• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 15 mL Excel (same yesterday), 7.5 ppm NO3, 1 ppm PO4
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 30:3.6 = 8.3

Notes:
Angelfish spawned again yesterday.

Shrimps multiplying

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 7.5
• PO4: 1.75
• Iron:
• Dosing: 15 mL Excel, 10 mL Flourish, 7.5 ppm NO3, 0.8 ppm PO4
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 22.5:2.6 = 8.7

Notes:


The shrimp were very visible today, swimming around the tank. I saw 9 shrimp at the same time, a record! They really must be multiplying.

Fighting over a piece of algae wafer:



Taking a stretch:

A pic of the female angelfish. It took a while before I could get a picture of the angelfish not moving. Both angelfish would start trying to attack the camera whenever I tried to take a picture:

The male angelfish:

The older fry at 5 1/2 weeks old. They're almost the size of a dime:

Reducing lighting hours

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 25 mL Excel, 15 ppm NO3, 1.8 ppm PO4, 1.25 tsp MgSO4, 4 tsp CaSO4
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 15:1.8 = 8.3

Notes:
50% water change:
25 mL Amquel+
25 mL Excel
1.25 tsp MgSO4
4 tsp CaSO4
2.5 tsp baking soda

Saw several juvenile shrimp while siphoning out the water during the water change. Even vacuumed out a shrimp shell, which I've never noticed before.

To try to combat the increase in green dust/green spot algae growth on the plants, I've reduced the light hours back again from 12 hours to 11 hours.

Little white worms

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 15 mL Excel, 1 ppm PO4, 7.5 ppm NO3
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 32.5:4.4 = 7.4

Notes:
Occasionally, I've noticed these little white worms crawling around the tank:


At a 3x overdose of Excel (versus 5x), or perhaps with the extra hour of lighting, there is more green spot algae and some green dust algae growing on the leaves of some of the plants.

The fry have been growing at a rapid pace. The fry, though, seem to grow at different rates; there are already differences in the sizes amongst the fry.

Day 14 fry, with pink bellies after feeding on brine shrimp.

RIP my favorite shrimp

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 2.5
• PO4: 1
• Iron:
• Dosing: 15 mL Excel, 10 mL Flourish (same yesterday), 10 ppm NO3, 1.6 ppm PO4
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 25:3.4 = 7.4

Notes:

The four older angelfish fry have been starting to eat the fish flakes as I've decreased the amount of brine shrimp I've been feeding them. During the cleaning of the tank, I definitely saw a juvenile cherry shrimp, most likely a female. On the other hand, though, today, my favorite shrimp, the large red female, turned up dead. Its shell was cracked. I suspect the angelfish, who have been acting pretty crazed protecting the fry. Or perhaps it died for some reason during molt?? I also saw another $%^& snail, which I promptly crushed with my tweezers.

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 1.25 tsp MgSO4, 4 tsp CaSO4, 15 ppm NO3, 1.8 ppm PO4
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 15:1.8 = 8.3

Notes:
50% water change:
25 mL Amquel+
25 mL Excel
2.5 tsp baking soda
1.25 tsp MgSO4
4 tsp CaSO4
15 ppm NO3
1.8 ppm PO4

Angelfish laid eggs on tank walls yesterday. I cleaned it off during the water change. The latest fry batch are doing well, getting fed brine shrimp twice a day.

Free swimming fry

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 7.5
• PO4: 1.25
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 20 mL Melafix, 15 mL Excel (same yesterday), 7.5 ppm NO3, 1.2 ppm PO4
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 32.5:3.8 = 8.6

Notes:
The fry became free swimming today afternoon, about a half day slower than the last batch, probably because the tank temperatures have been cooler, about 78 degrees. I fed them once in the late afternoon, after most of them became free swimming.


I thought the cage vent slits would be small enough to prevent the fry from slipping out, but they still managed to wiggle out. I used the plastic dividers that came with the cage to partially block the vents, and I wrapped the cage in a freezer bag to prevent the adult angelfish from sucking the fry out. The male was very attentive to the fry, herding any loose fry and attempting to spit them out to join the cloud of fry. The female, though, had apparently forgotten about her children, and was busy eating whatever fry the male spit out.

