The New Tank

For my birthday, May 26, I got a nice 50 dollar curved glass tank. It is 3 gallons, 7 or 8 inches tall, and just as deep. There is a lot of surface area, and it came with a filter and a (very blue) light.
Over a week, I spent 45 dollars on plants, and 30 dollars on Japanese Aqua Soil bought online.
It was extremely expensive, but worth it!

I set it up slowly, and over time, it cleared, and became perfect.
Now, I have a beautiful tank full of plants. The shrimp are redder than I have ever seen them, and my new adventourous snail (more on him in an upcoming post)John Paul is happier then ever, while he digs up every plant every day >.> 
Viktor has stopped singing nightly, and is not as active as he used to be. While he was in a large soup bowl over night the  day I was transferring them, he jumped out! I woke up with Viktor missing. I spent 10 minutes looking for him, and found him on the floor in a cardboard box. I threw him into the tank which wasnt ready for him yet, but what other choice did I have? So now, he is okay, but not as happy. He seems much more mentally impacted than physically. I doubt he will be ready for breeding him in July, so I will have to buy two breeders.
The only physical damage he suffered from the ordeal, is that his left hand has permanently shrunk up from drying out. It slightly hinders his swimming.


The tank is beautiful, and the animals are mostly thriving. When Viktor recovers, I will consider the tank perfect.

**Photos soon to come**

The Life of Tadpole Joey

I went to go explore/ catch fish in the canal and pond near my house. I saw nice fish, and a cute pair of adult fish guading their thousands of fry. But, all I caught that day was four of the biggest tadpoles I could find. I identified them as cane toads. I set them up in a jar of algae covered rocks from my tank, and they devoured it all within 15 minutes.
Over the time of five days, 3 of the tadpoles passed away, leaving me one. I named him Joey.

I kept him for weeks. His legs got bigger, and he had little arm stubs. So then I transferred him into my cracked 2.5 gallon tank, and set it up with a water and land part, so he could crawl out. I found him one day after school, a frog! He jumped around, and he was adorable. Only thing was, he hadnt grown his front legs yet! He fell on his face with every leap, and he formed his lungs before his arms. At first, he ate a few bloodworms. But then, he wouldn't touch any more. For 3 days he wouldn't eat, so I prepared to let him go. The day before Joey was to be released, he passed away. I buried the poor soul by Kavi, so he may live out his life in frog heaven.
**Photos to come soon**

RIP Buggie

Buggie has left us! Buggie, just to remind you, is one of the three musketeers. And just to remind you of who those are, my shrimp. Buggie died and fertilized due to a nitrate spark a while back, caused by a filter cartridge. You will be missed, little one.

The Dollar Weed

     Most of the people who live in a rainy or semi-tropical environment recognize a dollar weed when they see one, or at least not by the name. Well, when I saw this aquarium plant, I knew what is *really* was. So, I did a little research. I found it is seriously used as an aquatic plant, and goes anywhere from 100% submerged to 100% ammersed. Cool right? So i figured I'd try to grow some. It's odd how this is an insane weed, (see), but it's considered a high maintenance and very hard plant to grow. Lmfao. So I checked my yard for the little weed, and didn't find any. So I skated over to the park, which has a back grassy dip in between two mini hills. It's the back of the park, and no one goes there. The dip is full of weeds, So I call it Weed Valley. It's my secret little corner of the park. I went dollar weed hunting (its apparently called a whorled penny-wort in the aquarium community) and I had a hell of a time digging up a small bunch. I put it in my cute little Easter basket I use to hold hair bows in, and skated home. Then I used my extra supplies, my liquid water fertilizer, and my handy dandy jar to set up a nano of whorled pennyworth. I put it on my windowsill in full sun, so we'll see how it does! P.S~ Are you as obsessed with the aqua scape as I am? I seem to be developing a knack for this!

Viktor Loves to Sing!

