Santa likes Aquascaping too!

Happy Holidays everyone!

This Christmas my sister's boyfriend, Brandon, pulled my name during the secret santa draw. He got me a great little book called the MiniEncyclopedia of Aquarium Plants by Peter Hiscock. It is a beginner's book, with information on how to care for the plants, placement, and of course detailed descriptions on hundreds of different aquatic plants!

I love it! I'll put it to some good use. It's a very easy to understand book, and will be very useful when looking for plants to stock my tank.

Thanks Santa!

Hardscape: Manzanita Wood

Manzanita wood comes from trees found in the westcoast of North America. It grows as evergreen shrubs and is known for it's twisting branches and reddish coloring. It is frequently used as a centerpiece decoration for party events like weddings and banquets.

In my tank I have a beautiful piece of manzanita wood. I purchased the manzanita wood from a reptile store called Reptile Island in Stanton, CA. I cut the wood into 3 small pieces and left them to sit in a bucket of water for over a week.

After one week, the logs did not waterlog and they were giving off tannis. Tannis is a natural tan color that is produced by plants and is often used to "tan" animal hides and leather. Being impatient, I decided to boil the pieces of wood in a large pot over the stove to expedite the waterlogging and tannis removal process. It worked like a charm! Over the next few days, I repeatedly boiled the logs, and left them out to soak over night in a big bucket. By the end of the second week, the logs sunk, and most of the tannis was removed.

The water in my tank now does now show much sign of any tannis. Of the 3 pieces of wood I cut from the original branch, I chose the smaller piece to fit into the tank. I felt that the other pieces, although just as nice, were too thick for a small tank. The wood is a beautiful reddish color and is pretty damn gorgeous if you ask me!

Pet Profile: Red Cherry Shrimp

Neocaridina Heteropoda var. Red aka Red Cherry Shrimp make a lovely little clean up crew for unwanted algae that is bound to grow in a planted tank.

Why I love this pet: The Red Cherry Shrimp are non-aggressive and act as a good clean up crew for the tank. They thrive in planted tanks and are active throughout the day, which is great for when you're trying to show off your tank (*whispers* but for some reason they hide when my sister Karen comes to see the tank. She's scary to them).They are "clean" pets and can live in small tanks, perfect for a 7.5 gal tank like mine. Their red coloration stands out in a green planted tank and really adds a little flare to the overall look.

Red Cherry Shrimp originate from Taiwan and are easy to take care of. Neocaridina Heteropoda come in a variety of colors ranging from greens to browns, but the red variety is the most popular.

I purchased 5 shrimp from Tong's Tropical Fish Store in Fountain Valley, CA and acclimated them to the tank's water as soon as I got home. These shrimp are pretty hardy considering I left them in the trunk of my car during a hot California day to go for a quick grocery shopping trip. The shrimp acclimated nicely, and I left them alone to enjoy the planted tank. Coming home I spotted a baby! Babies are always a good sign that the tank is well balanced. It is hard to spot the baby shrimp, but I have seen it in the tank from time to time. See how tiny the baby is? (look right).




I have had a small issue of my shrimp getting sucked into the filter. On the first day, all but 1 shrimp "disappeared" from the tank. It turned out the filter sucked them up. They all survived, but I had to figure out a way to fix this issue. At first I put a sponge in the intake valve, but that was preventing my filter from taking in larger debris. So I fashioned some fabric mesh to the intake valve instead. This allows for the debris to be sucked in without having the shrimp get sucked in with it! All 5 shrimp are still alive and grazing.

Plant Profile: Eleocharis Acicularus

Why I love this plant: The thin long grassy plant gives the tank a softer flowy look. The blades gently rock with the flow of the water. This plant is also fairly easy to take care of and can grow quickly. 

Eleocharis Acicularus is also commonly known as Dwarf Hairgrass and is very popular among the fresh water aquarium world. I was able to purchase the Eleocharis Acicularus at Tong's Tropical Fish in Fountain Valley, CA. 

The roots of the eleocharis form shoots and runners that it sends out to other areas of the tank. Because it forms runners, it can be used to create beautiful mats that cover the bottom of the tank.

Typically it is used as a foreground or midground plant, but since my tank is only 7.5 gallons, it does not make much sense to put all of the plants in the front. It will cover the view of all the other plants! It can grow to approximately 4 inches in height.

I decided to use the Hairgrass as a background for my tank instead. I like the idea that it can help to hide the back of the tank so you can't see the wall behind the tank. It makes the tank more GREEN!

Uh-oh. Hitchhikers.

No matter how careful you are, sometimes you can still get hitchhikers.

I should have figured.... When I purchased my A.Bateri var. Nana from Petco, I found a small snail. Promptly picked it off and continued cleaning off the roots of the plant. I even dipped the plant in a quick bath to get rid of any unwanted hitchhikers! Alas... snails are hardy. In the last couple days I've counted 3 very small snails slime-ing their way across the broad leaves of my Anubias. I have yet to fix the issue, but it seems like this weekend will be: Project slug those snails. *sigh*

Plant Profile: Anubias Bateri var. Nana and Anubias Bateri var. Bateri

Why I love this plant: this plant does not need CO2 boosts or extra fertilizers and it grows under low light. Why is that important? Simply because it saves money! But I also love this plant because of how it looks. It gives the tank a lovely voluminous look with great shading and perfect hiding spots for shy critters. One other big plus about Anubias are that they don't get eaten up by herbivorous fish! In the past I have been able to successfully grow and split the plant. However, it takes a very long time to do so. My first A. Bateri var. Nana was purchased 3 years ago, and is currently still growing inside my sister's 10 Gal goldfish tank. Great plant. Highly recommend it for beginner planters!

Originating from Africa, this plant is a slow growing hardy plant. It is considered an easy plant because of it's hardiness. This plant has large broad leaves and add a wonderful deep green color to the look of the tank. 

The plants have a root system that comes from a bulky rhizome. A. Bateri var. Nana has much smaller leaves in comparison to A. Bateri var. Bateri. I have purchased both for my fishtank. I was able to pick up the A.Bateri var. Nana from Petco, and the A. Bateri var. Bateri from 405 Tropical Fish in Westminster, CA. 

Since this is a slow growing plant, it takes a long time for the plant's roots to establish itself on a rock or a piece of driftwood. Most aquarists recommend tying the plants with some fishing line or thread to the rocks or wood. I personally prefer wood! 

Why Aquascape? - The Start

Why aquascape? 

Aquascaping is the art of arranging aquatic features inside of an aquarium in order to produce an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Although the art of aquascaping is what first drew me into the hobby, it was the science that made me stay. The aquascaping community, excitingly, is a very scientific community. By which I mean, aquascape hobbyists utilize scientific names in plant and fish identification, understand the natural cycles that plants and animals go through, and understand the importance of a balanced community inside the tank. I feel the main reason why aquascape hobbyists take such a scientific approach to their aquariums is because, one cannot have a beautiful scape if everything in the tank is dead. Since there are so many variables in creating a beautiful thriving tank, it is truly a challenging hobby. 

With this hobby I have the ability to merge my creativity with my understanding of science. I am creating this blog in order to share the details of the development of my tank, as time progresses, and to educate others about this unique art form. 

And it all starts with a 7.5 Mr.Aqua Glass Rimless Bowfront tank: