Time Lapse of an Underwater Plant

I just started two new fish tanks (when I really should be putting Deep-V's on the new Lambert). Nevertheless, this is sort of a long-standing project stemming from my wee tyke era, when in about 1979 a goldfish jumped from the 10-gallon onto Mr. Burwell's plate. I've been hooked ever since. (Pun totally unintended, as you'd use a net to catch goldies.)

The tanks are nano-sized planted nature aquaria, as they are small, and the emphasis is on the plants. It's been a borderline obsession for the past few weeks since I rediscovered Takashi Amano's seminal book on the subject. Over the weekend I planted and hardscaped with rocks in true Japanese form, and are cycling in an emergent condition. Supposedly, growing without much water provides humidity, increased carbon dioxide, and less a risk for algae. They look more like little terrariums, so in about 3 weeks it'll be time to put in the micro algae eaters and micro shrimps.

The video by Giancarlo Podio shows Hemianthus callitrichoides (HC) at one frame per hour over a six-day period. I hope mine grows this fast.



[Video via Practical Fishkeeping]