     Not quite opera though. He sings an original song he wrote himself, "A super cute chainsaw rumble"  Yes my dears, Viktor, as of Monday, started mating calls! Monday night, he sang just a little bit, for about 5 seconds. Tuesday night he sung for a couple of minutes, and now it has increased so he'll sing at random intervals all the time, even during the day! Its weird for him to sing during the day because they are supposed to do it only at night. But my idiotic cutie pie sings in the middle of the day. It just always makes me smile. I cant record, since he doesn't do it for a long enough time in one go to get a good video. But this person did! His is lower pitched. My cute little manly man! Here is the video,

   

     Also, I invented a little cleaning device above. I cut out part of a sponge without any soap, that wasn't micro fiber or it'd fall apart, and didn't have any tough scrubbing strands that could scratch the glass. Then I folded it in half, stuck it on a thick wooden skewer, and hot glued it in place. I can now reach the hard to reach areas of my tank, AND clean the algea my shrimp refuse to touch, off the glass! Watch it in action.

I have completed step 1.

Remember how I said I had 2 more things to do to finish this tank? Well, I got the shrimp. But since they are 4 dollars each, only 3. I have 4 more to get, and I will get them another day. These buggers are nasty expensive since the store that sells em knows they are the only stocker in the whole city! Here they are acclimating.
I named them, of course. I did it by color order. This photo here it handy because it shows them in cvolor order. So does the next one. Quirky little shrimp :3
From left to right, Van, Buggie, and Moose City.
Brightest being moose city, dullest being van!

 

Then, I noticed stupid little Viktor here was determined to eat 'em.  So as soon as they were out of the bag, I would scare him with a chopstick. So, hopefully the shrimp wont let him eat them. Lol. They are not scdared of him, and don't swim away when he comes after them. It worries me.

 

They seem to really like the rocks, and my mushroom! HURRAH!

P.S- Not so good news, I noticed this right after I let the shrimp out. A worm! I think it's a larvae. It looks and moves like one. Sorry the video goes hay wire after a few seconds. My dumb tripod collapsed.

Like I said in the last post, I am extremely pleased with my new set up. Here is how it looks now that is has cleared,

I also added this cute stone mushroom from goodwill on an obscure side. It is perfect there, and only visible from certain angles. It actually isn't tacky, and I love it!

And, I got a not so good video (my first try) of him getting air.
vid.

Plus, some great images of him shedding. First time I've seen them shed! Took him over 10 minutes, and he didn't eat the skin.

I think the last one is too adorable. He's wearing a little shawl!

Do you know what's annoying?

My bowl. I hadn't changed the water since I first got Viktor, so I went about to do a water change. I realized the plants were mostly messed up from the nighttable being shifted around so often, so I re-arranged them. Worst mistake ever. I ended up with a disgusting auqascape, and a half full bowl of cloudy water. Now, I have to dig up the whole tank, and start all over again. Say goodbye to that cycle I worked so hard on!

EDIT: Nevermind! Once the new water I got turned to the right temperature, I put it in the tank. Then, I put the filter back in. It wasn't complete, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I went online for inspiration, and found a tank with gorgeous silver gray rocks in it. I thought, hey, that's what I need! I pulled out some nice rocks I have from my office, and put them in the tank. The water hasn't settled yet of course, but, I really do like it! Much more then it was before too. So, hurrah!

I got the frog! CAUTION- LOOOOOOOONG POST

This is going to be incredibly long. I mean, incredibly long. There will be 14 photos, and numerous sections. I could split it up into sections, but, nah.
Today is Saturday.
I got Vik on Wednesday, on  the way home from school. When I went to Petco, I bought him for $4.50, and spent over 13 dollars on plants. I bought 3 plants actually, but they made quite a difference to the tank. I first arranged the plants into the bowl. This is how it first looked when I put them in. (Photos taken after putting in Vik.)

So now that the plants were put in (I don't know what kind they were. They were loose and potted plants. Not labeled.), I started to acclimate Viktor.

Once acclimated, he immediately went into his new pot. :3

But then, I remembered the whole point of me acquiring more plants, was to fill in the empty space behind the pot. I realized the aqua scape was actually quite awful, so I fixed it, removing Vik from the tank again and back into his acclimating cup for 5 minutes. Now, that the aqua scape was successful, it looked like this.

That night, I watched him swim, and hide behind plants.

(The random tubing is the c02 tube. I removed it from the rock during the aqua scape, and pushed the tubing  against the side / back off the tank.)
Then I turned off the light,
and let him be for the night.
The next day after school, I rushed home to make sure he was ok. Thrilled that he had made it through his rough day, I fed him. I cut out a cube from his food package I have to keep in the fridge, and I thawed it by placing it on top of my ridiculously hot lamp.

