downsides

Not much happening with plants in winter- and the potato didn't grow it rotted, so will try that again later. So I keep posting about fishes. Oliver is not as accepting as I thought. I never see him actively chase or threaten the platies, but they were fine last week

and now one of them has a bitten tail.

I'm going to have to find them a new home... Maybe Oliver would do better with cories. Or shrimp. Or just snails (ie: nobody!) I've noticed that since Sammy moved out, Oliver the black flag hangs out in the sheltered driftwood spot more. Is this because the kuhli is gone, so he's moved into that area- or that he doesn't like sharing the upper levels with the platies, so sticks near the bottom.

stitches

I didn't mention fish yesterday because nothing much was new- same ferts dose, continued improvement in the plants (see the lovely apono growing up in the background here? It's really taking off!)

a few java and crypt leaves trimmed out (blanching white, I think the plants are pulling nutrients out of the older, damaged leaves as they recover from the deficiency and put their energies into new growth). But something was slightly off- there was no happy kuhli dance. Nerite on the water line too, although he's often there so I didn't think much of that (this one is Mavis in the small tank)

This morning I woke sudden in the middle of a dream, before the alarm. First instinct was to check the aquariums- temp fine, nobody in distress. But the filter output on the main going through overflow. So I turned it off and did a little maintenance. There is no clog- it's still fairly clear of debris (I found a few tiny trumpet snails in the filter media, I guess they're doing their own kind of cleanup in there) but the loose filter pads tend to ride up in the box, and I think that's obstructing the flow somewhat. I had cut them off the plastic base to run without carbon during a prior treatment, but the media pads don't stay in place without the plastic backing, so they were wedged in there behind it again. Now I've loosely stitched the two extra pads onto the plastic backing again, so they stay where supposed to. Flow is fine now. Will be easy enough to cut the threads if I want them off again. I also put the baffle back on, so Pinkie doesn't struggle in that corner so much- he still has a crease in his tail.

(he's also acting camera-shy lately, so I tried to sneak a few shots while he was cruising across the back of the tank)

And this time, when I plugged the filter back in, I got the happy kuhli dance! Little wiggle squiggles around the edges, they're so fun to watch.

Bonus picture here of Mavis' underside. You can see her mouth parts scraping the glass!

inside

The pepper plant well into its second winter. One last pepper never grew full size, instead it turned red. There are still white flowers and baby peppers forming- I doubt to get more fruit but the colors are festive.

squirrels

We put out the pinecone feeders for the birds- but they fell down. I tied them to the balcony railing- and now the squirrels are coming. I haven't seen any birds around at all, but we don't mind. My youngest is thrilled to have squirrels visiting every day!

visitor

Made pinecone feeders for the birds- peanut butter and shortening slathered, rolled in seed. But we didn't get any birds- instead a pair of squirrels have been frequenting the balcony. They trample my pots a bit, but it doesn't matter as the nicotiana have finally succumbed to the cold.

in water

I'm happy with my arrowhead. Roots have reached the bottom of the jar already. Next to it I'm starting a new growing project- sweet potato vine. Had this idea in the back of my head for years, but I never tried it before. It took a lot of picking through to find a red sweet potato with some eyes on it at the grocery, but it might not sprout (they're commercially treated to prevent sprouting). If this one fails I'll look for an organic one.

tough

plants, these flowering tobacco. In spite of the cold, and some drifting snow, most of the smaller ones are still alive.

pink again!

fish notes

Everything the same today, but a possible close call. I did the water changes, gave the same dose of ferts, added seven more root tabs to the twenty gallon (three last week, making total of ten). Plants continue to improve- new java leaves in the tenner are growing quickly, nice clean color. Lots of green life in the main tank

Rotala has hit the ceiling on both sides

Apono seems to be holding onto its foliage now, although leaves stay half the size as when the mature plant first came to me. I'm even starting to make out some strong cell structure on the leaves- very pretty.

Watersprite has nearly doubled in size.

But now I'm worried about Pinkie.

He looked fine this morning, but then suffered mishap. I had let the water level drop lower than normal- with the submerged heater now, it's not as crucial, has to drop very low for the filter to quit. Louder spashing noise, I noticed Pinkie struggling a bit against flow in one corner, but the barbs seemed to be enjoying it- hanging out in the outflow a lot- so I didn't top off before maintenance day. I didn't realize the lower water level would cause stronger current? or Pinkie just got into the wrong spot because all the fishes were rooting along the substrate for spirulina I fed this morning. I stepped out of the room and came back a few minutes later to find Pinkie stuck to the filter intake. Quickly shut it off and he swam free. It's lucky I came back in the room so soon, or he could have drowned. Doesn't seem to be injured- a few marks on tail just before the fin- he's got strong scales! Seemed okay, was acting normal until just as I finished up the water change and dosing plant foods.

Now he's hiding under the java log. For over half an hour.

Crashed?

Or scared of something? He looks a bit stunned, but I don't know why. All the other fishes seem fine- the barbs are calm (didn't even flinch when I added ferts today- dissolved it first again) and the kuhlis did their normal happy wiggles. Keeping a close eye on him. The only thing I did different today was filling a clean five-gallon bucket for refill water, instead of the one-gallon pitcher. I did rinse the bucket out and wipe it down first (paper towel)- could something in there still have harmed him?

something new

My lovely parlor plam had a surprise for me

It's growing a new shoot! I wasn't expecting it to branch anytime soon, but here it is eagerly growing.

plant spa day

other participants not pictured include: boston fern, spider plant, avocado.

pink buds

My second-generation violet is going into its second bloom.

arrows

I think I was right in taking arrowhead cuttings and growing in water- already the leaves look bigger, bolder, more pinkish veins.

