At the GWAPA meeting this weekend, I purchased some Red Flame Ozelot Sword plants. They’re just plantlets now, but I hope to eventually replace the Blyxa aubertii that’s currently making up the background with these new sword plants. I pulled out a pound of Ludwigia x lacustrus that was cluttering up most of the center of the tank. In all, everything is going pretty well with my 75G at this time.

I was a good aquarium keeper this weekend, and did my weekly water changes, trimmed several plants, replanted others, and generally spent some time tank-watching. While, I wouldn’t equate my fish room to an ADA gallery, I’m slowing getting most of the tanks to a point where they’re generally pleasing to me.

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The 75G (my angelfish tank) is really looking wonderful. The bits of black-brush algae that had crept up on the hardscape are receding little-by-little every week thanks to more consistent dosing, water changes, and feeding. It probably doesn’t hurt that I added a few extra Amano shrimp and zebra nerites either. The angelfish are majestic, and are truly beautiful fish to watch. No fins get injured, but the seven large angels take and cede territory regularly throughout the day. Of course, when it’s feeding time, all seven crowd the front glass.

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The recently rescaped 33G cube is in a mixed state right now. I think the fresh Aquasoil and tannins from the wood have made the tank pretty acidic. Some of the more delicately leaved plants like Didiplis diandre and HC have melted a little bit due to this. On the other hand, Rotala sp. ‘Yao Yai‘ has grown well, but I know the nitrate levels in the tank are elevated since it’s bright green without a tinge of red. None of the fish seem any worse for wear, but I’ve pulled out the test kits a couple times to monitor, and will do extra water changes if need be.

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The other recently rescaped tank, my 50G has been growing well. I didn’t replace as much Aquasoil in this aquarium, so I don’t seem to have the same problems as in the 33G aquarium. All of the stem plants have grown in size. Unfortunately, the Blyxa japonica seems to be dominating the scape a little too much. I’m going to pull some of it out once the Ranalisma rostrata grows in, as it’ll provide a similar look without as much height.

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Truth be told, one of the tanks I’ve gotten the most pleasure out of lately has been the jungle of my 40G farm tank. It has a little bit of thread algae in it, but the plants are looking stunning. I’ve been diligent about my trimming to keep any one plant from shading out the rest. I also recently (within the past six weeks) moved all ferns/anubias/etc to the left side of the tank, leaving the right side solely for stem and other desirable plants. In addition, I’ve been feeding the Pseudocrenilabrus nicholsi blackworms, which has made the dominant male absolutely stunning. He patrols the tank all day long, trying to court females into depressions in the substrate or thick bushes of stem plants. There’s enough hiding places for the other fish to hide if they get tired of his aggressive behavior, however, so everyone’s happy.

After months of neglect, the previous aquascape in my 75G had gotten completely overgrown. What started as a few strands of hitch-hiker Riccia fluitans eventually covered the water surface in totality, shading out most of the plants below it. So, I decided to turn lemons into lemonade, using that pest of a liverwort as a foreground in my new aquascape.

I reused much of the same bogwood for the hardscape, but rather than showing the knobby side of the wood, I kept everything smooth-side-up to look like tree roots weaving up out of the Riccia lawn. I had lots of Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia in the previous scape, which I spread out as my background plant. The gaps were filled with Anubias barterii var. ‘nana’. Obviously, it needs to fill in a bit, but I’d love to hear your initial comments/critiques!

My 75G aquascape has finally matured. I spent some time over the weekend trimming back the Trident Java Fern, removing old leaves from the Cryptocoryne and Anubias plants, and thinning out some of the moss on the wood. Below is the result of that effort, with what will probably be the final picture of this aquascape before I rescape the tank.

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The angelfish continue to grow quickly, and remain as beautiful to me as the day I got them. For my money, there are not many other fish that are more majestic than wild-colored angelfish. The Nannacara anomala are still doing well, breeding several times, but never raising up any of the babies. I added some small Ancistrus sp. ‘L279′ awhile back which are also enjoying all of the hiding places this aquascape provides. I’m looking for ideas for the next scape I do in this tank. Please leave your thoughts in the comments area…

Not much new here, but I wanted to post an updated photo nevertheless. The foreground is just about perfect, but the rest is starting to need some thinning out. I’m beginning to think it’s time for a new aquascape in this tank. This one’s lasted for 7 months!