[Plant identification?]

You'd be surprised how many aquatic plants actually thrive in a blackwater type environment, there are a lot of bog plants among our aquarium plants. However, there are also some that can't handle the lower pH levels. 

[Plant identification?]

I agree, the variants by now show only subtle differences, although with all these patterned leaf swords there is a definite trend by the growers to try to grow deeper red plants in which the mature leaf stays a deep red.

The differences in emersed and submersed plant really can be quite dramatic, especially in height, and sometimes the emersed will be more impressive, and sometimes vice versa; that's why paludaria have such appeal. One of my dreams I never really fully bore out was to create a a paludarium with both submersed and emersed plants of the same variety and bromeliads, and orchids in the emersed part as well besides bog plants. I think my wife is happy I'm down to just a few tanks now, so it may never be. Although I've got enough orchids accumulated through the years hanging out around the house that it would be easy to stock a tank.

[Plant identification?]

On 3/25/2022 at 5:37 AM, anewbie said:

Can you get a better picture of the 'bulb'. Many mature sword plants will grow a rhizome which is not quite the same thing as a bulb. I am unaware of crypts that grow either bulb or rhizomes.

All Cryptocoryne which belong to the overall family of Aracea are rhizomatous plants. Meaning they all share this common feature of having a rhizome which can be more, or less pronounced, as in thicker, or slimmer but ultimately its roots protrude from it.

That said, just confirmed with a grower that Echinodorus 'Red Flame', and even 'Ozelot Red', and 'Ozelot Green', as well as 'Rainer's Felix' and 'Rainer's Kitty' can develop a rhizome. So my I.D. as well would be Echinodorus 'Red Flame'.

[Aquarium Memes]

On 3/18/2022 at 4:32 PM, Streetwise said:

@Cory and @Zenzo mentioned the hammock in his ‘yurt’ office. This is mine, waiting for spam reports from our forum Nerms:

PS: Thanks for the spam reports!

Just upon seeing the image I would've suspected the caption to read "A 'Programmer' in a half finished chrysalis  awaiting his metamorphosis into a 'Software Designer' "

[Aquarium Memes]

On 3/3/2022 at 4:09 PM, Streetwise said:

Cairo is a neocaridina shrimp!

To me those shapes look like city planners like to work while drunk.

[Birding & Nature Journal]

This morning in my backyard, a young Cooper's Hawk eyeing my bird feeders. "Nice try Fizzboy!" as Foghorn Leghorn would've said to Hennery Hawk.

[6 gallon “Volcano”]

Got mine through a friend from the Aquatic Gardeners Association, traded it in for some big Red Flame swords and one each of my Ozelot Green, and Ozelot Red swords. He gave me two large plants and I divided them out before I planted the 75 gallon, I had trimmed them all the way back to 1/4" above the rhizome. Can't even tell how many I've got now, When I order plants I really appreciate Aquarium Co-Op because they don't pull the bait and switch like so many other places do. For the exotic ones I usually see if I can trade with friends. 

As far as getting too big you can always trim them all the way back, actually makes them come back stronger in my experience. It's what I do with mine, just not all at the same time.

[6 gallon “Volcano”]

I think the Pogostemon helferi will look good there, and if you still want something else in its place I can recommend the Cryptocoryne wendtii "Green Gecko' I've got growing in the center of my tank, it starts light bright green until it matures and then turns a light reddish brown green. It even grows in places behind, and besides the stumps where there is only extremely low light. Only problem I have with it is I have to trim it at least every two weeks.

[6 gallon “Volcano”]

Pogostemon helferi would work and as long as you've got at least medium light you could get the red from Alternanthera reineckii 'mini'. I think it would look really great in that tank.

[Aquarium Memes]

Same friend sent me this one as well, told him my cat upgraded to the big screen 75 gallon version with four  level cat tree and several lounger options.

[6 gallon “Volcano”]

Some Helanthium quadricostatus that used to be counted as swords under Echinodorus quadricostatus, a.k,a. bolivianum, might do the trick if you don't want more crypts, although they are also green.

[Aquarium Memes]

A friend sent me this one, not sure if this was a dig, or if he finally got another tank after he got rid of his angelfish tank three years ago. 😄

[Aquatic Acronyms - TLAs for Days!]

And now to add to the confusion I've used MTS all these years for Malaysian Trumpet Snails.

I could easily see a newcomer looking at a post full of acronyms and posting "Can I buy a vowel, please?" in return. 

