and then there were two

[seangee]

I was hoping this would be the same but I suspect the alternanthera rosaefoli is not going to make it in this tank. Health wise they are fine but her ladyship enjoys cleaning the leaves and even sleeping on them. Unfortunately her mouth is too rough for the leaves and they are full of holes. The one in the nano has recovered well though, a few weeks ago I removed all its leaves! The aponogeton bulb is roaming free for now. If I plant it so just the tip is sticking out the fish bury it. If I leave it higher than that it goes walkabout. Its not doing anything yet so I will just leave it in case its in a dormant phase and if I see it starting to sprout I'll have another go at planting it. All the stem plants have now been trimmed and thinned several times. As the Ambulia shoots reach the surface I am cutting them low to see what they look like if they get bushy. I do like the ethereal look the single stems create so I may go back to them - they grow fast enough to take them out and replant the stems if I do.
I haven't yet stopped the ferts. Immediatley after Easter I am off on 3 weeks hols so next weekend will be the last dose for a while. The frogbit still needs to spread a bit more and once the ferts run out the roots should start heading downwards in search of nutrients - so hopefully I come back to a well shaded right hand side. The only downside of not feeding for 3 weeks is I may have surviving lambchop fry. They went on a group spawning spree aftter last weekends WC. Haven't seen any fry yet but most of the activity was around the Anubias so there is a chance ... you can see the 3 miniatures that made it though the last round in with the adults joining the feeding frenzy at the surface.

 

[seangee]

Getting there

Edit: In other good news the water temp in my jerry cans (stored in an unheated room) has now reached 20C. Water changes are now going to be a lot simpler until winter arrives.

 

[seangee]

Oh no now I've done it!
I intentionally threw out the 2 surplus tanks so I wouldn't be tempted and today I ordered a new one.
In fairness my main constraint was space and I ordered a 29l (7.5 US gallons) tank for breeding and raising fry. And it will fit in the bottom of the Flex stand so no space required. The tank in question comes with a basic in-hood filter. May not use it but since most of the reviews complain it is too weak I just might . Disturbingly there are plenty of reviews about how much the owners' goldfish (plural!) love their new tank. Can't really fault the supplier because its clearly sold as a nano or betta tank. The only spare heater I have lying around that will fit is 100W and I have an Inkbird controller also lying around so can have precise temperature control even if the equipment is overkill. I also have a few lighting controllers lying around - which may or may not work. Not planning any plants though - just a base of astro turf, spawning mops dependent on species, and frogbit on the top.
And the logic? Mostly simple economics. My fish numbers are never going to increase in a community tank. So as the numbers decrease I have to replenish. And fish prices have gone through the roof since COVID. I am down to 3 nannostomus marginatus (had to euthenase the 4th last night ). I may actually have left it too late to breed these (especially if my assumption that I still have both sexes is incorrect), but buying 10 will cost more than I paid for the tank. I should also top up my ember tetras. 6 females and 1 male remaining so I would have to breed while the male is still around. For now I'm OK on everything else but of course it won't stay that way.