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Eriocaulon sp. "Feather Duster".

Anubias. I tried the "Snow White" novelty. The tissue cultured babies all died eventually. Another small one is this nana "Pangolino", one of few that accept my background. It is only about an inch tall: I also have a gracilis, it's not so happy: Several nana "Bonsai", here one from above with older larger leaves with scale / old diatoms. The second one cable tied to a rock after it decided to not grow on my background: Nana "golden" (not coin):

But rinsing a small amount of sand is actually no issue. 🙂

Dang. I hope my success isn't temporary, that low doses are indeed effective. Unfortunately I didn't note how much I used. I never had, I think, large numbers and removed hem manually as I spottted them, so the fact that I don't see any now isn't hard proof. So far so good though. They probably came with a used tank. After I cleaned and repopulated it, they were apparently gone, but some time later they showed up in the other tank.

I've had planaria a while. I have not seen any effect on shrimps. But reluctantly, because they are disgusting, I bought some dog dewormer and tried it, lower dose than suggested (somewhere). It seems to have worked. Besides the planaria, at least one other flatworm variety was killed. No noticable effects on shrimps, seed shrimps, MTS or bladder snails - well, more bladder snail eggs show up, the planaria used to eat them. The smaller critters, not visible without magnification, I have not investigated. Any flatworms are likely destroyed. I never came around to try a trap.

Speaking of MTS, I spotted this spot; what could it be?

I decided against planaria and dosed a small amount of dog dewormer. So far, a little seems to go a long way. I imagine I already see much more bladder snail eggs (that'll teach me to mess with the balance). In the small tank I keep three large MTS. They have not procreated. Not long ago, I saw the dark one and one of the lighter ones hugging, and I hope I'll see young. I wonder how they will colour! I don't know how and where MTS like to put eggs, or what they look like. MTS breeding, now that's next level, isn't it.

The Hygrophila pinnatifida was doing good, then not extremely good, now it is very small. But it is alive 🙂 A shoot ran away, seeking its fortune.

3 small Bucephalandra, "Lamandau mini red" This one really in a dark spot, I had to use a torch to catch it. And one attached to wood.

I gave my found root / branch a shower and splashes of boiling water, something like that. Maybe I let it dry and repeated. I think salt (brine) is perfectly safe, the amounts that may be absorbed and released can't be significant? Hydrogen peroxide is another benign chemical. Chlorine - I wouldn't.

Making a lid, slowly. The local store didn't have the hinges I wanted, so I decided to try and print some. I cut the pockets with a dovetail bit so the hinges partly lock in place. The part near center is a template. Now painting (with a disappointing excuse for a paint. Thanks again, local store).

Plants again. My hornworts used to stand or slant. I'm guessing they got buoyant due to oxygen production and so that end ascended, getting more light, keeping that position somewhat stable. Lately, they rest at the bottom. They also grow more slowly. I guess overall nutrition is down - I haven't tested the water chemistry lately. I find shedding isn't a problem if you trim parts that are getting brown. I like this humble plant, and so do many animals it seems.

I still waterchange by buckets, it's OK but refilling either upsets the sand or is tedious. Pondering different elaborate diffusers, I got it together and simply fitted hooks to a cut canister, small holes in the bottom (or top).

I have often seen old shrimp skins (husks? Molts? I dunno) but until now I have not observed them eating it, as I know they may. Now suddenly they do. I wonder if this means that I am not overfeeding currently!

I'd say poor lighting is the first that comes to mind. Keep in mind that the plants also shadow each other and themselves. I'm no expert though.

I think it is well established that it deals with (some) algae. In high enough concentration, it'll probably deal with anything. It (glutaraldehyde) may affect bacteria, plants and animals. At the same time, very often low concentrations of toxic substances are safe, not only safer but actually safe. Often even valuable. Also, glutaraldehyde doesn't linger and accumulate. Possibly there exists a sweet spot where it significantly suppresses algae but negligibly affect other life adversely. I think it's nice to see that you hesitate, but I am not sure you'll find a hard and fast answer that is also correct... Aside from just trying to be on the safe side as Tankseeker mentions, suppressing things with easy fixes tend to complicate things instead. Yet, sometimes it makes sense. 🤪

Lobelia cardinals mini. I got a small shot when buying other plants. I think some descriptions argue that it more or less requires CO2-injection, but it's growing ok I think. I like the addition. Under different conditions it is expected to grow wider.

Hi Johannes, I looked up the word to learn it is esker in English. It's appearantly Irish in origin! I am Swedish, where the word is ås though ås may also indicate other kinds of ridges such as horsts. The closest commonly used Swedish word that means "ridge of glacial origin" is rullstensås (rolling rock ridge [wow, that sounds so american doesn't it?] but it's not a very good way to indicate a sandy ridge ;-). (Apparently an [English] synonym to esker is os - directly from Swedish ås!)

Though imo it doesn't always float float; mine used to more or less "stand up" stretching from the bottom to the surface. Now they are resting at the bottom. I guess it depends on how fast it grows > how much oxygen it produces! I don't feed a lot. Yes, they may shed! Cut off the parts that are getting brown to pre-empt. 👍

I had the idea to walk through my plants. Nothing special. Cryptocoryne wendtii Green: I bought an in vitro bunch in february-march and divided it to three groups. One is by a pump outlet and at the side facing a window (that is typically blinded though). It is a bit discoloured (diatoms, I presume) and seemingly lightly stressed. A large clump of moss was growing at / over it. The second one is at the front. It has quite narrow leaves and is slow, but seems happy. I put clumps of clay at the bottom of the aquarium at startup, so by chance some plants may find themselves at a better or worse place. As usual, the substrate (basically sand) is a bit deeper towards the back. The final one is more to the back. It has the widest leaves and looks well adjusted. The camera fails to reproduce colours perfectly, it is light green but not pale and the light is not bright. Looking at the images, I don't see much difference. The leaves of this last fellow is actually about twice as wide as the smallest 🙂

I dont't know, but I think very few aquatic plants die if not rooted. Maybe you are able to grow out a kind of carpet in an aside container and transplant it to the frog tanks when it's settled? Not sure about the details though. Or cover the not yet rooted Monte Carlo with some kind of net or divide for some time. Just spitballing, I haven't kept frogs nor Monte Carlo. 🙂

I think this is the relevant page:

Oh, cool! Makes sense. I've never seen it as it happens. Thanks for visiting.

Thanks! I tend to update rather seldom when feedback is slow. We'll see about the golden backs, I kind of like the look. But I haven't decided on any breeding direction really. Maybe I should focus on worms 🤭 (Leopard planaria, anyone?)

Business as usual, really: Small tank is a bit boring: