Simply Fin

Well, I'm certainly learning. I boiled for one hour, rinsed, boiled for 2 hours, rinsed, soaked overnight. Boiled again, rinsed, same over again. Then I soaked overnight again. Soaked in warm water and then it looked pretty good. But I see by the looks of the aquarium I'll be doing regular water changes to keep the tannins down. But that's ok. Yes, the Rasboras will love it! I'll take a picture soon so you can see the progress...if you want a look at a beginner's nano tank. I can see I've already made some landscape mistakes but I'll manage with it for now. Thank you again for everyone's kind help.

I want to thank all of you for responding to this new fin in the swim question. There is so much to learn about aquarium life. I'll be so glad to just get my aquarium up and running and stocked with my plants and fish. It's a long process but everyone here has made this little journey easier. Sincerely, Simply Fin

Oh, that is so beautiful and refreshing! Love how you are working the room. 😄A real spa like retreat.

I just received hardscape today and instructions came with it that really had me in a quandary. You see, if I follow the instructions in preparing the driftwood for the aquarium it will rid all the tannins from the wood or at least that is what the company is stating. But the problem is that I want Phoenix Rasboras to live in the tank and from what I've read they like a little tannin in the water. But I'm not sure how I would go about treating the driftwood and leaving a little tannin in the wood. Is this making sense to you? I've enclose photo so you can see the instructions and consider what I might do. Thank you.

Very impressive, love the big tank and the aquascape. Very nice. Thanks for sharing.

This was amazing to watch, thank you for the video clip.

Guppysnail, Anjum, and Redfish, Thank you for the encouragement and help. As of today, more of the stems have developed good roots. It's amazing how fast they propagate. I can see I will be very busy in the near future cleaning out Water Sprite, but if the Phoenix Rasboras are happy then it's worth the work. Can't wait to finally transfer my plants to the tank but it will take time. This is good practice for the future when I quarantine the Rasboras. I'll just have to be patient. I would like to see pictures of your aquarium/s if you want. Maybe they are already posted here, but I'm not sure where to start to see them. No pressure friends.

Hello everyone, looks like I'm seeing some small roots forming on the Sprite and the anubias are growing also.

Hello Kris, All I can say is WOW. Great tanks! Congrats on your undergrad degree and my best wishes in your pursuit of a Master's degree in Biology. I joined a week ago and everyone has been very helpful and supportive. I'm also from Idaho, the northern panhandle. Unlike you I'm new to aquarium life but am enjoying learning about plants, fish and water conditions. This senior citizen is taking a crash course in a little science, chemistry and biology. It's a little stressful since I was never good in the science/math department. lol We'll just call this my lab assignment. Or on the job training? lol. I'm rattling on, forgive me, and welcome to the swim neighbor.

Oh, that's great to know K McZongo, thank for your comments. From what I'm reading, I'll be harvesting Sprite for a long time. Thank you, I feel better now.

Thank you for the information, I'll take your advice and wait until the plant is in the aquarium and is better established and has grown out more. Good advice, appreciate your impute. I'll wait and just let the magic happen, propagate later. Thank you so much.

Following videos that mention the importance of disinfecting plants and quarantine procedures to avoid snails and things like planaria that can kill fish. I used alum dip for 4 hours and it was tested that it kills most snails and eggs in that length of time except for one type of snail. It's on You Tube. Thank you for all the good information TOtrees, appreciate your time and question. Have a nice holiday weekend.

Thank you, Redfish, and Gardenman for your observation and thoughts. I played it safe by separating the Anubias plants from the Water Sprite just in case it's fungus or mold. Leaning on the side of caution. The Anubias plants are still doing great. Hope it's just normal melting for the Sprite and hope to see new growth before too long. Thank you so much for your support.

Gardenman, would you mind taking a look at some pics I posted under My new Water Sprite doesn't look good. Does it look like fungal growth or mold to you?

Thank you, CJs, appreciate the information and have a nice weekend.

Thank you Vyce for the pictures. Wow they are healthy. You are harvesting a lot! Have a great Labor Day weekend .

Thank you FLFishchik, I appreciate your help. Have a nice Labor Day weekend.

Thank you FLFishchik, I appreciate your help. Have a nice Labor Day weekend.

Welcome aboard Schuyler, you have made great improvements already! Love the hardscape and plants.

Thank you Vyce for letting me know how hardy your water sprite is and how it grows. It's all new to me, I am a beginner so I really need to learn more. Maybe the alum was too much. I'm thinking of changing the water again and seeing if time will tell. I just have to be patient. When I removed the casing, I think it's called a rock wall, I found the roots were in some dark substrate. Some of the roots came off when I was cleaning the plant before and after the dip. They seem ok now. I'll give it some time to bounce back and see what happens. Thank you again for telling me about your experience, it encourages me to hang in there. Oh, and do show pics tomorrow if you have time. I would like that.

If you have read my other messages, you will know what I've been doing recently. My Water Sprite doesn't look very good, perhaps it didn't care for the alum dip (4 hours). Should I be changing the quarantine tank water every day? Or leave it alone? I have an air stone in the tank. I've conditioned the water and added Easy Green as directed. My other plants seem to be doing fine. I checked the ammonia level and it is safe. ?

I have my plants in 2-gallons of water and was wondering if that is sufficient for growth? New aquarist here, more questions. Again, do I need a heater for Water Sprite and anubias plants? Thank you.

Thank you Jawjagrrl! Side by side tanks, wonderful. Do you have pictures of them posted? I will have just a 5-gallon tank. After my plants get settled into the aquarium and it cycles then hopefully, I will get Phoenix Rasboras. What type of fish and what size tanks do you have? You will have a good one watching your tanks, awesome.

I was looking at the new Anubias nana petite plant and it looks loaded with leaves and roots. It looks like the rhizome is starting to grow in different directions. I received plants on Wednesday of this week. Gave them alum dip, rinsed them thoroughly and put them in dechlorinated water with Easy Green in quarantine tank. Should I wait to split the plant up or can I safely separate it now? I don't want to stress the plants. Also want to know if I need to use a heater in the quarantine tank for my plants. I have Anubias Nana, Anubias nana petite and Water sprite. Thank you.