yard plants

update- the columbine hasn't done much, but is still alive

surprised how much the ornamental sage has grown- it's a very handsome plant

Lenten rose babies

I put some nicotiana back here and only a few survived, they probably won't flower this year

C collected this plant, I have no idea what it is- quite small but pretty leaves

happy plants

two of my largest, the avocado (foreground here) and dracanea marginata (background) seem to be very happy in their spots flanking the big aquarium, in front of the windows- they get a lot of bright indirect light. Maybe they like the extra humidity too. The avocado has been busting out tons of new leaves.

nerites and something else?

Got a picture of the little horned nerite in the tenner, here's a view of his underside you can see the little protrusions on his shell.

I think of him as my bumblebee snail.

He's much smaller than Mavis the tomato nerite. (And there's an oto upside-down cleaning a leaf!)

It turns out the horned nerite in the big tank is female, she's laying eggs everywhere now too.

A day after introducing the new fish/snail to Oliver's tank I saw all these little white specks jumping and darting around. Too small to picture- even smaller than the small specks in this picture (the three white dots under Mavis are the eggs, that gives an idea how tiny) did a bit of research I guess they are copepods harmless things. But that clear-looking stem thing below Mavis- is that a hydra in my tank?? (the white horizontal line is rubber band holding the anubias plant down)

gone

Lost two otocinclus in the forty gallon. Showed no symptoms, just found dead in the morning. There was an ammonia spike that day, I did a 25% water change. Next day when the second one died, no ammonia spike. The otos in the tenner look great, bright and alert, and the tank is sparkling clean on the glass now. It had been looking hazy the week before I worried first about water quality but then realized it was just algae film on the glass.The little otocinclus in there look like such perfect tiny fish.

They've cleaned the java fern well enough that I no longer feel like cutting off the algae-darkened leaves

will let them deteriorate on their own (as new ones grow in)

Pretty soon they'll have eaten all the algae off surfaces and I'll have to transition them to other foods or maybe move them into the forty which really needs them, but I'm concerned now if that tank isn't as stable and that's why the others died so soon. Or was it just bad luck the weaker/sick ones were put in there.

Oliver doesn't seem to mind their presence in his tank. He follows them around a bit sometimes, as if curious but hasn't made any threats or displays since the first day.

I was momentarily alarmed this morning I saw a black kuhli draped over the filter intake tube where it makes a bend- he was breathing but looked collapsed. I nudged him gently with a long-handled pruning tool and he darted off, so I guess he was just relaxing. I've noticed one of the black kuhlis is a bit shorter than the others. They are all busy busy, only Albert tends to hide behind the root piece now. I think he has a tunnel back there. Snakey Fish looks awful skinny is he wasting away. They root around after enough stuff- the others look thick and strong, why is he so thin? I'm trying to give sinking foods every other day, and make sure some flakes get released under water so there's plenty falling to the bottom, but the barbs pick around through the gravel too. Might have to make a hideyhole that only the kuhlis will enter, to feed them solo and make sure they get enough.

When I stand near the tall fish tank in the mornings, the established gang of barbs comes flocking top and center, expectantly swimming loops up and down the glass. The newcomers drift around in the background. One has noticed and hesitantly approaches the activity, as if wondering what are you guys all so excited about? They haven't figured out yet that it's regular feeding time.

flowers!

a tangle of pink

necrosis?

Something is afflicting a number of my houseplants. It started a week after I moved in- I think maybe they got excess nitrates from the water that came out of the fish tank in that early week? or I've spread some disease to them, not sure- these leaves are off C's big schefflera

also lots of leaves are withering on my cyclamen

and the poinsettia

tomatoes

cherry tomatoes coming late but they're here

and a few big ones,

but the plants are awful leggy, probably not enough sun in this spot

next day

all the new fishes look good. Otos in the tenner are perky

and feeding off the big anubias leaves

Oliver doesn't seem to mind them. He cruises close enough to one now and then to disturb it off its perch but isn't nipping or threatening them.

I was a bit worried I'd get an ammonia spike in the forrty from practically doubling its population in one day, so checked levels this morning. Zero. Good. Put the lights back on and fed the fishes peas. I thought I could drop some pea halves in to sink for the loaches, and distract the barbs with minced bites. That didn't work. They dashed for the halves and were able to grab them and carry around, trying to hog it all-

luckily nobody choked. The kuhlis were plenty busy digging in the substrate after stray pea bites so I think I will just mince it all next time.

newbies

I have had poor success with otocinclus in the past. But I took a chance with these because they looked so good in the store- alert fins, round little tummies. Thumprint mark of stomach against the glass. I brought five home yesterday. They're so little!

