Jungle Fan

@CalmedByFish Cutting off dead leaves on an otherwise healthy plant only contributes to the health of the plant because the non diseased tissue is then better able to heal, however leaving the slowly rotting leaf will speed up a plants demise, or at the very least slow down the healing process if in the meantime sufficient nutrients are provided. Although I don't know if such a thing as "root burn" from root tabs is possible with Amazon swords, planting them "on top" of root tabs might be your clue of what went wrong. I have only ever planted them at least an inch, or two away from my plants and one root tab in proximity pushed as far down as you can get it is usually enough; for really huge plants I might use two. Even when I place root tabs under the substrate while setting up a tank weeks before I plant I'm sure I've probably never planted an Amazon sword directly on top of root tabs, at least I've never experienced one to rot away. How many root tabs in all did you place with the plant? Or was it just one that you planted the sword on top? In regards to the thread you are referring to, while what I said about leaf removal was applying to plants in general it was primarily was targeted for the poster's concern about swords for which leaf removal should be done just above the rosette. Vallisneria , while you can trim them will then show a brown edge where you trimmed and will never regrow a tip. If there are leaves to be removed I'd remove them close to the substrate, a healthy root can then regrow a new leaf, but if you remove all leaves they tend to not do as well as Amazon swords. Even with Amazon swords one should usually leave at least one leaf behind because by the time even that last one shows extreme nutrient deficiency the root likely will have sustained damage as well. PS: How shallow is the substrate? And what type is it? Also, are the root tabs the only fertilizer, or are you dosing all-in-one, liquid iron, trace elements, CO2 ,... or anything else besides the root tabs? Just went back to the thread as well, and I had mentioned: "...my definition of "damage" is holes, turning brown, turning translucent, everything affecting leaf structure, not so much chlorosis, turning yellow, which is an indication of lack of chlorophyll, the plant is perfectly capable of repairing that with addition of proper nutrient levels. ."

I'm with @Patrick_G your other plants seem to be doing fine, so the transformation melt seems to be the logical conclusion.

Here's a link that might help, and shed some light on their breeding for you as well https://freshwatercentral.com/dwarf-neon-rainbowfish PS: I knew I had another bookmark in my archives on that subject, here it is as well: https://aquadiction.world/species-spotlight/dwarf-neon-rainbowfish/

Diagrams of where you want to place the wood and Wabi Kusa balls are an excellent planning tool for an aquascape. When I plant a tank I always draw two diagrams, one with the front view, one from above; first I draw in the hardscape, then the plants. The important part is always to consider the size of the plants, and whether they are fore-, mid-, or background plants. Also with the Wabi Kusa close to the surface there are some plants that do better in the shade, and don't like to be that close to the light even though in the wild they would be found on flood prone river banks like Anubias and Bucephalandra. I saw a Wabi Kusa ball that had a small Manzanita branch protruding from it besides some Pinatifida and had moss on the ball and Anubias nana petite and a small Bucephalandra on the branch, the Anubias and Bucephalandra was covered so bad in algae you could just barely make out what they were.

The cats will let you know😄, after all never forget they run the show😎

Looking good!

Another way to achieve the modularity you seek would be with driftwood, or rock planted with Java fern, Bolbitis heudelotii, Anubias, Bucephalandras, or moss. You can also combine them for an all out aquascape with Wabi Kusa balls, but if they are about to be changed around I would advise against using crypts in the Wabi Kusa balls.

You can do it either way, Amazon swords are extremely resilient, I would trim the roots back a good amount it encourages new root growth and helps the plant to get established in the new tank. Also don't forget to add root tabs.

My purple bee balm is almost overtaking the garden this year, but my Navajo day lilies are holding out strong. In the meantime the hummingbird kingdom has relocated its Top Gun Training Center for juvenile flight tactics and aerobatics to my backyard.

Christmas moss will work, just remember to start attaching it from the bottom up because the top will always hang down and be prepared to eventually have to keep trimming it back because the overlap will completely shade what's below. Phoenix moss will work also but it doesn't grow as fast, however it also involves less trimming. I've go both in my tank attached to driftwood, PS: Shrimp love the moss, and they are also the best cleaning crew for it. My moss is at any given time populated with dozens of Blue Dream, and a few Amano shrimp.

