Jennifer

Bob has it growing under a massive amount of lights, metal halides, etc and it is lovely. Tall and gorgeous dark green leaves with purple undersides.

Source

C. blassi

My C. balansae grows up to 1.5m long and for that reason I find it is not suitable for short tanks. The C. blassi that Bob Ward has at Redwood Aquatics is up to 20cm tall and is a spectacular plant.

Please adjust the temp so you get lots of females. I have a heap of nice males looking for dates!

All the green pups are gone now but it grows like a weed so there will be more in a month. Organism is just great for getting unusual plants. Its a bit random what they get in which is why it pays to go visit often!

Not that I saw - this one was a bit of a surprise planted in a lower tank.

Nothing much to tell. I spotted it in Organism and snapped it up! If it reproduces like the green variety I should have pups in a month or so. Wish I could see how it is growing but I am not at home tonight to drool over it!

Cryptocoryne crispatula var. Balansae "Red" By the way, those green Balansae in front of the log are unwanted pups that have come up from under the log. If any one wants them, they are for sale - the tallest is 25cm.

No, you shouldn't need an airstone if it is just plants and no fish. But do keep in mind that some plants do well acidic conditions and others are suited to different conditions. Depends on the plant and its origins.

Some plants will object to excel, but the vast majority will treat it like any source of carbon. Also, if you are dosing regularly like that, be sure to keep up your weekly 50% water change schedule.

I personally add heaps of ferts - I mean HEAPS - to my tanks and I don't have any problems, but my plants are used to it and they are growing very fast and have CO2/carbon so they can actually use the nutrients I provide. So, based on that I would say there is no need to cut back - but that is just my experience. Remember, the light will increase the plants' demands for nutrients. The carbon will enable the plants to utilise nutrients.

Happy birthday young man - that is a lovely cake. Looks like you had some brilliant weather for your big day. PS: KP, we must go to the beach when I come up to visit. It is positively droolworthy!

I agree about using airstones with CO2 in small tanks but truthfully I have found that DIY in small tanks is just too unstable and not worth the effort or risk. Liquid carbon supplements are very affordable for small tanks of that size and they do just as good a job as CO2.

Hmmm, sometimes it can object to a change in environment. I would say hang in there and give it a few months and some new bits will grow back and they will be all sorted to like your tank conditions. I have windelov growing in every conceivable tank condition (high light/low light, high ferts/low ferts, high CO2/low CO2) and it will thrive just about everywhere once it has adapted to the tank. It might have also been the bright sunlight that stunned it. It grows quite fast when supplemented with a good amount of trace nutrients and carbon (liquid carbon or CO2).

Wow, good one! That male was about half grown but his dad spawned first at about that size too. I find the females to be very aggressive toward the males but the males aren't nearly as aggressive toward the females in courting. Keep us updated. Too bad that the female died, there are precious few in the country at the moment.

They will defend a patch of about 40 square cm when breeding or courting. It is usually best to keep pairs separate for this reason.

Hmmm, what shall I bring? Maybe a cake. We will reschedule the September 4th pizza party/tank making session for the 6th November at my house. We will go over culturing live foods then as well. Hopefully by then I will have the replacement stands and tanks in place.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... prize.html

Wow, that's impressive Stella. I could be wrong, but that looks way more than 300 to me (someone needs to count them).

Mine went through a HUGE amount of stress during the quake and they never showed any signed of problems whatsoever. In fact, they never looked better, even after swimming in cold mud! I really don't find them any more sensitive than other fish. I don't baby them at all, I freely chuck them from tank to tank and do massive water changes and never have any problems. I figure that as with anything, if they live a protected life, they will find any sudden change traumatic. Works for me anyway.

:lol: And I bet it wouldn't even feel it! 8)

Bet you needed a big needle for that thick skin!

Usually removed. They can be quite irritating and are open to the environment so can be a source of infection straight into the bone which is why they need to be monitored closely during healing. If they loosen for any reason, the movement can prevent healing. It is a waiting game now to make sure no complications occur. I would guess that they placed pins because the fractures were so clean and they could be reduced so well, with very good union. Otherwise, if the bone was in many pieces they may have used a plate or external fixateur (sort of like scaffolding holding the bones in line from outside the body). Good that the fractures were mid shaft, that makes it much easier.

Sad. A lot of cases of sea turtle pneumonia are started as a result of ingesting a foreign body (e.g. plastic bag that the turtle thinks is food). When the turtle's stomach is blocked it regurgitates and aspirates the stomach contents into its lungs.