Making progress (picture)

Blinky

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Jun 22, 2004
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Just wanted to post a picture, I think things are coming along nicely. Most of the plants still need to grow in, and some were quite straggly when I got them but are improving (esp. the Myriophyllum - it was growing dull, small leaves when I got it, and is now putting on some nice bushy red growth). There is a piece of water sprite in the back, right hand corner that should cover up the equipment when it grows in :) I'll post a new picture when things have grown in a bit more.
It's not the best photo, there's a lot of glare from our windows in the morning which is why I stood off to the side.
F65new.JPG
 
Holy crap! Blinky, that is beautiful.
 
Very nice! Once the red stem plant on the left side of the sword grows into place to fill in the spot it'll be really balanced. (PS: what sp. is that?) I'm envious! My newest tank is just a month old and is struggling a bit through the algae while the stems breakdown nutrients. Sigh.. I cant wait for my tank to look healthy like yours!

>Sarah
 
Thanks guys! :D
Samala, that's Ludwigia glandulosa (''perennis'') - when I bought it it was a tiny little bunch of 2" top cuttings. Apparantly its growth rate is slow-medium, so I'll have a while more to wait until it's ~10" high and looks in balance with the other plants. It's a beautiful plant, but seems to really need a lot of light; I bought all these plants just before I received the new fixture (shipping mix-up made it come later than expected) and even with just a week under medium light it dropped a few of the lower leaves.

Captain Hook, I think the sword is a regular old Echinodorus bleheri, but it may have been labeled wrong at the store. When I got it it had more oval-shaped leaves (probably grown emerse), but all the new growth is much longer and thinner. For a while, it was producing red-veined new growth, but the new leaves now are mostly green.

Thanks for the feedback guys. It's still very much a work in progress, but it's definitely starting to become the planted tank I've always wanted :)
 
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Very nice work Blinky!!!!!:) I can't believe how far and how fast you've come in such a short period of time.

I just hope the Sword stays small for you. That has not been my experience with any sword I've ever grown.

Len
 
Len, thank you so much. I've learned an awful lot from you - either directly, or by reading your posts to others.
I've been reading up on swords - if this is in fact an E. bleheri, I guess I can look forward to a ~20" plant unless I manage to keep its size down by pruning off the older, larger leaves. I had no idea; I knew it would grow fairly large, but that's more than I expected! I pruned a leaf off it yesterday, and expected to have to hold the base and carefully work the leaf off so I didn't disturb the plant's hold in the substrate. It felt pretty firmly rooted, so I wiggled it just to check things out, and it must have a fantastic root system - it's as solid as an oak! Might turn out to be a little too much plant for the tank, I'll guess I'll have to play it by ear :)

Kasakato, absolutely - if you pay for it, I'll design it ;)
 
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