My partner still calls this the glass box with rocks in it - fair, since that's basically how it started. These days it's got the seiryu stone mostly hidden under moss, otos grazing the panes, and a crew of crystal red shrimp picking through the monte carlo up front.
Getting some green spot algae on the glass and a little hair algae creeping on a few of the older java fern leaves. Not thrilled about it but not panicking either. Been thinking about adding a couple more assassin snails or maybe some more otos since the current crew doesn't seem to be keeping up. Scraped the glass for now and cut back my light a bit to see if that helps.
Did a water change today and trimmed back the hygrophila pinnatifida - it was starting to shade out the monte carlo up front. Bucket and hose still sitting next to the stand in the photo, water's a bit lower than usual mid change. Also tidied up some java moss that was drifting loose off the stone. Looking pretty close to how I want it now, just needs a bit more time to fill in fully.
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Aria GarciaQuestionThe otos and cories look great against that hardscape, where'd you source the otos from
Rachel CookQuestionThe seiryu stone placement looks really deliberate, did you plan it out beforehand or just kept moving pieces until it clicked?
Evan MartinezQuestionHow's the bucephalandra doing on that stone, mine never wants to attach right
Honestly it took a while - I just tied mine to the stone with some thread and left it alone for a few weeks. Didn't touch it, didn't move it, just let the roots do their thing. Now it's grabbed on pretty well. Super glue works too if thread isn't your thing, just don't bury the rhizome or it'll rot.
How do you keep the seiryu stone from leaching and messing with your water params on a no-CO2 tank? Mine always shifts my hardness a bit
Thao ThomasQuestionCurious what your water change percentage is on this one, the otos look happy so whatever you're doing works
Glad they look good - I'm doing about 20-25% weekly, sometimes I stretch it to every 10 days if things look stable. Otos seem happiest with consistent water params more than anything fancy.