Some of the fry were curiously deformed, larger and with these bubble like growths protruding from their bodies. They basically were unable to swim very well, if at all.

Another pic of the fry:

About hatching the brine shrimp in fresh water. Although they do hatch in fresh water, they became gummed up until they were swirling in gummy chunks of brine shrimp, so I wouldn't recommend doing so.

Ostracod pests

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 2.5
• PO4: 2
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 15 mL Excel, 25 mL Melafix, 10 ppm NO3, 0.8 ppm PO4
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 25:2.6 = 9.6

Notes:
A disturbing development I've noticed over the past week or two is that there are bite sized chunks taken out of the leaves of the A. senegalensis. The size and position of the missing chunks on the leaves (like leaves that are eaten by caterpillars) are most likely not a deficiency. My strong suspicion is that those annoying ostracods are starting to eat the leaves. I've been trying to vacuum the gravel more diligently to get rid of debris, which is difficult since the plants, especially the hairgrass, are planted so densely. If they continue to eat the plants, I will probably try to get some guppies to see if they will control the ostracod population. I'm leery of getting anything more aggressive, since I don't want my shrimp to be eaten as well.

I also figured out what was wrong with the brine shrimp hatching. When I got a new batch of salt, the usual 7 tsp of salt was making the water too saline for the shrimp to hatch. When I reduced it to 4 tsp, the shrimp started hatching again. In fact, I've found that when I don'[t add any salt, the shrimp will hatch as well.

Angelfish fry development schedule

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 15 mL Excel, 25 mL Melafix
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
The newest batch of angelfish fry are developing eyes on day 4, right on schedule. This typical development timetable is from a very useful Angelfish breeding FAQ site:

Day 0: Eggs spawned in streaks, are clear or translucent.
Day 1: Some infertile eggs turn white.
Day 2: More eggs turn white, wiggling tails emerge from clear eggs. Some white eggs may get fuzzy.
Day 3: Tadpole shape forms with large yolk sack, fry remain stuck to the slate.
Day 4: Small eyes form.
Day 5: Eyes grow large, yolk sack shrinks. Start brine shrimp hatchery.
Day 6: Some fry are free swimming.
Day 7: All free swimming, time to start feeding.

My fry have followed this timetable of development exactly.

I've started to try to wean the older batch of 4 fry onto fish flakes, crumbling small pieces of fish flake into their tank. So far, they'll mouth it and spit it back out. We'll see how they feel about it after I start decreasing the baby brine shrimp...

I'm still having trouble hatching the brine shrimp eggs. I don't have a hydrometer, so I don't know if I'm adding too much salt. Today's batch has 4 tsp salt versus the usual 7 tsp salt in 1.5 liters water. After reading about a guy who is able to hatch his brine shrimp in fresh water, I've started another batch in fresh water and 3 tsp of baking soda. If neither of these changes work, I'll have to go to the petstore and buy ocean salt and a hydrometer.

Angelfish fry at 3 weeks

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 25 mL Excel, 1.25 tsp MgSO4, 3 tsp CaSO4, 15 ppm NO3, 1.8 ppm PO4
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 15:1.8 = 8.3

Notes:
(little more than) 50% water change:
3 tsp baking soda
1.25 tsp MgSO4
3 tsp CaSO4
25 mL Amquel+
25 mL Excel
15 ppm NO3
1.8 ppm PO4
Added a new rock to the tank. I thought I saw a very small shrimp during cleaning, but wasn't sure. Maybe the shrimp are breeding.

The angelfish fry at little over 3 weeks old. They're about the size of a pea. The father angelfish is looking on from the back in interest.
A closeup of he fry (busy pooping out digested brine shrimp). You can see the striping and coloring start to develop on the fish.

I noticed tonight that the male angelfish had some fungus looking growth on one of his side fins, he might be stressed out by all the mating activity. The pair been fighting a lot, and he's already cleaning out another leaf as if in preparation, even though they just laid eggs 3 days ago, and his papilla is showing. I added 25 mL Melafix to try to help with his fin.
In the tank picture above, you can see the two breeding cages holding the two sets of fry.