It thawed, I took a pair of tweezers, picked up a small clump of about 5 worms, and placed it in the middle of the bowl.I waited for 6 minutes for him to go to the food by it's smell. Being unpatient then, I picked up individual worm by individual worm and fed it to him by holding it in front of his face until he ate it.

My cat used to love watching George swim. Now, being used to an empty bowl, she paid no attention to it. But while I was out of the room, I guess him swimming up to get air caught her eye, because when I came back,

She's so cute.
Anyways, back to topic. I'd like to end this with some good photos of Vik so,

Gainsvelle

     I love coming to this city. I haven't done it in a couple years. I like to visit here, and endure the ridiculously long drive, just to be in the atmosphere. Anyhow, I passed a fish store and thought I'd go in. Quite boring for a fish store actually, but they do sell rams. I like them, but a little too pricey at 10 dollars a pop. So I headed over to a nearbye reptile and amphibian store to see what they have. A cute little 1 inch peninsula newt. I asked what they were and how big they get. Friendly, easy to feed, and adorable. They grow from 3-5 inches. So I think I'll have one in my 20 gal long.

UPDATE: The 3 gallon still has no nitrates and no nitrites. ARGH! But, screw it. I'm getting the frog  tomorrow evening when I get home. I got the lid, and the plants have settled in nicely. One is dying, but the other 3 are doing fab. The corkscrew even has a new plant, 3 inches tall at least. And another new one coming up. I'm very impressed!

I hate cycling

I hate cycling this tank. 3 weeks now, and still NO nitrates. Ugh. But, my ammonia levels are low, and I have a bunch of plants. So I'm going to get Vik next weekend. Oh, yes. Well, the frog I'm getting, as you know, I am naming Viktor Shroom Stroganoff. (First, middle, and last). It's annoying to say Viktor, as pronounced ViKtour. So from now on, it's Vik for short.

Fixing the tank

Remember how I put a crack in my 2.5 gal while trying to de-rim it? (My Dad still says it was a stupid idea. I beg to differ.) Well, I'm patching that crack. I went out to Shell Lumber today and bought a panel of glass to put on the inside of tank with some silicone. AKA~ Aquarium sealent. I'll get around to the actual doing it later. For now, I'm going to chill. I'm not using that tank now, nor will be in the near future. Or the late future. So, yah.

The Bowl: Update

This is the way the bowl looks now. (2.5 gal) The day after I bought the plants. Beautiful no? The plants are, as listed in the last post, *Corkscrew Val *Some kind of sword *Water Wisteria *Onion  like thingy.
I'll make it a bit more.... accurate the next time I go to PetSmart. I got the Mexican river rock (big gray rock with white speckles by terra cotta pot) from my Dad, who found it along the sidewalk. The colorful stones are from my brother, in an act of generosity. I am unaware of their origin, but they are beautiful and safe for the tank. The natural colored gravel is from Petco.
I hope you love the set-up! I feel like I really surprised myself with this layout. I bought the plants with no idea of how I would perform the aquascape. I'm very proud, especially about how I managed to make the inside of the pot seem shaded, safe, and a good hidey hole, but that he (Viktor Shroom Stroganoff ~ ADF) will feel secure and tucked away while I can still see him.
This is my first aqua scape. It looks good! Excuse me, but I cannot get over the pride of my accomplishment.
There are still a few things left to be done, though.

1. Finish cycling. (about 2 more weeks)
2. Get a cover.
3. Set up C02 system.

Once I do thus, I may resume getting the frog.
A little additional notice: While day dreaming on the bus today, I thought about the idea of Viktor dying! I decided that if he did, I would get a girl in my second go, and name her Miss Madam Cher Poofla.
Poof for short. Cute no?

Oh Dear.... were in for a trip! II

The title of 'Oh Dear... were in for a trip!' is now being used once again. As alas, it means I have not been keeping up with the  blog! But, this means now there is a very interesting summary of what has occurred over the past few weeks. Pretty, isn't it? But only, I filled it up to the top and added George.

