Aquascapage

I decided it was time to take the bull by the horns and start to fashion something a little more effective in the 30 gallon tank. The condition of the terrain had gone from controlled chaos to simply chaos. Part of this included taking out the plastic rock thingie and giving it a good scrub. I released some pretty gnarly smelling gas that I hope I got out when I put it back in.

The little water sprite I had pretty much took over the left side of the tank without my permission, and the rotala indica was having its run of the tank. I moved all the rotala indica behind said plastic rock, which is no small task considering how it had thrived in the tank and sent out numerous runners (the kuhli loaches appreciated the chance to string themselves up in the newly relocated foilage). It had some pretty well established roots that I tried to really get buried in the back. Different parts of the water sprite were given a 2nd chance and sent to the bucket and the 5 gallon tank.

I went to Alamo looking for a nice, bushy plant to use as a centerpiece of the tank. The show tank they had had a nice looking amazon sword (my "swords" are actually temple), but they did not have any for me to take home. Nor did they have anything else that would suit my needs. I sadly conceded that I would have a void in my tank until they got a hold of something I could use.

However, I stopped at Petsmart on my way home only to look at the drawf gouramis to check out the availablility and price. Of course, the plants they had also caught my eye, but they don't take very good care of theirs. On the other hand, they have non-submerged aquatic plants packaged and rooted in a gel of sorts. Now while this seems suspicious, I was intrigued. Sure enough, they had a small amazon sword for less than $4, so I decided to roll the dice.

When I took it home, I discovered their were actually three discreet plants, so I decided to split them up a bit and let them each have their own go of it. I had already moved my "spider" plants more to the middle, so the amazons are slightly to the right in the crook of the rock and driftwood. They have plenty of room now, but if they all have a lot of success and get big and healthy, I'll have to make some decisions on what to do with them. I guess if I'm really lucky, they'll harmoniously grow big and strong and intertwine successfully.