I've never read that they particularly like to be kept damp though. The rooted pot is sending up some new shoots, too.

above

I was putting a new heater in my aquarium (the old one is failing- won't hold temperature steady when it drops in the apartment at night) and had the lid off. Liking the appearance of the plants from above, so took some photos.

I like the contrast in textures among them.

Especially pleased that the rotala is starting to look nice, almost as good as when I first brought it home.

friday notes

Still looks good- watersprite and rotala growing, growing. A few dead java fern leaves, lots of new fiddleheads. Some brown algae on a few crypt and apono leaves (could rub it off) and I'm pretty sure why- I thought the plants needed something more (still don't look perfectly green yet) so I gave a second half-dose of micronutrients middle of the week. Guess that was too much. Today I pushed in three root tabs, between the aponos which are still the smallest for their possibility. Next week I'll add the rest of the packet (seven more). In the tenner, I cut out two anubias leaves that have black mottling, the rest are nice. This time I tried dissolving the potassium into some aquarium water before pouring into the tank. The barbs still twitch and glance a bit- skins irritated. Pinkie and Oliver never seem to notice. I think their scales (armored for battle?) are thicker than the other fishes'.

roasted snack

I've had a can of chickpeas sitting in the cupboard for ages. Never think what to do with it. The other day came across a recipe for roasting them, using paprika, cinnamon or coriander for flavor. Rummaging through my spice cupboard for something else, I found I still have a little jar of cilantro seed from my old garden. So I ground up the seed

and roasted the chickpeas. It's simple- toss in olive oil and roast for forty minutes, toss again with salt and chosen spice. I think next time I'll try it with paprika. My youngest calls them "crunchy peas". She's not so enthusiastic about the flavor, but my older daughter likes them.

underwater green

Still observing, still learning. I did not change anything this week- dosage of ferts, water change remains the same. Plants are continuing to improve- at least as far as growth rate and slowing down of decay indicates. I've also found that some stuff I read online is true- if the plants do better, the algae can't compete. In my ten-gallon tank, I worried that increasing the photoperiod would get hair algae on the plastic plants and anubias again, but it hasn't recurred at all. The lights are on nine hours a day now, in both tanks. Some general notes from this maintenance day.

I still worry about my aponos, but found something that made me hope. The smallest apono I thought was completely dead, I was thinking to take it out and throw away. But this time it had come free of the substrate (constantly comes loose and floats), and I saw there were a few tiny green leaves growing again, and white roots coming from the bulb! I planted it once more, and tugged the worst-looking, smallest ones up a bit to make sure they weren't buried too deep. Those must have good white roots growing finally as well- they hung on to the gravel! so I hope they do recover in time.

Looking down on the two biggest aponos:

Picture of the rotala, under low water level. Can see a nice apono leaf in the background.

Java ferns seem to be doing better in both aquariums. I only cut one dying leaf out in the bigger tank, didn't touch in the smaller one- when it gets depleted enough, the leaf will detach on its own. There are still new fiddleheads arising, and in the tenner, two of the plants have baby leaves.

When the water was low, for the first time ever I trimmed the java moss that grows in my twenty. It's a very small patch. I cut it back by half. Always thought it looked finer, smaller leaves than the java moss in the other tank, but I wasn't sure. I put this tiny clump in water jar with other moss trimmings, and yes- it is smaller. So either a different species of the moss? or different growth habit from slightly different conditions.

I tried to get a picture of the green threads of java moss clinging to the top of the skull, but that's hard to capture:

The anubias in my small tank seems better every week- some leaves are nice clean green, no mottled spots. Either they are healthier or the platies clean stuff off them- I see them picking at things. I also noticed when I gently squeezed out the sponge filter, not nearly as much mulm came out this time- and the tank water cleared quicker after refilling too. So either the debris from the driftwood is finally settled and filtered out, or the platies poop a lot less than the cherry barbs did!

Watersprite continues to grow-

side view for comparison to previous photo

I do want to get the rest of the recommended ferts to balance out the plant nutrients- they should probably receive potassium nitrate and phosphates too. And I think I should start dissolving the ferts before I put it in- I've noticed every maintenance day a few of the barbs will twitch and flash after I put the dry fert in. I think it irritates their skin.

I don't have much news on the fishes themselves- except that it's nice to see Sammy in the main tank. All three kuhlis were swimming wiggles up and down the tank during the water change (people call this "the kuhli happy dance"). Sammy still hangs out in the little rock cave a lot- it's cute to see his head poking out one side and his tail the other, or head and tail next to each other when he's curled into a loop. I'm not sure if this is because the other kuhlis don't let him share the driftwood space, or if he just feels more secure under the rock.

pepper plant

I brought this plant inside a few weeks ago, forgot to mention it. My youngest keeps pointing to the "baby pepper" on there, hoping we can eat it soon, but I doubt it will get much bigger! If this one makes it through the winter again, it will see a third spring!