angel tank cleanup

I've noticed the hornwort continues to struggle- not that it's my favorite plant, but I do miss the plumes filling up that side wall. I suspect it's because the pothos roots are growing and growing- taking up yet more nutrients. I missed the midweek water change both last week and this- yikes- and only did 36% wc on the usual day, but shouldn't have worried much, the nitrates were below ten (tested before the wc) in each instance. I like the pothos roots. Instead of cutting them back, or removing some of the vine, I decided to remove a few of the other plants. 

I pulled out the three medium-sized driftwood chunks (about as big as my two fists together). One had java fern on it, the others anubias- which did kinda poorly at the higher level to the light anyway- the ones on the tank floor fare better. Kept them in a bucket with tank water (refreshed daily) for a week, both so I could be sure I didn't miss having them in the tank before sold, also so I could pick off snails (most people don't want to get snails). I found I didn't miss them at all. A bit more open space for the angels to swim now. 

Tried to get a few fulltank shots after that, but my camera didn't cooperate well. This picture is too green/blue 

and this one too yellow! (photoshop has issues on my computer lately so I can't adjust) 

These closeups of the areas are better: far left, 

middle (where I still hope the crypt boliviana and aponogeton capuronii will eventually grow to fill in)

and right

I have other plans in the making- for subtle changes. To make a new planter basket for my vals americana, a slightly deeper one. And maybe a slightly shorter one for the crypt boliviana and aponogeton- so they are more or less all the same height.

angels update 6

Going to keep posting progress I guess until she's all clear. Still a bit of white on the lip, but noticeably less.

Nitrates 10 ppm this morning. More disagreements among the fishes. The two golden angels look ready to lay eggs- both have plump bellies and breeding tubes out. But they seem to be hanging out with each other, and Miss Beautiful is hiding in the back-

(That's the newly-planted aponogeton bolivianus in front of her. With rocks leaning on the bulb to keep it in place until the roots hold on). 

She's got a scrape on one side, and some missing scales.

I don't know who's culpable- the golden angels? Shirley has been cleaning plants and Precious has been chasing others- but Foxface has been darting rather hard at other fish too. Maybe food aggressive. Somebody on the forum told me his "oscars and dempseys used to put back a ton of food in the adolescent/ sub adult stage" and suggested I try to target-feed the festivum, train him to eat from my hand. Today I was able to give him extra bites at feeding time via tweezers.

But if he's beating up Miss Beautiful that makes me very sad, and I'll have to change something. Feeding them more or maybe adding smaller dither fish. Tricky balance though because I don't want to overfeed or end up with a lot more work to keep the tank clean . . . 

angel tank is beautiful

I feel it's finally reached a balance, with the new(ish) light. Last week I cleaned out lots of dead foliage from the giant vals americana, and trimmed browned tips off the twisty vals. Love seeing the cell structure in the big vals, but sad the two I clipped off runners and replanted, died. Next time I will just bend the runner into the place I want it.

Angelfish remains calm- no more startling, running into walls, twitching. I think I've actually got rid of the parasite this time. 

Hornworts got a trim- I'm still pretty happy with this system, of keeping them pegged down on ceramic rings. I don't mind the task of refastening a few each week on maintenance day.

Trying not to be excited about this, because what if it doesn't last- but my apnogeton capuronii seems to be finally growing again! There's a leaf visible in the middle. I've been pulling baby leopard vals out of the aponogeton's planter basket when they show up on runners, to avoid it having competition. 

Seems it was a good move to swap positions with the java ferns and anubias- all the patches of java ferns have new little fiddleheads now 

More new shoots on the anubias rhizomes, too (I didn't move them all). 

Kind of an overhead shot- from high angle outside the tank- of the driftwood side with java ferns, and twisty vals behind- 

the other driftwood chunk- mostly with anubias- and more vals. Still have this bunch of them just  weighed down in a gap. Every water change, whatever bits of substrate my siphon picks up off the tank floor, I drop back into this thicket. So far (weeks now) the vals are staying in place, and staying green. 

Miss Beautiful among the plants- 

I took this picture to highlight the lovely crypt balansae, but she got in the shot, too.

