Earlier this month, I shared about losing the war with Blackbeard algae in my aquarium. Since that post, I’ve restocked the plants and added a few fish. To make the tank less attractive to BBA, I’ve reduced the number of hours the light is on every day and cut back on food.
Aquarium Plants Factory (APF) is my go-to for high quality plants. They offer an amazing variety including reasonably-priced grower’s choice assortments. I opted for two stem cutting assortments with six varieties in each.
A box with two plastic bags of cuttings arrived a two days later. Going with FedEx rather than USPS is worth the extra cost. Better safe than sorry–USPS lost my first order (which APF promptly replaced).
After unpacking and gently rinsing each stem, I separated them by kind for planting. Initially, I was a little disappointed. Neither assortment contained favorites from previous orders. Varieties in those orders weren’t familiar to me either–including my current favorites.
The cuttings were all the same length. With no idea how they might grow, I poked individual stems into the gravel, keeping all the cuttings of each variety together and similar varieties apart. They looked great right away and better with each passing day.
Since I only had two scavengers in the tank, I decided to order two more panda catfish from Aquarium Fish(.com). I thought about getting some fancy sword tails, but didn’t. I still have a black molly pair I’m hoping will reproduce. Three kinds of livebeares is at least one too many for my 29-gallon tank.
The red cobra guppies have done well. I thought about getting another pair to revitalize the gene pool. Then I considered adding a pair or two of a totally different kind of guppy–there are so many beautiful options these days.
Only males are available for some of the more unique varieties. I settled on two dumbo ear guppies. They have big red tails, a nearly black midsection with a flashy gold stripe, and oversized pectoral fins resembling elephant ears. I’m looking forward to seeing what traits turn up in future generations.
The aquarium is currently free of Blackbeard algae. Hopefully, cutting back on the light will make a difference. I’ll keep you posted. As always, thanks for stopping by.