Plant Problems

Stunted plant growth, yellowing, brown or weakened leaves all may indicate a imbalance in plant nutrients in your aquarium. Nutrients, light, CO2 and oxygen levels all need to be balance for optimal healthy plant growth. Badmans Tropical Fish has put together a fine list that gives potential Symtoms Causes and Remedies for many of these plant conditions.

Badman's Tropical Fish -> Problems with Aquatic Plants.

Photo credit: Akehurst

Hydor Koralia Nano Circulation Pump

So in my effort to reconstruct a happy place for fish to live and minimize future algae growth I decided to up the circulation in my tank. The Hydor Koralia fit the bill pretty nicely. Small compact and quiet I just added the Nano model in my 72 gallon tank. It's not overly powerful and it should help move more debris toward the filter.

Restarting

First post in a long long time. Poor tank was overrun with algae after not enough water changes and proper maintenance. Plants did not hold up so well over the last year.

Need to buy new Coralife bulbs (Aged bulbs don't provide enough light for healthy plant growth). Added new bag of Eco-Complete substrate to help the new plants added to the tank. Still need to even the substrate out and do some more elbow cleaning to remove the encrusted algae on the back left side of the tank. The plant on the left side is covered with algae and only left in place to keep the fish happy until I can replace it with newer plants.

Discus Feeding

Updated Discus Feeding video (the old video was taken down)



From Wikipedia:

"Discus are shy and generally peaceful aquarium inhabitants. They are sensitive to stress and disturbance or lack of protection. The best cohabitants may be angelfish (although some aquarists claim that keeping them together with angelfish will introduce parasites and/or diseases) and small characides like tetras. Uaru species are also suggested cohabitants for discus. It is noteworthy, however, that small fish may be intimidated or eaten by the discus. Catfish with sucker mouths are less than ideal cohabitants for discus since they sometimes attach themselves on the sides of discus and eat their mucus membranes.

Many aquarists consider discus to be finicky and not particularly hardy. They often become susceptible to disease and die if not kept in optimal conditions."

Aquarium Scum

About a month ago I noticed a very fine layer starting to build on the surface of the water in my 72 gal aquarium. I really didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it until it started to get a bit out of control covering the entire surface of the aquarium. This is largely due to the undisturbed water on the surface (I keep the filter return a few inches below the surface.

It really needed to be taken care of so I hunted around on the net. One guy used his python drainage system, inverted it upside down in the tank and skimmed the top layer out of the aquarium during his water change. Another suggestion is to get a skimmer attachment.

I'll likely have to revisit this again, but for now I just used the paper towel method. Clear out the top, make sure the light isnt going to fall in and zap you. Then lay out a paper towel flat on the surface and absorb up the layer of scum (bacteria, protein, oil, whater the heck it is). Took me about 10 towels to clear the surface of any noticable scum leftovers (the picture above is just general pond scum, not my aquarium :-) Photo by otfrom

Baby Tears & Roseafolia growth

Four months before and after. Nothing to brag about, but I'm am happy with the abundant baby tears growth. Unfortunately the Amazon Swords have not taken off like I had hoped. The new Tiger Lotus I bought is holding up well. Yeah I know, the tank needs a good cleaning in the 2nd pic :-)

Maryland (USA) Koi & Wine Festival Sep 2-3 2006

Centered around Koi and pond care the Lilypons Water Garden Festival in Buckeystown, Maryland features champion Koi exhibits, star-spangled big band, arts and crafts, water gardening lecture, children activities. The festival also features vendors who showcase new aquarium and aquatic plant related products.

Go to http://www.lilypons.com/ see more.