*While George was in his jar, shortly before going to his new home, I got sick of the maintence level of the small jar. So I ripped out the dying Java Fern and gravel, and did this with the babies. 
*George has finally taken flight to Lucy's home. She bought him a new tank (he couldn't live in  that jar forever!) and bought some of the tackiest decorations I have ever seen. It is so neon colored and decoration filled, I am NOT posting a picture.
*I have been busy cycling the bowl since George left us. It is currently at 1pm of ammonia, and 0 of everything else. I also found out my tap water is 7.2 ph. I have never tested the water before. Oh no, now I have you all thinking I have purchased a test kit! I haven't, and won't, for a long time. I brought the water in to a store far away from where I live to get it tested. The man there was very rude and sure of himself, in the worst way posible. Then, he told me I didn't have anythign of anything in the tank. What? SO I bit my tongue to keep from snapping back at his remarks (including, "Lady, I've been doing this for 35 years". I was dying to say "My father has been doing it for over 40 years Mr., so shut up.") and left. I brought another water sample to another store I also love, which not to mention has nicer employees, and got it re-tested there. I then got my results.
*I talked to the nice manager for a minute about a plant, and then left. They didn't have what I was looking for.
*At petsmart I bought 4 plants. I wanted to buy the mossimo balls, but my Father, who drove me, suggested I might find them cheaper online. They were 1.5 in in diameter for 8 dollars a piece. Online, I've found them cheapest at that size for 5 dollars each. But then with the shipping price of 10 bucks,  of course, I'm going to buy them in store. While looking for the mossimo balls online, I found some 3-4 in diameter ones for only $12 each! If you are interested, this is the link. Anyways, the plants I bought...

1. Amazon Sword
2. Corkscrew Nana
3. Water Wisteria
4. Some grassy looking thing (Resembled onion. I'll find out what it was next time I go to PetSmart)

That's all! Thanks, I'll update yall later. 

George In his Jar

     A while ago, when I cleaned out my bowl, I put the java fern in George's jar. I realized it's after christmas now, and that I did promise to put a photo with every entry. So since I have been talking about it so much, here's a couple baddish photos of george in his jar. As you can see, it is empty other then a dying, off spring producing, java fern, a plant, and George the Beast himself.

.

Plans....Plans....

I have so many plans. But none of them can be started until Lucille friggin' gets back from New York! Lucille is one of my best friends, and is the one adopting George. Until George gets OUT of my house, and takes his food, water de-chlorinator, and jar w/ him, I cannot get started on the rectangular 2.5 gal tank.

I had a 2.5 gallon tank. But while attempting to de-rim it (first time in the practice) I cracked it. I'm going to buy a new one, and my father isn't allowing me to de-rim that one. Blah. It was a first time mistake! Sheesh! Well~ I am going to do a very simple iwagumi style. It will have a carpet of a plant similar to 'cuba' but that requires less light. I can't remember the name at the moment. Scientific names simply have the tendency to fluster me. Anyways, it will have that leafy carpet and a bunch of rocks. I'm thinking of doing some frogbit in the corner. Floating plants don't usually occur in iwagumi styled tanks because
I. It's just not part of the style &
II. Even if it was, all iwagumi tanks have a carpet, which require high light, and floating plants would be                .    unpractical in the matter that they block that light.
It's just that I love the way frogbit looks, and since I'm going to have 1 African Dwarf Frog in the tank... It goes. Frog Bit? African Dwarf Frog? Hee hee :3
This is what frog bit looks like from beneath. It is the stringy stuff hanging down from the surface.

This tank belongs to Davinci27 of The Planted Tank Forum. As you can see, he did an amazing job on it, which is why I chose this image. His tank is very becoming to the frog bit, and most of the things on Google images make it look like.....cow crud.
edit*: I remembered the name of the carpet plant I'm using. It is Marsilea Hirsuta!
So all in all I'm doing...
I. Flora:  Marsilea hirsuta    &    Limnobium Spongia
II. Fauna: African Dwarf Frog
III. Other: Rocks


All that huge chunk of writing was only about my 2.5 gal! The 20 gal.... :{D

As you can see, I haven't shown you the exact layout of the 2.5 gal. It is a surprise for the future, and so is the 20 gal long's layout. I'm just posting all this stuff here to post something and so I won't forget.
I. Flora: Marsilea hirsuta     &    Echinodorus 'Vesuvius'    &    Cladophora aegagrophila (mossimo balls)
II. Fauna: Betta    &    Harlequin Rasboras    &    Zebra Danios    &     Red Cherry Shrimp
III. Other shit: Rocks   & Wood