In my last post, I said I was going to do a riccia carpet. I bought some slates, tied some mesh on, and stuck some riccia between. They were growing well, the last time I saw them before I left for my month-long trip. I had moved the moss ball, anubias nana and red tiger lotus to a smaller tank outside, where I had a betta fish.
When I came back, I saw this stuck to my filter.
I spent an entire morning scooping out all the riccia. Anyone who's had riccia can tell you that it's a bitch to remove. After that, my tank looked really empty with only a piece of driftwood and a ball of pellia, along with empty slates with mesh on. I was considering whether to do a DHG carpet next.
Then my betta fish died this morning. I cleared out its tank, took out the anubias nana and red tiger lotus, and transferred it into my shrimp tank once again. The marimo ball was all brown. I guess it needs more light or carbon dioxide.
So here's what my tank looks like now. If you scroll down a little, you'll see some photos of the scrawny little red tiger lotus with a couple of small leaves. It's grown into a monster right now. There's still no carpet and looks very plain, but I'm hoping the few bunches of grass in front of the driftwood (DHG? They came tangled with my HC many months ago) will spread.
Bonus picture of a berried female among the pellia.
My table has started to warp under the tank. It's probably got to do with the temperature nowadays; with the cooling fan on, the tank temperature is still at 30.4°C. I should probably go buy a metal stand, or a marble table perhaps.
