Weeds

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Kevin! It's still early days here too, but Crested Butte is pretty high elevation, so in some places it's already past peak. Every year I try to Catch CB at peak wild flowers and peak fall colors. I've never quite hit it but I'm enjoying the effort! The flowers this year may have been the best I've seen.

 

[Chasmodes]

That is really beautiful. I loved hiking and fishing in the mountains when I stayed in CO, when I had free time to do it, which wasn't often. I'd love to spend a vacation out there. My wife would like to do it too. I have family that I'd like to visit as well in Fort Collins. I guess I'd better start saving up for a new fly rod!

 

[vlangel]

I am sorry that it appears the small weak damsel perished. Who knows, maybe it was never going to gain strength even if it had been in QT longer. Sometimes they die just because...

Your fall colors are gourgeous. Kevin said their leaves are falling before turning colors because of the drought and we in SW Pennsylvania think our leaves are falling because we got so much rain in June and July. My flower garden was amazing because of all the rain. The only problem was that flowers that were suppose to be only 12" turned out to be 3 and 4' and have so many blooms that the plants were collapsing under their own weight. Even now many are still pretty however.

 

[Chasmodes]

Honestly Dawn, I have no idea why leaves fall early, but your theory could explain ours as well then. We also had a ton of rain early in the year. Corn in our fields were high as an elephant's eye as early as June because of that.

However, we've been in a drought since the end of June. Our rivers are at record low levels now. It's a total change from the past 2 years where we had so much rain that the rivers were always way too high, so much so that it caused problems with game fish species. The spring flooding waters ruined the spawns of smallmouth bass in our upper rivers (so the theory goes, although pollution has played a role in that too).

 

[vlangel]

Honestly Dawn, I have no idea why leaves fall early, but your theory could explain ours as well then. We also had a ton of rain early in the year. Corn in our fields were high as an elephant's eye as early as June because of that.

However, we've been in a drought since the end of June. Our rivers are at record low levels now. It's a total change from the past 2 years where we had so much rain that the rivers were always way too high, so much so that it caused problems with game fish species. The spring flooding waters ruined the spawns of smallmouth bass in our upper rivers (so the theory goes, although pollution has played a role in that too).

The weather is so weird lately. We were extra dry August and September but when it did rain the rain gauge would register 1 and a half inches over night. That is a lot of rain all at once. We pulled up our basement carpet because it was getting wet more frequently. We have lived in this same house 33 years and the basement went decades without getting wet but the last few years it has gotten wet multiple times. Since the kids are gone we don't need it as a playroom so we are done with drying the carpet.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Out here we had a very wet spring, which brought the flowers big time. Then we had a very dry summer, which led to some less than stellar colors in the lower elevations. We got our first snow yesterday-about six inches. That's pretty much normal. I usually get my snow tires on by the second week of October. With the snow forecast, I went ahead and got them on early.

On the missing damsel, it's just such a heartbreak, after getting them through uronema. I think if I had been more patient and kept it in QT another week or two, things might have gone better. Another lesson learned. Overall, I'm pretty happy with my advances in the quarantine department. There's still room for improvement!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Well I'm gettin' after it today! Lots of weeds are getting removed. Right now I'm taking a break, waiting for the water to clear, so I can do more. I'm not sure where I'll end up, but it's looking like a lot fewer macros.

With all my camping trips, I've missed doing my usual weekend tidying, and the tank has gotten a bit unruly. I've moved some more manatee grass around and I've noticed that I need to remove the 'ground cover' macros in order to replant them. So the sand bed may end up stripped clean.

We'll see! Pics to follow…

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Well it's Sunday and I'm finished tidying up. Half the sand bed ground cover was removed, the reds got scalped and made into a more compact grouping. A lot of the ulva got exported. Even the fern caulerpa got thinned a bit. I finally took a chance and tried transplanting a couple of small plugs of the turtle weed, up high on the back wall. I had a real challenge removing the petticoat algae that had overgrown many of the reds. I also removed a bunch of blue hypnea from the barnacle shells. It had overgrown my string of pearls too, so I had to carefully extricate it to save it.

My tank was overdue for some attention. Now here's some pics!

Turtle weed against the back wall. It moves well in the current. I want it so much to grow on the wall.