[Is it harmful to dose fertilizer at the same time you are feeding your fish?]

Usually I try to feed the fish, and shrimp separate from my dosing but I've done it too when I was short on time and its never been an issue, not before, or after feeding. However I don't dose in the immediate area where I release the food but tend to dose into the stream of my filter outflow. 

[How to attach driftwood hanging down from lid into aquarium]

@Odd Duck that was exactly my thought I would have used a scraper magnet, dremeled a hole for it  to expoxy it into a larger piece of wood that you could then in turn drill to epoxy the thinner branches into. Better than having them come down from  the lid where if they aren't removable they would make lifting the lid a major pain.

[Fluval Stratum vs ADA Amazonia]

I've used both in the past, and still have a thin layer of the Fluval Stratum on top of the crushed lava rock and underneath  some gravel and pretty much inert clay based Amazon Soft belly Soil which I haven't seen offered lately. The draw back of both is that they have ferts added and initially release loads of it, the ADA being the worst in that regard, and then slowly  taper out within the next 6 months making dosing more difficult during that time frame. I prefer a baked clay based aqua soil without added ferts for the most part, that way I can figure out pretty much in the first month after initial planting what my fertilizer dosing regime will have to look like based upon plant load and stock level of fish, and/or shrimp and snails.

[Plant identification?]

It does look like a Red Flame sword, especially with the red leaf pattern, but  based upon the bulb I would tend to go with Cryptocoryne walkeri var. legroi a.k.a. Cryptocoryne walkeri Schott. A picture where the leaf doesn't cover the bulb, or root would have made this easier. 

[What music are you listening to these days?]

I was too cool back then too but my girlfriend at the time played that song until I knew it by heart, my speed back then was more ZZ Top, Mellencamp, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

 

[What music are you listening to these days?]

On 3/1/2022 at 8:49 PM, lefty o said:

always a classic.

 

My favorite from the Blues Brothers still remains the SNL Soul Man Version.

 

[What music are you listening to these days?]

On 3/7/2022 at 11:40 AM, Streetwise said:

This is a Gen X love letter! Just what I needed today.

Wow that was a blast from the past! I literally had not heard from them since 1988 and "You Got It (The Right Stuff)". Thanks @Streetwise that brought back memories of West Berlin one year before the wall came down.

 

[Aquascaping]

Here are two YouTube videos on how to do it by Jurijs Jutjajevs, also from Germany by the way. I also forgot to mention that in this process you want to use the more liquid aquarium safe superglue rather than the gel we generally use for plants.

 

[Aquascaping]

One of the tricks I learnt from one of my German aquascaper buddies is to bond larger rocks, or branches together by using  raw regular natural unrefined cotton filters for cigarettes as a medium for the superglue to place in between the objects you want to bond. You can buy these online in packs of 200 mostly, apply a little superglue where you want to place them, place them on the spot with the initial glue and then soak them and attach, and hold the piece you want to bond until they are solidly bonded. However, make sure you have everything exactly where you want it because if you use 4, or 5 of these you likely won't be able to get it apart again unless you use brute force and probably break something in the process. I hope this helps. 

[Photographing aquarium fish with strobes/flash?]

Then like I said, I'd keep it to a few shots and avoid the long sessions. Post some of your shots when you're done. Used to do this for a living and I'm always interested to see others work. By the way Takashi Amano also was a professional photographer before he got into aquascaping. 

[Photographing aquarium fish with strobes/flash?]

I would keep it to a few shots now and then instead of doing a multi hour mega session that might leave your fish shell shocked. I like to place a U-shaped frame around my Kessils to prevent them from creating glare and just go with their light without extra illumination for professional shots with my Canon 5DsR. For a quick forum shot with the cell I omit the U-frame and also just go with the aquarium lighting provided by my Kessils. If you use any flash you'll mostly have to use multiple units with a designated master, and the others as slaves, or you'll have to position them at just the right angle to prevent glare. Generally this also requires stands for the light units, in my opinion overkill for something you can accomplish without all the extra equipment with just one tripod, camera, frame for the aquarium light, and cable release.

I took these shots this way:

[Is my Java moss dead?]

As everyone said it will recover, and @Fish Folk is right in my experience Java moss likes lower light and placement at lower levels of the aquarium, my Phoenix, and Christmas moss however I'm actually growing on branches very close to the surface, and I'm constantly having to trim them back.