Sorry to report that today I had to euthanise my short-fin Betta splendens, Vishnu.

I'm actually more dejected about this than I thought I'd be. I spent so much time combatting his listlessness, dietary peculiarities, and chronic sickness. Although I had him only 10 weeks -- and he was sick from the start -- he did have a period of about two weeks where he was a spry, colorful little terror.

That's the Vishnu I'll miss.

A rare shot of both shrimp types together. One of the Norns (Tiger Shrimp, foreground) and either Lif or Lifthrasir (one of the Crystal Red Shrimp, background).



Rotala and Ludwigia, with a little snail friend, basking in chelated iron and CO2.

I recently received my membership card for the The San Francisco Aquarium Society. What they're calling a mega auction happens on March 5.

Guess who will be there?

Today, I attended an open house at Erik Leung's loft apartment. Erik is a member of SFBAAPS, the San Francisco Bay Area Aquatic Plant Society.

Erik has three beautiful tanks, quite large (by my nano-tank standards), each of them impeccably designed. Not only is he an enthusiast with a great eye for contrast and texture, he's also wildly knowledgable about the chemistry/nutrient aspects of tank care. He can speak and write about them to great effect. It goes without saying that his plants are in extraordinary condition.

About 25 people attended, all of them friendly and full of anecdotes, advice, and humor. After some time getting to know people, we gathered around Erik as he talked about the setup and maintenance of one tank in particular. After that, we passed around cuttings from attendees' tanks. Terrific stuff. I came home with Christmas Moss (which I've been coveting for six months), Alternanthera reineckii, E. tiandra, and some of the long subulata I love but which usually doesn't work in my tank. The latter was so healthy, how could I resist?

Today, I discovered a new type of shrimp at Nippon: Caridina serratirostris, or Crystal Red Shrimp. They are also known as Ninja Shrimp, White Stripe Shrimp, or Bumble Bee Shrimp, although Crystal Red seems to be their most common appellation.

I've decided to name them Lif and Lifthrasir, after the 2 humans who escaped the destruction of Midgard (earth) during Ragnarok. Lif and Lifthrasir, according to the Encyclopedia Mythica, hid in a forest impervious to the carnage of Surt's flaming sword, and would sleep there until the earth was renewed. They would emerge from the forest and become the second set of humanity's progenitors, or Adam and Eve (Ask and Embla), version 2.

Along with the Norns (Urd, Skuld, and Verdandi, my Tiger Shrimp) and Thor (the surviving SAE), they will hopefully bestow on their little aquatic kingdom a measure of good luck and health. Pictures when I can.

I wish I had done a better job with the timing and lighting of these photos, but, as they are, they give you a good sense of how my 6-gallon Amano experiment has evolved.

October 8, 2003

Dwarf subulata, Japanese fan, Java moss netted to stone, background Acorus, and Glossostigma would not survive long.

November 12, 2003

One month later, Riccia thrives. Replacement plants for the original batch included Ludwigia repens, Rotala indica, and Cryptocoryne wendtii. Some glosso straggles.

November 30, 2003

By end of month, Riccia continues to entertain, Cryptos surplant Glosso, and Micro sword frames Ludwigia and Rotala. Small white stones for stream bed feeling. Best new addition: netted clot of Java moss shoved into hole in side of driftwood.

January 16, 2004

Riccia at its peak, two weeks before the fall. Java moss blooms. New Myriophyllum in background adds color and texture, but gets plucked within two weeks: too big and messy. Lobelia in foreground nice, but its days are numbered.

February 16, 2004

Whole new lawn of Riccia, from scratch. Lobelia: history. Ludwigia and Rotala finally forest. Cryptos making a slow comeback.

Today, I tore out all of Asgard's old Riccia and netted down a new lawn. Last week, I noticed I'd let the Riccia grow too long -- the undergrowth, that least exposed to light, had grown yellow and lost its hold in the fishnet that held it to the driftwood. Great heaps of it floated away from its mooring, leaving bald patches of netting.

Today's rescaping was quite a chore. I had to dislodge the Java moss clump that normally lives in the driftwood's side. I had to shake free the last of the Riccia. I had to rock the driftwood so that the shrimp who lurk on the wood's natural cave fled to other parts of the tank, and then move the wood to the kitchen for scrubbing and makeover.

Laying down Riccia is actually quite soothing. Time consuming. Careful work with netting, fishing line, sharp scissors, and good light. I did a better job this time with the netting. First, I bought green netting instead of white. I also spent more time trimming the netting to match the shape of the Riccia plot. It will be invisible in a week.

I also removed the Red Cardinal (lobelia). It didn't grow elegantly and didn't complement the rest of the design.

I scrubbed the living hell out of the filter and CO2 diffuser, the tank's inner walls, and used a cooking skimmer to remove every last bit of the old Riccia.

The tank looks young, again. At least on the right side. Now, the left side, once the straggler, is full and vigorous while the new Riccia sets in.