I got a few good ones of the Allen's Damsels.

String of pearls. Kinda rough shape. It was fully engulfed in the Hypnea.

Sawtooth Caulerpa. A freebie mixed in with the turtle weed. I'm trying it out on the sand bed.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Eye candy!

Three remaining pieces of Codium on the sand.

 

[vlangel]

Wow your tank is looking really good. You have a neat variety of macros still. I have lost some of mine so I don't have as many but what I have is doing pretty well.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Dawn! I appreciate that.

I do have a variety of macros. Now if I could get them all to do what I want!

 

[vlangel]

Ha ha, yes getting our aquatic beauties to do what we want is always the challenge. Its a balancing act between aligning our desires and tastes to be more in line with nature but also manipulating nature slightly to accommadate us. Generally I find nature is definitely stronger so I align myself to it as closely as possible and I know that is your philosophy as well. It can be to exhausting and frustrating otherwise.

 

[Chasmodes]

Lookin' good! Is the codium coming back or staying the same? Thanks for the eye candy

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Right on Dawn. This really points to the differences between this version and the last one. In v1, I wasn't sure what I wanted and what I didn't want, as far as macros go. So I let things progress like a jungle. This time around, I'm approaching it more like a garden, in the sense that I know what I want and don't want. So I have a bit more control, but it requires more patience. And you're right, I'm still working with, rather than against Nature, but with a clearer direction, if that makes sense. Nature offers many choices that work, and I'm choosing one.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Kevin!

It's hard to tell if the Codium's coming back or not at this point. Now that the weather is cooling, I'm able to keep the water temp below 80 degrees, so I'm hopeful. I'll keep watching it of course. I really like it with the grasses.

 

[vlangel]

Michael, in the pic with the sawtooth caulerpa; are those all worm tracks in the sandbed up against the glass? If it is that is the most worm tracks I have ever seen and speaks to the abundant life in your substrate!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks, and good eye, Dawn. Yes those are worm tracks. It's funny, I hardly see the little guys at the bottom of the food chain, until I'm ripping things out. When tidying over the weekend, I came across numerous worms, pods and micro serpent stars. I'm very excited about the stars especially, since I've been trying to get them established for a while now.

Having a great bottom community really helps. That, and my army of snails helps my tank take care of itself, to a great extent. Not having to deal with detritus and algae frees me up to focus on more interesting stuff.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

I'm enjoying having more of these beautiful fish in my tank! Five neon damsels, and three tuxedo damsels are swimming about, in a pretty low stress environment. Plenty of hidey holes, lots of space, and three feedings a day means these fish are pretty comfy. Plus they can hunt naturally for pods and stuff. It's great fish watching! I'm getting serious couch time. The neons are hanging out in a loose school and are very social. The tuxedos are more individualistic, but they often synch up and interact.

One thing I was terrified about was the chance that the new fish would bring illness into my display. QT seems to have worked, and I see no evidence of any illness. WOOHOO!!!

I was talking with my wife about the fish, to get her input on what she'd like to see next. She told me she liked bigger fish she could see easier. I often forget she doesn't have as good vision as I do, and can't appreciate the finer details. So it makes sense. I like to keep the fish smaller, so they have more room to roam, but I can certainly try to accommodate her too. I think a Herald's Angelfish could work. Before I get one I want to get some more of both damsels. I've been watching how they move and behave around each other, and I think I've got room for a few more. Two more tuxedos and five more neons ought to do it. This would bring me to five tuxedos and ten neons. That would be amazing!

 

[vlangel]

Wow, what an active color pop your tank will have with additional tuxedoes and neons. How are your little barnacle blennies in this mix...are they completely ignored by the damsels?

 

[Michael Hoaster]

I agree, Dawn! I think I can comfortably accommodate a few more, after watching them for a while. The barnacle blennies are pretty much ignored, until one of them beats them to a food morsel! They're still pretty small so they don't attract much attention. The female is pretty bold at feeding time. Instead of zipping back and forth for one bite, she'll go for two to five bites before returning to her perch. She's also been trying out a new spot on the back wall, keeping her options open.

Now I just need to get enough gumption to disinfect the QTs for another round…