The 16th day

Today I took cuttings from the H. polysperma and planted them beside Egeria densa. As well as that I pruned the Bacopa australis and cut of the old leaves covered in Brush algae. I had to take out of the tank the H. angustifolia since it was melting. I am not sure why this plant is melting on me. Angustifolia should be fast growing and easy to care for. Any way, no more angustifolia!
Beside Brush algae I have a few more to present :
The following photo shows Hair algae that grows around the plant base and slow-growing leaves. It forms matted clumps. Strands can reach around 6 cm in length. I removed it with my fingers and by twirling the toothbrush around it ( bought a new one just for this purpose ). This algae is a good food supplement for fish but can be a problem if left unchecked. I still don't see my 3-4 cm SAE eating it. : ) The Thread algae grows thin and long, up to 30 cm. You can clean it the same way as the Hair algae. SAE likes to eat this alage as well as the Brush algae. Thread algae indicates an excess of iron.My aquarium inhabitants look very happy so far. I have seen 7 Malaysian Trumpet Snails today, eating the debris of the gravel. Sometimes it is possible to see small Trumpets on the glass that are white colored. Snails stay on the lower tank level which indicates a good water quality. When water quality is bad its been known that they head towards the water surface in large groups. The two Siamese Algae Eaters are most of the time feeding on algae together but resting separately. This youngster chose the drift wood as it's resting place. This fish is a very active swimmer and is a joy to watch. Can't wait to see them a bit bigger cause their bodies then look much stronger and they get that nice torpedo shape.
My Otos are getting more and more comfortable with plants. In the first two days they would hang on the aquarium glass all the time. They look much better when eating or resting on plant leaves. They do clean the leaf very good. I give them 10 out of 10 !!!
In two days if the ammonia and nitrite stay zero, since my SAE are very small, I am adding 5 Amano shrimps. Different algae eaters have different eating patterns. The more algae eaters the less algae. Again, NO FEEDING !!! I let them feed on the minor algae that are aways present in healthy planted aquariums.

Photos made by Dusko Bojic