I'm gearing up to make my tank suitable for competition. I'm finally happy with how the (slooooow growing) grasses are maturing. The moss has reached an impressive but manageable mass on its driftwood roost, fulfilling the centerpiece aspirations I had for it. I'm pleased with how the Blyxa japonica dominates but doesn't try to escape its rocky quarter in the right rear of the tank.

What remains to meet my satisfaction is how the tall grasses in the back center/left merge with the left side, curling around to the foreground. The Polygonum I had there was simply too weedy.

My aesthetic challenge is this: how do I complement the grassy spirit of the tank with a stroke of character or color on the left side? I think I focused too hard on color, wanting to introduce brown or red to contrast the overwhelmingly lime green hue of the vegetation.

Today, I managed to find a solution in balance. Instead of a red stem plant, I used a gorgeous specimen of Cryptocoryne spiralis, which is very tall, grass-like, and just red/brown enough to represent warmth and shadow. Directly in front of that, I planted a single specimen of Cyperus helferi, to augment the tank with yet another tall grass. In front of that I planted two young specimens of an unidentified grass that is about half the height of the Cyperus and tall crypto. I bought all of these plants from Steven and George at Aqua Forest Aquarium.

For a little Seuss-like playfulness, I nestled two single stalks of Lindernia in the new tall plants. I also planted four stalks of Hydrocotyle verticillata in some of the foreground grass on the tank's right side. I like the idea of this plant, I'm just not sure yet whether it adds anything to a conserve dedicated to fragility.

Below is a succession of photos, with today's shots following shots of the tank's earlier stages.

12.17.05
Establishing period, lots of stem plants that would be later discarded.
01.16.06
Tank about 2 months old, stem plants gutted and planned design installed.
02.09.06
Tank fully mature, rife with fish and shrimp.
03.12.06
The lush period. Three new varieties of tall grass-like plants replace Polygonum on the left.
03.12.06
03.12.06
The new plants bring out the algae squad: Otocinclus and Crystal Red shrimp
03.12.06
The very clever Lindernia; I'm eager to see how it flourishes as an accent plant.
03.12.06
Hydrocotyle verticillata fascinates me, but it draws a lot of attention to itself. I'm waiting to see how it fits in a grassy environment.
03.12.06
Gorgeous Cryptocoryne spiralis, with its long, elegant stems and lazy leaves are attractive to the Otos.