ADMWNDSR83

After some thinking last night, I decided the tree in the tank was just taking up too much space. This morning, when I was doing a water change anyway, I pulled the monster out of there, and re-attached the java ferns to some rocks I had lying around. Figured I'd share the update picture, as well as a better pic of the Hillstream.

I changed water and re-scaped my se-Asia biome. See the betta biome thread for new pics!

OK, just a few more pictures that I was able to snap before getting back to schoolwork... In one I was able to almost get a clear shot of the hillstream. Another has the nerite, one of the loaches, one of my sorry excuses for a crypt, and some hair algae mulm. The third is just another picture of Steve because he gets all excited when he sees the camera... or the food jar.

I have three crypts I tried to keep out of the picture because they melted, started to grow back, and melted again. Crypts may not be in my wheelhouse! My other tank is my plant wonderland for now! I had to take out one sword because it got too big for its britches, not the other one is booming!

Oh, not sure where he's hiding, but I did introduce a nerite as well.

So, here are some pictures. I ended up adding 3 more kuhlis, who do tend to zip around some, and a hillstream. Once I get a chance to get a decent pic of him I'll post it. I'm a bit ashamed at the state of the tank, as the driftwood I have in there now makes it REALLY tough to clean. I'm probably going to take that tree out and either put in a slightly smaller tree, or leave it open and attach the javas to some rocks for a more open look. Steve's getting a little bigger, and his fins and colors are really popping now!

Now I'm jealous! I bought a few crypts from ACO for my southeast Asia biome, and they are struggling something fierce. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, but my first try with crypts is frustrating at best!

I do plan on getting... probably 3 more. I had thought about a hillstream but then was concerned that they are a colder-water species. I do have other tanks I could shift someone to once they get done their work.

All right, biome enthusiasts! A question... As of now, I have Steve the betta and a kuhli loach in the tank. I'm seeing growing amounts of a brown hair algae. Is there anything, fish or invert wise, I can put in to handle the hair algae while staying true to my southeast asia theme?

I was thinking how great that would be, too! Thought I was alone.

People say I have ADHD... I don't know why. I took a nice long hike today. Hiked for about an hour and didn't lose focu- SQUIRREL!

So in the past two days I have been to 4 petcos and 2 ma and pa lfs looking for the perfect betta. I was hoping for a nice king, or something with just the right amount of color and good plumage. Instead, I decided to gamble. The last petco I went to had a couple decent king halfmoons, but I didn't love them, and for $20 I wanted LOVE. Then, I turned and saw this little guy. He's about 3/4 of an inch long, and is just starting to show some color. It will be interesting to see what he turns into as he grows up. For $2.99, he's worth the gamble! At the moment, he doesn't have a name. He's extremely shy right now, and still working on getting around the tank. I'll give him a bit to get accustomed, then introduce a couple kuhli loaches for clean up, and call it a day.

I was looking at that pic saying... Wait, Cory sells shot glasses?

Looking nice! Can't wait to see the plants grow in some!

I started this conversation in the plants forum, but felt it needed to move over here to photo journals now. About a week ago, I was in a big store that rhymes with "let go," and my wallet did just that. Seeing a sign for 50% off frameless aqueons was all it took for me to end up with a brand new 6 gallon cube on my dresser in the bedroom. After a few days of decision, I decided it would become a tiny little slice of southeast Asia. In the plants forum, I got some ideas of plants that originated from the Thailand/Asia area (thanks to everyone over there!), and today, my plants came in! What you're seeing in the picture is a mix of leftover substrate that I had lying around (planted tank substrate capped by black diamond sand), and a nice chunk of wood from my local lfs attached to a piece of slate. Glued to the piece of slate are now TWO chunks of java fern (a surprise from the one pot I ordered!). In the foreground are some crypts, a standard wendtii to the left and wendtii greens on the right. In the far back are a couple water sprites to hopefully create a barrier to hide the mirror the tank sits in front of, although I'm still considering whether I should back the tank with some black paper. Now, I will be stalking the local stores for my dream betta. I'm in no hurry, it has to be perfect. I'd love for it to be a king betta, but there are some other options if the are colorful and have just the right amount of awesome. I dosed the tank with safestart betta, which claims to make the tank immediately ready for fish, but I'll still probably give it some time unless I see something amazing! Eventually, I will also likely round out my southeast Asia vibe with a couple kuhli loaches to clean up the bottom. Let me know your thoughts, or if there's anything I'm doing that could be better. I'll add some more pictures once I have an inhabitant.