starting to wander off the rock and come loose- when I empty the tank to move it onto the stand going to refasten, or pull a few off as needed.

I do think most of the buces in here are doing alright- this one has recently grown a new leaf.

Some of the little creeper ones got re-tied onto darker stones as well.

Here's another pic of that one, with the cories.

This little strip of windelov ferns had been fastened to a rock but the glue came loose- with the ferns on it.

It has kind of been drifting around the tank and I just left it alone. I keep wondering if it will ever put down root hairs to hold itself in place before a fish pushes it aside again- so far, not yet. Not pictured (still too small), but worth noting: the little bit of crypt retrospiralis (or wilisii) rhizome I put in here has grown a second leaf. And the other bit is sprouting a leaf, too- yay!

The sweet potato roots have grown like crazy. They act different from the pothos roots, which go straight down from the stem. I thought these would do the same- go straight down responding to gravity, looking for substrate. Instead, they go horizontal across the water surface away from the window light (towards the front of the tank), and then start growing lots of root hairs hanging down.

Quick full tank shot.