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.

glory fish

Tucker has eaten nearly all the snails in his tank. A few trumpet snails escape him because they burrow during the day- but now a lot of plants are getting too much algae on them. I've put up background again. Makes it easier to take photos, so I tried for a few good ones of Tucker- but he moves so quickly it's difficult as ever!

He's grown a lot. Tip of anal fin reaches half the length of his tail!

I've started feeding him one earthworm (red wiggler) a few times a week- he really likes that.

kuhli loaches!

Got a few good pics of my kuhli loaches- usually it's just a glimpse like this as they dart around (Tiger's tail)

The other day they were out poking around more casually after food- so from a dozen photos I had a few better ones. Sassy hanging out in some young java fern: 

They really like the planter basket of amazon sword. This is Sassy again.

And Tiger, on the driftwood. Some of the subwassertang is starting to spread along it, which is nice.

This is the one I call Monty. Look how the newer giant val americana has doubled in height! (Excuse the mess of corkscrew val roots. Foxface has been pulling some up).

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 . . . 

new angels!

Sometimes if you wait long enough, things just come your way.

I have five new angelfish. I've wanted for a long time now to have a companion for Miss Beautiful, but it's hard to find adults that I know are female- stores sell them when little and unsexed. Friend in the fish club connected me with somebody who's moving and had to re-home all his angelfish. He had three generations in some very large planted tanks- it was so beautiful. Most were veils; I brought home five of the standard fin types. Even though I'm not particularly partial to golden angels or koi, I saw how handsome his adult golden angelfish were and gladly brought the younger ones home. 

With promises that if any pair off and I have to remove the males, I''ll find them good homes. Which is maybe already happening- but I'm getting ahead of myself. It was a long ride home for them in a bucket and then for the first time I did drip acclimation- as they came from a walstad style tank with RO water-

I let the drip run for half an hour while keeping a close eye on them, then siphoned some waste out of the bottom of their bucket and ran the drip another half hour while I caught Miss Beautiful, put her in a separate bucket, and rearranged all the tank decor.

I turned my A/C down so the room warmed up to 75° and hoped that would slow heat loss from the buckets enough, but it didn't- and I probably took too long getting the tank ready. I think they got a bit chilled in there- several of the new angels have cloudy eye now, and Miss Beautiful looked rough when I put her back in the tank- fin edges dark, a tear in her caudal, cloudy eye, redness at the pectoral joints. I could have cried. Should have put a small heater in her bucket, and been more gentle with the handling. Well, I tried. Doing extra wc this week to help them.

Hoping to alleviate aggression, I netted the new angels into the tank first, then released Miss Beautiful.

She hasn't bothered them at all. It's the other way around. (I switched the light off after checking to make sure none were in shock from the different water conditions- took these photos first though.)

Most of them stayed in one corner for a while, then started venturing around the tank- and I watched them for a long time in the dimness. 

Two of the koi angels started acting like a pair- swimming alongside each other, with turns of the head to gently mouth the other. One (probably female) mouthing plants as if testing or cleaning them, the other (probably male) threatening everybody else- even asserting himself against Miss Beautiful though she's larger. These new ones are two years old. Their gold color looks so attractive among the green vallisneria. 

Of course, I still have my two festivums in the QT tank! So here's my plan for the rest of the week: test the tank for ammonia spikes, do small partial wc daily as needed. Treat the festivums in QT with General Cure (it's supposed to arrive today). End of week, move the festivums into the 55, reloacate the QT so I can fill it to the total 20g, and move out any confirmed male angelfish (if the presumed pair spawns by then I think I'll know) . . . 

The prior owner also gave me two baby sword plants. I promptly (but gently) uprooted all the corkscrew vals from a planter basket, tucked them in a gap between hardscape, and planted the swords. Think I'm going to phase out all the corkscrew vals and hope to get more crypts and aponogetons in here instead.