Plutoids Mom

I guess I should have said that I'm trying to figure out how to replicate the outdoor conditions indoors without knowing what the nutrient levels were or other unknowns that were making it so happy outside. I also am not sure how much lighting I would need to make the tank "full sun". I should preface all of this with: I'm doing a horrible job balancing my current planted tank, so I won't be actually trying to change anything unless I ever get a handle on things. Just looking for info for future goals 😄

My Vallisneria americana was turning my tank into a thick jungle this summer so I thinned it out. Of course, the gardener in me couldn't just throw away good plants, so I planted a few in my water lily pot outside. The val loved it! Ended up with a gorgeous red tint. I just discovered a flower bud coming up today after I pulled them out of the pot which has been moved to the garage for winter. Has anyone had val turn red and bloom in their aquarium? I was wondering what it might take to replicate the outdoor conditions in the tank. I did nothing special to it regarding fertilizer, but it was in full sun and had natural temp fluctuations.

Thanks! I feel bad for them because they appear to do everything right: guard the eggs (without being too much of a pain to everyone else), fan the eggs, and remove the ones that go bad. I don't have any setup to take care of fry if they make it past the egg stage.

My angelfish pair have tried to spawn for the second time in my community tank. None of the eggs were viable, thinking it could be due to my high pH and hard water. The male has now started harassing the female horribly this morning after this second batch went completely bad. They've always got along, so will he eventually accept her again? I'm not actually trying to breed them, but should I try to change the tank conditions so the eggs have a better chance and they get to be parents?

Bettas actually do need a heater, filter, and more than a few cups of water. Also, tanks take longer than 24 hours to cycle.

My kids (2 and 4) love my angelfish, so I second or third that motion. The fish come to the front of the tank and will follow the kids' fingers.

An aquarium themed quilt would be so much fun! If I ever get quilting time again (ha!), that would be something for the next project.

@ColuGiven the other problems (lost all of my barbs a few months ago) I've had with this tank, would you possibly suspect mycobacterium as an underlying cause? I had to pull out my female gourami last week to treat fin rot, which she's healing. Just wondering if I should get a UV sterilizer in the near future. All test readings are still 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 10 nitrate, with 25% weekly water changes.

I just spotted divots today on my angelfish. They are only on one side of it's head, right behind it's eye. Is this Hole in the Head disease? It is eating and behaving normally.

She looks pregnant to me. Here is a couple of shots of my platy that is currently pregnant. You can see the dark spot of fry towards the back of her abdomen.

@Jungle Fan I used to work for a garden center and landscaping company and love having the hummingbirds come to the yard. I manage to get one or two to hang out starting in spring, but I end up with a few more in August when they start thinking about going south. To add to the hummingbird list, in my sandy Indiana yard, I've actually had really good luck with Windwalker Royal Red salvia, probably the only red salvia that will handle my wet winters. My biggest surprise this year has been that I accidentally got Black and Blue salvia to overwinter, even though I'm Zone 5 and it needs Zone 7. The miracles of oak leaves in garbage bags! Those two plants are heavily guarded by my resident hummer.

I was waiting to reply to see if I was making any progress with all your suggestions. So far, it hasn't gotten better, BUT it isn't getting worse. @Fish Folk I have left the light level alone, but I did go back to my original fertilizing schedule and made sure to have the right amount of Nitrate. This is my first time really having to work at balancing a planted tank, so I was just trying out the most common solutions lol. I didn't block off the blue lights because they aren't in a nice row that would be easy to do. I did stumble on another post you replied to that had a link to some info on algae. It mentioned too much iron as one possible cause. I haven't gotten an iron test kit yet, but my well water is very high in iron. I've changed my ratio of well water to RO water when I do water changes to see if that helps. Went from 66/33 to 50/50. @Koi I had never thought of poor water circulation as causing algae. I added an air stone to the other corner last week, and my cypts are loving it! They grew overnight the first day I put it in, I swear. I'm also suspecting my overpopulation of platy babies is contributing to my problems, so I'm trying to patiently wait it out until they are big enough to either take to the LFS or put in the 75 gallon.

I bought a really nice leather purse from (1) Mikono - The Refugee Craft Shop – Mikono Craft Store (jrs.global) which sells goods made by refugees in Kenya. They aren't in stock now, but they are affordable and have the bright fabrics on the purse flaps. (5) Facebook

I do! It goes on all the flowers, and I almost wish I had more fish water for the plants lol.

I like groups of tetras in my 75 gallon. Lemon and black skirts are my go-to fish. I also have hard water and a pH of 8.2.