After thinking about it for a long time, I finally got around to re-aquascaping my 54G corner tank in my living room. This tank has had roughly the same aquascape for 2-3 years, and being a low-tech tank, has always seemed to kick along without much intervention from me. It might not be my most impressive tank, but it’s consistently, well, okay.

Click picture for larger version.

With the new scape, I wanted to incorporate some rock into what had previously been a very wood-dominated aquascape. So, I grabbed my largest available piece of porous mossy rock, put it on the left/middle side, and went from there. I kept the plants the same, utilizing tons of anubias, java fern, crypts, and bolbitis. I’m not really happy with the foreground, and may try growing some Marsilea quadrafolia, but I’m unsure as to whether or not it will hug the substrate as this is a tall tank without a ton of light on top (only 110W). All in all, this is a scape-in-progress, but I wanted to document how it looked initially, so that I can keep track of how it progresses. Comments and suggestions are always welcome!

GWAPA recently ordered a large box of manzanita wood from manzanita.com to divide up and auction at our next couple meetings. While there are many fantastic driftwood choices available to aquarists, manzanita is one of the most interesting because there is such a variety of different looking pieces, all from the same tree.

Depending on the part of the tree used, the color of the wood can vary from a light tan to a light orange or dark brown color. Native to the coastal regions along the west coast, manzanita is a fast growing evergreen that is a renewable resource in that region. Sometimes more like a bush than a tree, one of the strengths of this wood is that there are usually many uniquely branching pieces available. In addition, the thicker branches are usually gnarled and twisted, providing plenty of natural character to use in your aquascape.

The branchy pieces are perfect for tying moss to, effectively softening them, or nice to invert, creating the effect of a tree limb hanging low over and into the water.

There are a few things you need to know before putting manzanita into your tank. First, you definitely need to soak it, as it does release a fair number of tannins initially, and will float before becoming water logged. Most branches will sink after a few days of soaking, but some are stubborn, and may take weeks to fully water log. Also, when purchasing or collecting manzanita, make sure that you have the bark removed, preferably sandblasted. If you follow these simple rules, manzanita is beautiful and versatile wood to use in a multitude of aquascape styles.

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day outside, as slowly but surely, spring is pushing winter on its way. To take advantage of the favorable weather, we decided to take a day trip to Cunningham Falls State Park, near Thurmont, MD.

It just so happens that this weekend, the park was having a maple-syrup festival, where they gave live demonstrations of how they tap maple trees for their sweet sap and boil it down into pancake syrup. We stayed around a little while, listening to the demonstration, but soon found ourselves out on the trails, for which we came.

The forest in this park is very rocky, with rock outcroppings all over the place. Even most of the trails are littered with rocks, large and small, and of course, moss is decorating nearly all of the rocks.

I couldn’t have attached the moss on the rock below any better than nature itself. Beautiful, with the full covering, and yet enough gaps exposing the rock underneath. In fact, now I’m going to have to try and actually duplicate this kind of wonderful moss/rock work in my aquarium one of these days.

To start out, we took the trails that everyone takes to get to the park’s main attraction — the falls. Being a series of cascading falls, descending what is probably 4-5 stories, they are pretty impressive. Below is a picture of the bottom two sections of the falls.

Finally, we headed off to some more difficult and less frequented trails so that we could take in the forest, believing we were the only humans around. (For the most of the hike, that was the reality.) While the forest was still bare from winter, many of the trees had buds, ensuring that if we came back in a couple months, the woods would be entirely new.

I just wanted to share a few shots of my Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish, or Melanotaenia praecox. I have a school of 13 fish in my 40G tank right now, and they’re great for photography, as they tend to hover in place against the current. The school I have right now is mostly females, and I haven’t had any fry survive, probably due to the Apistogramma that are also in the tank.

Here’s a close-up of one of the males in the tank. These fish are still relatively young, and haven’t fully developed the steep forehead that’s common among adult rainbowfish. The males seem to develop a slightly more pronounced arc than the females do.

Below is one of the females, identified by the yellow in her fins, whereas the males fins have a reddish hue. The iridescent blue tint of their scales are even more intense and shiny in person, than in these photos. If you haven’t kept these fish, they’re perfect for planted aquariums, and wonderful community fish — just make sure to keep them happy by having schools of 6 or more.

PVAS is once again hosting the bi-annual 2008 All-Aquarium Catfish Convention on October 17-19. If you’ve never been to a fish convention, this is the premier event to do so, renowned speakers and guests traveling large distances to attend.

This year, the theme of the convention is Expedition Amazon, which will cover a wide array of topics, including both fish and habitat in the Amazon River. Workshops and field trips will further the experience, culminating in what should be an enormous auction on Sunday.

Registration is now open, with an early-bird discount of only $30. GWAPA will also be involved in the convention on Friday night, giving a short workshop on what catfish are appropriate for a planted aquarium. And, on a personal note, I’m very much looking forward to seeing Devon Graham, a fantastic tropical biologist, and leader of the Amazon expedition my wife and I took last August. It’ll be great to see him again.

Finally, you can have a 1 in 50 shot of going to the Amazon yourself, as Margarita Tours has generously donated a trip to Peru. $50 per ticket, for the trip of a lifetime. (I know, I’ve been there.)