At the last GWAPA meeting auction, I bought Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata ‘Pantanal,’ which is a plant I have tried to keep a few times previously. Known as a relatively difficult plant, any lack of nutrients or light causes the stem plant to melt away. In the past, I’ve even seen a single stem wave in and out, with leaf widths varying from about half an inch up to 2 inches, representing periods of neglect, and periods of proper growth.

Fortunately, if adequately cared for, Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata ‘Pantanal’ is one of the most beautiful stem plants available, maintaining a brilliant red coloration that is sure to draw the attention of any onlooker. There are many more leaves per node than Limnophila aromatica, which makes the stem look more compact, particularly because the leaves themselves stay a tad bit smaller as well.

While certainly not a plant for any beginning hobbyist, I highly recommend this plant to any more experienced grower. High light, rich substrate/fertilization, and CO2 are a must for this plant.

I haven’t posted a picture on my 75G tank in about 2 months, so I decided that it was time, despite still being a work in progress. I suppose that my tanks have suffered a little bit from the nice weather outside, as I’ve been more focused on preparing the garden outdoors, than working on the aquariums inside.

The Eleocharis sp. ‘Japan’ is starting to fill in the foreground. The right side of the tank has some Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata ‘Cuba’ beginning to grow, as well as, some Rotala verticillaris that I’m hoping will provide a nice vibrant green in the back corner. There’s still something about this scape that I’m not entirely pleased with, something about the right side, but I haven’t taken the time to really move things around — largely because the Nannochromis nudiceps have dug out a cave on that side that I don’t want to disturb. If anyone has any comments, critiques, or suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

Last weekend, I purchased a pair of Apistogramma hongsloi ‘Super Rostrich’ from fellow CCA members, TwoFishGuyz. I had been looking at a number of West African cichlids for my 75G tank, but I came across these guys, and decided to stick with my beloved Apistogramma.

Apistogramma hongsloi ‘Super Rostrich’ are a captive bred strain of A. hongsloi that are selected to have more vivid coloration than their wild kin. This particular strain also has longer lyre-tailed fins. As far as Apistos go, this particular species gets fairly large at 3-4″ for males, similar to other members of the Macmasteri group, such as A. veijita. Despite still being fairly young, you can see the potential coloration of the male in the photo above.

As usual, the female is much less impressive (shown above), exhibiting a somewhat awkward body shape, and having the typical black markings on the front of their dorsal and pelvic fins, with an otherwise, mostly yellow body. So far, mine haven’t really seemed to bond, but hopefully in time, love will set in. *laugh*

Despite the lack of mating behavior, they’re both fairly lively fish. The male is especially active, swimming up and down the glass, looking at me. Hopefully, after plenty of live foods, they will settle in, and produce a nice little colony of Apistogramma for my 75G.

I have recently replanted the foreground of my 75G aquarium with a new dwarf hairgrass that I came across called Eleocharis sp. ‘Japan.’ I ordered four pots of this plant in a GWAPA group order, and noticed that it looked just like any other hairgrass when it arrived. The reason for this is that the potted plants were grown emersed, and didn’t exhibit the unique behavior that is present in the submersed form.

Submersed, Eleocharis sp. ‘Japan’ curls downward toward the substrate, creating an effect not present with regular hairgrass. You can see in the picture below how all of the new submersed growth is doing exactly that. Otherwise, this plant grows just as you would expect; it spreads by runners throughout the substrate. It took a little while to get going after I first planted it, but it is now finally starting to take off. I’m hoping that it will cover the entire foreground in another month or two.

I will post an update once it has filled in, but I’m expecting this to be a very nice, and unique, addition to my 75G aquascape.

For many catfish, specifically “suckerfish” like plecos, it’s often stated that you want to keep wood in your aquarium as it’s an integral part of their diet. It’s also true that they ought to be fed other vegetable matter, such as algae wafers, veggie-based pellets, and so on. Well, fresh, clean vegetables are also a cheap and much appreciated treat for these fish.

We had zucchini as part of our dinner last night, so rather than throwing the ends down the disposal, I cut the stalk off, and set aside 4 small circles of the squash for my catfish. Now, these vegetables were certified organic, so I was fairly confident that they would be pesticide free. In the summer we grow our own vegetables, so we know their source as well. If there’s any doubt, at the least do a thorough washing, and at the best, don’t throw them in your tank. Also, if they’ve been contaminated with any oils, butter, or seasonings, don’t put them in the aquarium.

The problem with fresh zucchini is that it floats. Placing the pieces in a small dish with a bit of water, I microwaved them for 4-5 minutes, or until they stopped floating. This boiling process breaks down the cellular walls, allowing them to become water logged. Alternatively, you can tie them down to a heavy object. The last step is to slice a couple notches in the rind of the squash. The reason being that the catfish eat out the soft core, and could potentially get the “ring of rind” caught around their bodies.

At first, when I dropped the cooled zucchini into the aquarium, none of the fish took much notice. I was surprised that the cories didn’t seem to care for it at all. Then, my chinese algae eater (CAE) found one of the pieces, and started going to town. Two other plecos (Ancistrus sp. L279) took notice and latched onto the same piece. A rigmarole of back-and-forth swapping of the vegetable pieces ensued for 20 minutes before I let them continue on for however long.

Even when not scraping the inner core of the zucchini, the CAE sat over top of one of the pieces, claiming it as his own. While this was going on in my 54G, Red Lizard Catfish and some cherry shrimp were devouring two pieces in my 75G tank. Over the next day or two, I’ll pull out the rind once all of the “good stuff” has been eaten.

Bottom line, if you’re chopping squash for dinner, set aside a couple rounds for your catfish — they’ll love you for it!