Gardening

Today I decided to do a bit of gardening in the tank. The three Ophiopogon 'Kyoto' (Dwarf Fountain Plant) had turned yellow and was starting to rot, so I removed them from the tank. They only lasted one month, which was a pity as they provided a nice wall in front of the bogwood. While I had my hands in the water, I decided to prune a few of the other plants that had a yellow leaf or two and did a general tidy up. The fish seemed to love having their environment invaded, as they were darting around, trying to see what the giant hand was busying doing. I think they were a bit disappointed when I had finished as their fun had left.

Leopard Cory Fact Sheet

Here is a fact sheet of the Leopard Cory

Scientific Name	Corydoras julii
Family	Corydoradinae
Common Names	Julii Cory, Leopard Cory
Origin	Coastal Brazilian rivers and Lower Amazon River, Brazil
Adult Size	6 cm
Social	Peaceful, suitable for community tanks
Lifespan	2 - 5 Years
Diet	Omnivore, eats most foods
Breeding	Egglayer
pH	6.5 - 7.2
Hardness	4 - 20 dGH
Temperature	20 - 24 C

Serious Problems

OK, the tank has serious problems. I lost 2 more Guppies (Peocilia reticulata). Both were acting lethargic last night and I found them at the bottom of the tank this morning. I have done a gravel clean and water change tonight to see if that will help, though according to the water tests everything is fine. The 7 remaining fish seem to be ok, but only time will tell.

Hotel Kitchen

I have extended the food range in the hotel's kitchen to cater for the Leopard Cories (Corydoras julii). I now also use TetraPrima at feeding time, which is a slow sinking granular food. The Danios love to grab the granules as they sink down, but as the granules are still dry, they are quickly spat out. Once the granules have been sitting on the bottom for a while, they become soft enough to eat. As the Cories make their rounds they find the granules which they appear to suck up as they hover above them. Occasionally the Danios will find the soft granules before the Cories do, leaving them going hungry for the evening. I am hoping to get some live food at some point, but that will be later when the hotel has a few more guests.

Guppy Fact Sheet

Here is a fact sheet of the Guppy

Scientific Name	Peocilia reticulata
Family	Poeciliidae
Common Names	Barbados millions, Guppies, Guppy, Queue de voile
Origin	Central America to Brazil
Adult Size	3.5cm Male / 6cm Female
Social	Peaceful, suitable for community tanks
Lifespan	1 - 3 years
Diet	Omnivore, eats most foods
Breeding	Live bearers
pH	6.0 - 9.0
Hardness	4 - 10 DH
Temperature	18 - 28 C

Baby Java Ferns

When I bought my Java fern (Microsorium pteropus) and tied it to the bogwood, it looked like the picture below.

After a couple of weeks on the bogwood, some of the leaves now have little plants growing on them, see picture below. This is how the Java fern reproduces. Once the new plants have developed roots, they will break away from the mother leaf and float around in the aquarium until they find something to which they will attach. I am hoping to put a few of the new ferns into some holes in the bogwood so that they can grow from there.

First Guests To Check Out

After a few days away on holiday, we came back home to discover that 1 Guppy (Peocilia reticulata) and 2 Zebra Danios (Brachydanio rerio) were missing. Apparently there was a murder mystery week at the hotel.

The missing Guppy below was a favourite of mine as the pattern on his body would be more pronounced when the tank light was switched off. This is because it would reflect any light in the room off the white pattern on it's body.

Not sure what caused the deaths as no bodies could be found. Guess some of the fish ate well while we were away. All the other fish appear to be ok. The fish will be much missed.