Hello And Goodbye

On Friday night while inspecting the tank I noticed 2 more snails, so now I have a total of 3 snails in the tank. Two of them seem to be hanging around the thermometer (which currently reads 26 degrees Celsius). I have turned up the temperature to help the acceleration of the bacteria that is needed to keep that tank running smoothly.

I have had to remove the Fittonia 'Superba Red' and the Dracaena sanderiana (Red Striped Dragon Plant) tonight as both plants were starting to decay already. The leaves from the Fittonia 'Superba Red' had decayed from the stem and were floating around the tank. I had also noticed an abundance of red worms in the water (introduced from the Cabomba aquatica (Green Cabomba, Giant Cabomba)) and they were attacking the Dracaena sanderiana (Red Striped Dragon Plant), eating the decaying parts. 

I am a bit worried about the red worms as all my internet searching for the last 3 hours has not turned up much, so I have posted a question on a forum to see if I can get any answers. I am hoping that they will not be a fish parasite of some sort, but rather fish food.   

Real Aquatic Plants

Out of the 7 plants species that I have bought so far, 3 are real aquatic plants. These should help the fish feel more at home than the non aquatic plants ones.

Echinodorus bleheri (Broad-leaf Amazon Sword) - This is an ideal plant to be used in the background of the tank. It is a slow grower, but when it is established it will be tall and wide and can fill a large portion of the tank. When I removed the plant from the plastic plant container, I discovered that there was a baby Amazon Sword growing next to the large adult. So I have ended up with 2 plants for the price of one, which makes up a bit for the non aquatic plants. I have planted both at the back of the tank, behind the bogwood, with the baby plant close to the adult one. I will relocate the baby one to a different location once it is bigger. 

Cabomba aquatica (Green Cabomba, Giant Cabomba) - Tall growing plant, great place for fry to hide in so that they do not get eaten by any adult fish. I have planted 3 of these close together to form a nice area for fish to hide in.

Microsorium pteropus (Java fern) - This plant is different from most aquatic plants as it can grow on rocks and bogwood. I have tied mine to the V area of my bogwood using cotton thread and hope it will form a nice centre piece.

The Great Rip Off

Due to not doing any research before buying my plants and the rip off culture of fish shops the world round, I have ended up buying some non aquatic plants. What this has taught me is to do my research first and to always question the snotty nosed assistant. The following plants are sold under the guise of aquatic plants as they can survive weeks or months under water before they die.

Fittonia 'Superba Red' - Lovely looking plant, but will survive for only a few weeks in the tank. The ones I have planted have already started to rot away, so I give the remaining ones no more than 2 weeks.

Dracaena sanderiana (Red Striped Dragon Plant) - will survive for up to 3-4 months underwater. It is currently looking sorry for itself, but hopefully it will improve. 

Chlorophytum bichetti (Pongol Sword Plant) - Another lovely plant (L's favourite), but will only last for a couple of months.

Ophiopogon 'Kyoto' (Dwarf Fountain Plant) - Will survive for many months underwater. This would make a great low grower if it could survive longer. 

So over the next few weeks I will have to do more shopping to replace the plants I will end up losing, but this time I will go prepared with knowledge and attitude. 

Flora Planted

Just a quick update. During the course of this week I have acquired some plants, which have now been planted. I will post more about each one later on.

Still looking a bit sparse so will be popping into the local fish shop to acquire a few more. Of course once they start growing the tank will fill up a bit more. 

The tank is still a bit cloudy, but each day it has been improving, so it appears the filtering is working.