Love the pictures but would hate to have to climb the hill from those canoes in the rain.🙂

Definitely turtle safe!😄

I have done quite a few of those and have used different materials in regards to where I would place them, i.e. in a glass, or ceramic bowl, at the water surface in driftwood, or inside a stump to provide substrate for stem plants without necessarily speeding up decay of the stump. According to what I've heard the ancient Japanese simply used to wrap stones in straw and then cover the whole in burlap (that is for the traditional Wabi Kusa in a ceramic, or now glass bowl.) I've used anything from screen door material, to bio-felt (which will last at least up to 30 years in an aquarium, longer than the substrate or plants no doubt), to ADA Wabi Kusa Mat (which comes covered in moss). I like the bio-felt best for in tank and one can easily cover it in the aquatic moss of your choice once the substrate ball is created and contained in it. The recipe I've used for traditional bowl type living room Wabi Kusa comes actually from the Aquatic Gardeners Association as well and was mentioned in An Article by Bob Dempsey in Volume 28, No.2 of their Journal from 2015, it described using shredded sphagnum moss (created in an old blender), shredded coconut shells, vermiculite, and a some long sphagnum moss clumped together with water, then wrapped, and covered with Java moss. For the ones I used in the aquarium I would forego the sphagnum moss and vermiculite, and while I did some with shredded coconut shells, the only plant based material I really used more often was peat granules in those I would place in blackwater tanks. I've used anything, and everything from laterite, clay, clay balls, gravel, aquasoil, and extremely small kernel lava rock, in any and all combinations, I also would add root tabs, or deep sea minerals (Mironekuton) at times, combined with ADA Bacter, especially with the lava rock kernels at which time I would layer rather than create one big clump wrapped in bio-felt with string. At least for me the bio-felt has been the easiest material to work with, and regular fishing line to hold it all together. I figure fine mesh filter media drawstring bags, and polishing pad filter material could probably also work great as wrapping. Did a quick search and found an article with pictures of a traditional bowl Wabi-Kusa for you, so you can see the material I was talking about: https://briansbotanicals.net/2016/02/04/how-to-make-a-wabi-kusa/

Low tech or high tech, does not really play a role in this. A new tank will have an easier start with more plants. I did not always in my 53 years of fishkeeping run pressurized CO2, or Kessil lights. And the image of your tank isn't exactly lightly planted either, however no one is advocating for anyone to exceed their budget, sometimes you've got to pace yourself nothing wrong with that. @Streetwise 's tanks are low tech and set up according to the Walstad method by the way, and his results with plants speak for themselves. You can see them in his journals.

The bell method will achieve results but speed is not one of its characteristics, you will see better growth than without CO2 for sure, you won't have any of the possible dangerous side effects of end of tank dump as with some of the DIY, and single stage regulators (dual stage are the safe way to go if you ever decide you want a pressurized system), however consistency is the deciding factor. Keeping the bell refilled and sticking with it is key, if you go back and forth you likely won't be happy with the results. It's cheap enough if you can get the cylinder/bell and then get your own CO2 cylinder to refill it with. We don't have Tropica here in America for the most part so I'm not familiar how much the spray bottles are but if you can get your on CO2 cylinder I only pay $14.50 (10.46 British pounds) for a 5lb. CO2 cylinder refill here in Colorado and that is usually every 5 to 6 months where I'm getting them refilled now. I'm running my 5lb. cylinder on a 75 gallon (about 284L) tank.

Welcome to the forum Emma! Nice tanks, look forward to seeing more of them.

