Juxtaposed

My wife and I started a small 5g for our daughter back in February for her birthday. I think it has turned out nicely! And I actually like the algae growth on the driftwood.

While I wait for the tank to settle and become a healthy enough ecosystem for cherry shrimp, I snatched some tadpoles out of the garden pond.

Thanks, @TheSwissAquarist! Unfortunately, I broke it years ago. I found it at an antique store and had intended to fix it up and bring it to my high school English classroom, but it turns out that I'm not much of an antique typewriter repairman...

The vase is settling nicely! The plants all seem to be doing well, the water is clear, and copepods are swarming all over the wood and substrate. The anacharis I snatched from the koi pond has even put out new growth!

Thanks, @Levi_Aquatics! The decorations were birthday gifts for my daughter, so they had to go in there. Happy to be here!

The Java Fern seems to be dying off, but the corkscrew vals are growing quickly and new ones seem to be sprouting out of the substrate every few days. The moss has probably doubled in size and is floating everywhere; I had to cut off a hunk and put it in a small no-tech vase aquarium. I had a green wavy bucephelandra melt all the way back to the rhizome, but the Godzilla bucephelandra looks healthy. The anubias have put out new leaves, but the older leaves are yellowing. The Java Fern seems to be dying off, but the corkscrew vals are growing quickly and new ones seem to be sprouting out of the substrate every few days. The moss has probably doubled in size and is floating everywhere; I had to cut off a hunk and put it in a small no-tech vase aquarium. I had a green wavy bucephelandra melt all the way back to the rhizome, but the Godzilla bucephelandra looks healthy. The anubias have put out new leaves, but the older leaves are yellowing.

The Betta seems happy, and the shrimp seem alright: they're molting, and I've actually seen a few babies. I've got a pothos trailing into the tank, and I'm sure they're heavy feeders since they're houseplants, so I might move it. I have been dosing weekly with Flourish, but I wasn't seeing much growth, so I recently ordered Easy Green. I've only used one it once, though, because it just came in last Saturday.

I was certain it was cycled, but it might not be. I started fishless cycling (with some moss) in early Feb.

This is my test from this afternoon. I'm so new to planted aquariums that it means very little to me... How does it look to you aquarium veterans?

Yeah, @Sleepy, I'm thinking that Easy Green and occasionally Leaf Zone will be more effective than Flourish. I hooked the lights up to a smart plug this past weekend and have the lights set right now for 6 am to 4 pm. I'll probably back it up to 8 or 9 am. As far as testing goes, I have simple test strips from Walmart right now that may not be very effective. They showed 20 nitrates, 0 nitrites, 25GH, 80 KH, and about 7.0 pH. I've been using distilled for water changes but switched back to tap water on Saturday, so I'm hoping my well water will supply some needed minerals.

Tangentially related question: what size dose of Easy Green should I be using? I know the smaller bottle has a dropper, but I purchased the larger. I assume half a pump would treat my 5 gallon tank, but half a pump seems pretty subjective. Would that measure out to .5ml? I also ordered a bottle of API Leaf Zone in case it's a potassium issue.

I might end up putting a few cherry shrimp in there, but only if they end up breeding in my other tank. I don't plan on spending any money on this little experiment.

I think the val is doing better than anything else! Almost no melting, spreading roots, and new little plants popping up everywhere. My java fern and green wavy bucephelandra, however, are pitiful.

Oh, she loves it! She helps feed the Betta and has discovered she can drag a chair over to the dresser to see things better. Of course, the cherry shrimp only ever seem to come out late at night after she has been put to bed. Oh, she loves it! She helps feed the Betta and has discovered she can drag a chair over to the dresser to see things better. Of course, the cherry shrimp only ever seem to come out late at night after she has been put to bed.

I threw this little 1 gallon flower vase together yesterday. The substrate is Fluval stratum, and it has some scrounged wood and rocks from the creek below the house, some java moss, an anubias, and some stem plant I found floating in my koi pond in the backyard. The only light on it is from an Edison bulb in the table lamp next to it. We'll see what happens...

Any remedies?

This java fern was placed in a newly cycled tank about a month ago. It came preattached to driftwood with moss. I've recently noticed that the larger leaves are turning brown and that it is putting out a lot of plantlets. Is this still melting caused by adjusting to a new tank, or is it possibly a nutrient deficiency? I've been using Flourish, but just put my first dose of Easy Green in yesterday.

Nice to meet everyone! My wife and I got our aquarium-obsessed 3 year old a tank for her 3rd birthday. Of course, I'm responsible for it, but it's in her playroom. It's a Fluval Spec V with a few modifications. There's a single Betta, about 8 cherry shrimp, and some plants: some tissue culture anubias nana, two varieties of bucephelandra, java moss, vallisneria, and a java fern.