(no subject)

Reading Material:	The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
	+ asst. romance novels and children's books

Day 1 of the planted tank. We have photosynthesis! There are little oxygen bubbles pouring off the leaves. So far, so good. I completely took down my tank, removed all the gravel, laid down a layer of potting soil that I have had submerged for six weeks (8 would have been better, but there you go), put the gravel back in on top of that, and completely re-plumbed my filtration system. No more bio-wheels and no more surface agitation, which required a bit of a leap of faith on my part. All the output of the canister filter now goes into a rain bar that runs (pretty much) the length of the tank a few inches off the bottom. Some of the fish seemed distressed and were sucking air at the surface when I put them back in, I don't know if it was a water quality issue or an oxygen issue. I was able to catch everyone, but the kuhlis caused me a bit of consternation. I caught one, but was certain I had at least two. I assumed that the other must be buried in the gravel and hoped I didn't squish it, though no little bodies alive or otherwise appeared at any stage of removing or replacing the gravel. Today, when I fed everyone, there were three kuhlis swimming around. *shrug* Which reminds me that I once composed lyrics to the Garth Brooks song "I've Got Friends in Low Places" as an ode to the hiding abilities of a kuhli.

( scary fish song )

Happy Father's Day!

Happy lucky 13th to Alan and me!!!