I've seen them listed for 73F - 81F but in my experience if they are kept above 75F they are fine, below you will probably lose some, I've also kept them in my discus tanks at 84F, and my friends had them at 86F. Generally if you are going to lose any Cardinal Tetras it's going to be when you first receive them due to handling in transport, change of temps in transport, and issues with feeding while at the wholesaler, or at the LFS. After you've got them acclimated they are much hardier, and more long lived than say Neon Tetras. When I first receive them and quarantine them I generally don't add salt,or meds unless they show signs that would warrant it while in quarantine. I know some do, but I believe there is such a thing as over-medicating and producing medication resistant strains of bugs that then won't be treatable with the "big guns" any more. In nursing that's how we ended up with MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) which is now a nosocomial infection (a hospital acquired infection), so I'm not a fan of using medications for prophylaxis

Just remembered what you said about the "occasional boost". This system really is more designed for continuous use than the occasional boost, aside from the fact that fluctuations in CO2 supply will show in diminished plant growth, the boost this system will supply is really not enough that a one time application may provide any notable difference. It is over time that a cylinder/bell system like this will show its effect, so don't get discouraged if it will take a few months to see the effect.

They work, and you don't have the risk of end of tank dump as with most DIY. You won't see nearly the same results as with a pressurized system with a CO2 regulator but I've used something like this long before CO2 became all the rage. In Germany they had a contraption like it that was marketed by a hobbyist from the Black Forest region; it was a bell made of glass by his local glass blowers outfitted with some suction cups, all you had to do was go to your local welding gas supply and get an inspected CO2 cylinder outfitted with a hose and you would refill the bell from it when the water level in the bell rose because the gas had been diffused. Some advice, if you are going to go with this system get yourself a small piece of cork to float inside the cylinder, it makes it easier to see when your CO2 is low, respectively the water is up, and it is time to refill. It's what I used to do.

At first nothing would probably happen but with the slightest additional variation that can cause stress, or an introduction of any kind of pathogen that the Neons normally could deal with easily you might see a mass die off. Temperatures fish aren't used to living in cause stress, stress suppresses their immune system, and a suppressed immune system can't fight off what the fish could otherwise easily overcome. All living organisms react individually different so it's unreasonable to proclaim that will happen in any given instance but in general you can rely on the fact that it has been observed by a multitude of fishkeepers through the years that regular Neon Tetras don't do well above 78F, that's how all these books we pay good money for get written. I know that some think Neon Tetras are one of the hardier fish but in my experience they aren't nearly as hardy as the Cardinal Tetras which will be right at home and fine in an aquarium with GBRs and discus.

I remember when we received a pallet of MRE boxes that had been opened and were stuffed full solid with "Chicken a la King", weeks on end with "Chicken a la King". It was interesting after about a week we tried "Chicken a la King" with lots of Tabasco, with coffee powder, with M&Ms, ... It felt biblical, ...Manna burgers, Manna waffles, Manna Souffle, Manna Bagels, ...Ba-Manna bread.😄 I like chicken and "Chicken a la King" is not a bad meal but to this day it makes me gag now.

Ya know you asked!😄 Most make the mistake of planting too few plants to begin with and then wonder why they are struggling constantly with algae. Actually on the Dwarf Baby Tears I had a lapse considering this is your first planted tank, and you are right the Monte Carlo is easier to grow for beginners, the Dwarf Baby Tears got their name for a reason. If you take a look at my tank in my signature, all those plants went in on day one, granted the crypts multiplied themselves and the rest filled in but I haven't had to buy plants since day one.

Some Amazon swords like Echinodorus Rubin, or Echinodorus Rose, as well as Aponogeton crispus, and Aponogeton longiplumulosus are listed for and have no problem with 86F. I usually kept my discus at around 84F and had plenty of swords. I'm pretty sure though that some of my friends were keeping their tanks at around 86F and also had Echinodorus bleheri, and Red Flame.

While we used to call them something else back when I served it basically came down to "Meals Rejected by Emaciated". They would mess with your insides so bad after a few months because they were basically preservatives held together by a few nutrients, that it took two weeks to get used to eating fresh veggies, and actual food upon return home.

Nope, just nope! Seems like some nutritionist ploy to peddle cruciferous greens to a resisting public. "But it's healthy, and you can have it with it with Marinara and extra cheese - at least for a while!" Not going to budge on that nudge! What's next pizza with collard greens, or kale? How about roasted pumpkin for Thanksgiving instead of turkey? No deal!😄