Now I just need to get a good current fulltank shot to show. I sit and stare at it sometimes and can't believe I have this tank. I'm really itching to get a second angelfish again, but dreading the likelihood of failure . . . 

angel tank rearranged

slightly- put java ferns up on top of the large driftwood pieces,

and tied anubias on the smaller pieces down on the tank floor-

Brought in here more bits of bolbitis fern- they already have new tiny fronds unfurling- 

and of course the biggest change is all these twisty vallisneria I got- Miss Beautiful seems to like the addition of a lot more vertical plants!

I pulled out some discontented crypts and planted their space fully with the new vals. In another spot I simply sunk the vals down between two larger driftwood pieces, their roots are still clinging to some substrate from prior tank, so they stay in place without actually being planted. While I put together another mesh planter box.

55 progress

A while back I made some adjustments to the tank again- put plastic sheeting on the LED as the light seemed too intense- more algae spots had been showing up. It's always hard to tell but things do seem improved now- for one, the hornwort is growing like crazy, and forming a very nice security wall for my angelfish

Crypt balansae next to it is looking great

Upper leaves on the buces remain clear of algae so far

Java ferns look better and have new growth

Crypt retrospiralis also grown- and quite curvy!

My giant vals americana have been unhappy- lots of leaves turning yellow, then brown, then eaten by the snails. I think from the change I made to the light. I've been watching for new leaves- yes there are some- and two new shoots on runners! which I clipped and replanted into the end of the basket, where there's a bare spot.

Leopard vals also continue to do well- much better than jungle val ever did for me- and the angelfish seems to appreciate them

angel treatment

For the past few weeks I have been treating my angelfish for suspected external parasites.

She gets unsettled when the water is so low-

I've noticed for a while that she will get twitchy, or jerk and dart across the tank. Then this behavior- she'd hold herself still in the middle of the water column, head pointed up, and a guppy would pick at her sides, until she jerked and swam off. I saw this with my paradise fish before when it was unwell- I thought the guppy was picking at fungus on its side but now I think it was cleaning off parasites. I was still unsure though but then three weeks ago Miss Beautiful started to go off her food. Would take bites and spit them out, or not show any interest at all. 

First round I did a normal water change (being rather short on time that day) and dosed with Prazipro. Angelfish quit being as twitchy and started eating again in the middle of that week. Five days later I did a large water change and dosed again. Seven days after that saw her acting twitchy again so repeated the large water change and Prazipro. By large I mean changing out almost thirty gallons instead of the usual thirteen or fourteen. I brought my two and three-gallon watering cans into the room and filled them straight from the tank as part of that:

I used my acrylic tube like a long straw, with finger on one end, to spot-clean in crevices and under/behind the hornwort stems, where it's difficult to get with the regular siphon. And did extra rinse of the filter sponges. Plus I've been feeding the fishes garlic-soaked micro pellets once or twice a week- but Miss Beautiful doesn't like and spits them out. The guppies and kuhli loaches eat 'em up, however (and they've shown no signs of illness). 

Would really like to get rid of this issue, hasn't my angelfish been through enough. I'd also really like to get a new paradise fish or betta, but all the small items I'd use for a quarantine tank are in the back of this tank, so pulling that while it's infected with parasites not a good idea.

new light

Over a week ago the new LED strip arrived for my 55 tank. Here's a full tank shot.

I did some trims, removing lower buce leaves that had algae:

Stuck a tiny buce piece in a little driftwood hole.

Moved a few things around, tucked all the java ferns onto the lower left end of the driftwood arrangement:

Here's after the anubias were cleaned up and then their tops cut and moved- most of them I just wedged under roots and projections of the wood to re-situate them lower down (as the new light is brighter). The tank looks tidier to my eye now, but not as nice of arrangement until the anubias regrow some of their leaves and fill in that middle space. I'm watching to see if the remaining bare stems rooted to the wood regrow new leaves, and if they stay free of algae or not. Might need to adjust the photoperiod. 

It's hard to tell, but I think my angelfish appreciates having more room. She's far less skittish now, and when she does startle and flee, she glides to a stop in a corner to hide, instead of running into walls anymore.