Ok, time for a few updates... The last large trimming I did proved to hold me over for a couple of weeks solid. Here we were on the 17th of Dec:
And by the 31st we were here:
Toward the end of the year I came down with appendicitis and was unable to attend to things as usual... After a fair amount of neglect, the only real problem that I saw when I was well enough to move around was Green Spot, which seems to be the only algae that I haven't figured out yet... I have gone as far as serious OD'ing on PO4, with no luck. I will be reducing the photo period on the tank as a next step.
Nonetheless, most everything was very happy...
Anyways, you will notice that of the 5 foreground plants that I attempted in my substrate (E. Triandra, Glosso, Dwarf Hair Grass, 4-Leaf Clover and Pearlweed), the Pearlweed seems to be the winner. Unfortunately the Glosso and Clover is also doing ok, but the Pearlweed was choking it out.
So I set out to mow the foreground (a new thing for me)... and talk about a mess! I used a small pair of scissors and just kept trimming down. Most of the trimmings floated to the top and I later scooped them out with a net.
Since I was already making a big mess, I decided to make some more big changes. The biggest removal in this round was my jungle val...
Next, my Mayaca, a favorite of my SAE, and thus one of the only unhappy plants in the aquarium, had to go.
I also pulled out my Alternanthera and L. Repens to trim, separate and replant. I did not throw any of this stuff away though:
Finally, I probably removed 3/4 of the R. Rotundifolia.
Once I had it all cleaned out and mostly settled I decided to put some hygro back in there for now to keep the bio-mass up in the tank for now. Here it is after thing settled a bit:
I am not that happy with the scape right now... for a few reasons. For one, it seems a bit empty. Secondly, there seems to me too much red, and finally, I am not happy with the mid-ground… The good news is now I have room to add a few things and try out some new plants to balance out those issues
So a few shots of the tank today along with some random thoughts…
I had to move one of my large Crypts to the back/mid-ground. In its absence, the glosso and pearlweed have found a new spot to fill in. I may end up pulling out the pearlweed altogether, but for now it is my trainer foreground plant…
And while we are top-down, one more quick shot:
A few of the marble hatchets hanging around one of their favorite spots:
Three of the dwarf puffers holding a meeting below… They really wish they could figure out how to eat one of those nerites…
I really wish my Mermaidweed would grow faster…
Not sure how easy it is to breed these dwarf frogs, but they sure are willing to give it a shot:
Like I said lots of RED…