Sunrise in the planted tank

[Tanked]

I thought I would share a few minutes of the morning routine that the fish and I share together.  Basically my contribution is putting the coffee pot on, bringing up the fishcam and plowing through messages. 
When the first rays of the sun hit, the fish will move to the camera side of the tank; too close for the camera to focus. Eventually they move to whatever part of the tank is brighter. In an earlier setup, this process was reversed at night.  The lights would shutdown moving sequentially across the tank, with the fish following the light

The pictures are a sampling of what the camera sees first thing in the morning. This tank gets a little bit of direct morning sun, and the fish and some of the plants react accordingly.  The fish that are awake migrate to the sunny side of the tank.  The Bloodfins seem to be the early risers, and the SAEs tend to sleep in.  When the tank turns bright chaos resumes.

My LFS says the plant on the right is a Cardinal Plant.  Hopefully one of you can confirm this.  I saw the purple leaves and had to have it.  In a different tank it was a Temple Plant.   My LFS is 98% aquarium/terrarium, but sometimes their plant IDs are a bit off.

 

[Guppysnail]

That plant looks like a cardinal. 
 

Thank you for sharing the lovely morning view. 

[Flipper]

Loved the pictures!  Real nice looking tank.   @Tanked  May I ask what your other plants are?  Looks like Crypts and is that Anubias in the back?  What is your substrate in this tank?  Thanks for sharing!

[MattyM]

Bloodfins are a fun, hardy, underrated fish in my experience. Almost like a danio - constant movement, lots of personality. And a giant appetite!

[Tanked]

On 11/9/2023 at 2:50 PM, MattyM said:

Bloodfins are a fun, hardy, underrated fish in my experience. Almost like a danio - constant movement, lots of personality. And a giant appetite!

Part of the original group, the Bloodfin in the first two pictures is 4 years old and still quite active.  When this fish and the SAEs were smaller, they would play tag with each other; taking turns chasing and waiting to be chased.

 

On 11/9/2023 at 1:49 PM, Flipper said:

Loved the pictures!  Real nice looking tank.   @Tanked  May I ask what your other plants are?  Looks like Crypts and is that Anubias in the back?  What is your substrate in this tank?  Thanks for sharing!

The remote controlled camera will see its own reflection if I show the whole tank, so the Crypts in the foreground are actually in the middle third of the tank.  Remember that I said that my LFSs plant IDs are a bit off sometimes. 

In the far back is the youngest Anubia Nana Petite🤣.  Fun Fact: What looks like the plastic plant pot under the Anubia is actually the plant's root structure.  The parent plant is lost in the Crypts on the right.  It lives, but does not grow  It remains about the size of a quarter. 

In front of the Anubia is Dwarf Hair Grass on the left, and a barely visible Tiger Lotus on the right.  This is my first attempt with the Hair Grass.  Planting it in gravel might have been a mistake.  The right side foreground is Crypt Bunch😶  and Crypt Wentii on the left.  

The Cardinal plant (thank you @Guppysnail) on the right foreground is where Italian Vallisneria used to be.  The Vallisneria visible on the bottom edge of the picture, has once again migrated to the front corner of the tank where it gets that extra few minutes of direct morning sun.  There are four runners there, but they aren't worth seeing.  Somewhere off camera there is a Pothos and some Hornwort floating around.

The substrate is standard aquarium river gravel with the tiny grit removed.

[lefty o]

On 11/10/2023 at 10:38 AM, Tanked said:

Part of the original group, the Bloodfin in the first two pictures is 4 years old and still quite active.  When this fish and the SAEs were smaller, they would play tag with each other; taking turns chasing and waiting to be chased.

 

The remote controlled camera will see its own reflection if I show the whole tank, so the Crypts in the foreground are actually in the middle third of the tank.  Remember that I said that my LFSs plant IDs are a bit off sometimes. 

In the far back is the youngest Anubia Nana Petite🤣.  Fun Fact: What looks like the plastic plant pot under the Anubia is actually the plant's root structure.  The parent plant is lost in the Crypts on the right.  It lives, but does not grow  It remains about the size of a quarter. 

In front of the Anubia is Dwarf Hair Grass on the left, and a barely visible Tiger Lotus on the right.  This is my first attempt with the Hair Grass.  Planting it in gravel might have been a mistake.  The right side foreground is Crypt Bunch😶  and Crypt Wentii on the left.  

The Cardinal plant (thank you @Guppysnail) on the right foreground is where Italian Vallisneria used to be.  The Vallisneria visible on the bottom edge of the picture, has once again migrated to the front corner of the tank where it gets that extra few minutes of direct morning sun.  There are four runners there, but they aren't worth seeing.  Somewhere off camera there is a Pothos and some Hornwort floating around.

The substrate is standard aquarium river gravel with the tiny grit removed.

bloodfins last a long time. im down to one from the group i got many years ago. my last one is 10+ years old, and still looking good.

[Tanked]

On 11/10/2023 at 11:53 AM, lefty o said:

bloodfins last a long time. im down to one from the group i got many years ago. my last one is 10+ years old, and still looking good.

I haven't been quite that lucky. This one is the last of the original  group of six.  I added 3 more last week, and will probably another 3 soon. I figure giving it a few of its own kind might increase its longevity