Frustrations and celebrations

[ricbennett3]

Gosh this hobby can be frustrating!

Over time, I’ve learned to accept the bad with the good. I love spending time setting up, maintaining, and watching these little boxes of nature. I love when things I’ve done lead to thriving life and beauty.

And then there are the hard moments. Today I realized some Anubias rot from another tank (and recent plant purchase) spread to this tank. My fault…tools and trimming and whatnot. The rot took out a long established Anubias and starting hurting another. I think I’ve stopped it. Removed yucky bits. Redistributed the parts that are unaffected, crossed my fingers and toes, but that can feel devastating when these plants are expensive and grow so slowly. Sigh.

This tank also suffers from algae blooms and slow growth in the Monte Carlo because I’m trying to reduce algae with lower light and ferts. The dance never stops. Darkin (my son’s name for the awesome Plakat) also likes to rip up the Monte Carlo while hunting snails.
 

Mostly, this tank makes me happy. I do wish Darkin would allow some shrimp to live in there and help with clean up, but he is a fierce hunter and loves expensive snacks.

Oh well…on to maintain the next tank. Five might be too many:)

[PineSong]

Neat looking tank! 

[ricbennett3]

Wow, this tank has changed a lot in a year. It’s now home to 8 exclamation point rasbora. 

[Wisdom]

Looks very nice. There is definitely a balance in every part of life. I think the smaller the specimen the more small changes effect the system. Especially in these small worlds we create. I gave up on my Monte Carlo. It was constantly up rooting and floating to the top.