Well, I was getting ready to announce that after a week, two of my shrimpies were simply gone. No carcasses, no "one first" and then "the other." Both, within hours, just gone. Like aliens took 'em.

Today, I found one of them. It's Tiny Clanger, one of the females. Sif, the other female (she didn't disappear) I've kept an eye on since Tiny and Balder left the building. Now that Tiny's back, I hold out hope that beautiful blue Balder found some secret spot in the tank and simply refuses to come out.

Another surprise is that my many Cryptos succumbed to the melting plague. All at the same time (I've got 8 or 9 specimens planted. It was most odd. Of course, I sussed the water chemistry, which was fine -- or as fine as it's been when they were thriving. I have cut back the CO2 to prevent it from forcing the pH down whilst my ongoing battle with carbonate hardness rages. But I digress.

Today, I went to Justin and Ady's and bought 4 specimens of Lobelia cardinalis, or Cardinal plant, which, according to Ady, doesn't demand a lot of light and stays short, making it ideal as a foreground plant. It's quite squat and lovely, if a little common. It's both green and red, so it mirrors the far taller, two-toned Ludwigia on the opposite side of the tank.

I'm a little confused, because research on the web says the Cardinal requires high light and grows to several inches high. Not what I want. I planted the Cardinals between severely pruned Cryptos. We'll see who survives the race for light and nutrients. Pictures soon.