Crowded together anxiously

I put them right into the tank (two with Oliver, who didn't flare or bite but has been following them around curiously- and three in the bigger tank) because never could keep them well-fed in quarantine anyway. And I've got plenty of algae now. In each tank one was very pale for some time,

but by evening they had all perked up. This one hanging out in the back of the tank-

I actually saw them eating and one of them pooped, so I am more hopeful that these will make it. Eating and digesting is a good sign of health.

more barbs

The tank appears empty, and its not just because I cut the rotala short and the j ferns and aponos haven't grown up yet. Not many fishes for the tank size. I got a few more cherry barb females, making a total of eleven. Don't have quarantine space for so many so took a risk and just introduced them to the tank. Brought home in a cooler so they wouldn't suffer from the heat of my car, then floated the bags ten minutes to let temperature equal, then every ten minutes twice, added some tank water to the bag, final step was to dump the bag into a bucket, net the fishes out into the tank (so the store water doesn't go into the home aquarium). They were very pale when first floated, but after I added the first bit of fresh tank water, started to color up already.

They show no clamped fins, no shyness or hiding, appear to be adjusting well- tank lights off for the rest of the day. I had forgotten how handsome my female barbs are

until saw them in contrast to the newcomers. I hadn't realized how red-orange their fins are- is it because they're more mature, or a display they put on for the newcomers. Whose fins are so pale as to look clear, I hope they color up soon when feel at ease.

Side note- a week ago when I rinsed out the prefilter sponge the fish must have really felt a difference in water quality. They started flirting with each other and I definitely saw spawning behavior- females laying eggs in the rotala stems. I bet the kuhli loaches ate them.

kuhli loaches

Here are some terrible pictures I'm happy about- because my kuhlis are now coming out to feed together. Usually only the black kuhlis are out and about in the front of the tank, the striped ones tend to climb around in the rotala and avoid the open. But the other day I put a piece of algae wafer in there, and all four kuhlis were swarming on it. Good to see. Love their snaky curves.

Too bad there was algae haze on the glass

everybody coming in for food

I'm glad I have the sponge prefilter, even though its one more thing to keep rinsed clear of debris every week or so. The kuhlis like to pick over its surface for what I don't know but must be some microrganisms they eat. The swim up and down across it in graceful curves I like to watch but haven't been able to get a good picture of that.

I'm a bit worried about Snaky Fish. He looks thin- head bigger than the body width. Barbels look pretty short too- I worry he's in poor condition but don't know why. Trying to put more sinking foods in they will like- it was zucchini yesterday.

I was at the pet store the other day- I've noticed an improvement lately, the past few weeks I've seen very few sick or dead fish in any of the tanks, they used to be everywhere. And overheard the employees giving good advice to people about fishkeeping, and then I saw they had black kuhli loaches so I wanted to buy the last three. But when she finally caught them all noticed one had an injury on its back, scraped skin- so I said sorry, I don't want that one, and she said it would go in a tank in the back room where they put the sick fish. Even better.

So I brought two new kuhlis home.

One hanging out in the watersprite for a moment.

They are already ranging all over the place with the kuhli gang- it's six strong now! (see the nice fuzzy root hairs on watersprite above the kuhli's head- that appeared the day after I added ferts again).

snails!

my favorite picture right now- cherry barb posing center but off to the side you see the tomato nerite, Mavis

here's an itty bitty trumpet snail on the glass

and two new snails in my hand- these are a different variety, horned nerites. They're more golden color than this picture shows. I put the smaller one, with a black band like a bumblebee, in Oliver's tank. The larger one that is mostly brown all over, went into the big tank.

Here got a pic of the bigger horned nerite, it's an olive-gold color with little speckles.

indicators

I rubbed a lot of very dark algae off most of the crypt leaves this past friday.

It felt soft, almost slimy. Came off pretty easy. I took heart from noticing that the newer leaves unfurling in center remain algae-free, perhaps the plants are just going through an adjustment period?

I was worried that rubbing all that algae off into the water column would make it grow elsewhere? but no- the filter did a good job of removing it, and the next day I had to gently rinse it, flow was clogged up with the debris.

It was the watersprite that finally reminded me why I'm probably having algae and plant growth difficulties. Need to feed the plants. I saw that the watersprite roots looked bare- no nice fine root hairs reaching for nutrients in the water-

dosed the tank again and now things are greener- even the java fern