New batch of angelfish wrigglers

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 15 mL Excel (same as yesterday)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
The latest batch of angelfish eggs have sprouted wiggling tails today after about 48 hours. I decided to try to raise another batch to see if I can successfully raise a greater quantity of fry, now that I have a better breeding cage.

I sucked them off the leaf with a baster and put them into a floating breeding cage. The parent angelfish were defending their eggs against the "attacking" baster, furiously biting the baster. I finally managed to gather most of the wriggling eggs into the cage, at least 50:



Here's a closeup of the wrigglers:


The four fry from the original batch are doing well and are starting to take on the characteristic appearance of angelfish. They are voracious eaters, constantly nosing around for any leftover brine shrimp. For some reason, over the past couple days, the brine shrimp have not been hatching at high percentages. There have been a lot of unhatched eggs. The temperature hasn't been noticeably cooler, the only difference has been to use a different brand of aquarium salt.

• pH:
• Temp: 84
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 10
• PO4: 2.25
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 15 mL Excel (same yesterday)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
Angelfish laid eggs this afternoon yet again. They seem to like to spawn when the temp is warm. Curiously, not much PO4/NO3 used in the past couple days.

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH: 10
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 5
• PO4: 1.25
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 15 mL Excel, 10 ppm NO3, 1.4 ppm PO4
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 25:3.2 = 7.8

Notes:
Lowered Excel dosage to 3x overdose.

More anglefish fry pics

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 20 mL Excel
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
I went and got a better plastic breeding cage, with slits small enough to prevent the fry from slipping out. The old net breeding cage kept accumulating dirt, and I kept killing fry by accidentally squishing them between the netting and plastic frame.

The tank before changing out the net breeding cage.

The fry here are a little over 2 weeks old. With the new see through cage, the adult angelfish "parents" became interested again in trying to make a snack of their fry, repeatedly snapping at the fry through the plastic.

A closeup of the fry. You can see the bulging pink bellies of the fry after they've gorged themselves on brine shrimp.

Kleiner Bar flowers

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 25 mL Excel, 15 ppm NO3, 1.8 ppm PO4, 1.25 tsp MgSO4, 4 tsp CaSO4
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 15:1.8 = 8.3

Notes:
This morning, I found that the Kleiner Bar plantlet stalk had also sprouted flowers:
The flowers are about the diameter of a nickel, and have no noticeable smell.

50% water change:
2.5 tsp baking soda
25 mL Amquel+
25 mL Excel
1.25 tsp MgSO4
4 tsp CaSO4
10 mL Flourish
15 ppm NO3
1.8 ppm PO4

A couple days ago, I had accidentally squished two of the remaining angelfish fry, so now, there are only 4 remaining.

Plant observations

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 25 mL Excel
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
I spotted a small snail crawling in the tank, but it disappeared before I could get to it and kill it. It might have come hitched on the last batch of plants, since I had run out of the alum to disinfect the plants.

Otherwise, the plants are doing pretty well, the Rotala indica is slowly improving, though still not recovered to its former pre-stunted glory. The tops of the L. repens are nice and bright red. It seems that heavy dosing of micros (and light) is key to the redness.

I'm not sure, but my suspicion is that the overdose of Excel seems to be causing some of the hairgrass to turn yellow. When I was away from the tank for a couple days and did no t dose excel, the hairgrass seemed to sprout new large green blades. Even the glosso seems to behave the same way. The other plants don't seem to be affected. Like I mentioned earlier, I will try to step down the Excel to a sustainable minimum to minimize the negative effects.

Angelfish fry still alive!

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 5
• PO4: 0.75
• Iron:
• Dosing: 15 mL Excel, 5 ppm NO3, 1 ppm PO4
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 30:3.8 = 7.9

Notes:
I was away from the tank for a couple days, and I was bummed because I wouldn't be able to feed the new angelfish fry during that time. I thought they would just all die from the lack of food. When I came back, I was very surprised to see that out of the original 10, 6 of them were still alive, and noticeably bigger! Perhaps they had fed off of their siblings, who knows. I had kept some brine shrimp alive in the hopes that some of the fry would survive after I returned, and so when I fed the surviving fry, they ate so much that their bellies swelled as big as their heads. They were hungry, to say the least. The angelfish had also laid eggs again during that time, but all the eggs turned white for whatever reason. The large female shrimp sighted today.