Thursday, November 19, 2009

Echinodorus ‘Red Diamond’


Echinodorus ‘Red Diamond’ comes from Ukraine and likely originates from a cross breed between Echinodorus horemanni ‘Red’ and Echinodorus x barthii. The result is an attractive sword plant suitable for foreground or middleground plant and with red colors ranging from weakly pint to dark ruby. In particular, the play of colors makes this variety very attractive and often many different colors may be observed on the same specimen. In contrast to many other Echinodorus plants, Echinodorus ‘Red Diamond’ maintains its small stature making it very suitable as solitary plant even in a small aquarium. In larger aquaria, we recommend planting Echinodorus ‘Red Diamond’ in a small group of 5-6 specimens. The growth of Echinodorus ‘Red Diamond’ is stimulated by a nutritious substrate and under optimum growth conditions it may produce 1-2 new leaves every week. Good light conditions promote the development of ruby leaves. Echinodorus ‘Red Diamond’ is easy to keep and with its many colors of green and red it provides a beautiful and conspicuous contrast to the green wall of background plants.
Tropica

Oliver Knott





(in German but words aren't really needed)

Acanthurus sohal


Cryptocoryne spiralis


Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Newly born Coelacanth caught on video for first time



http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2009/nov/17/coelacanth-prehistoric-fish-video

Echinodorus ‘Aquartica’


Echinodorus ‘Aquartica’ is a cross breed of several different Echinodorus types including among others Echinodorus horemanni and various round-leaved forms. The variety is developed by Kristian Iversen of Aquartica in Denmark and Echinodorus ‘Aquartica’ is unique due to its low and compact stature making it suitable and attractive as foreground plant. It is a slow-growing plant and even after several months, the size is still around 10-15 cm. In contrast to many other Echinodorus plants, the oval and freshly green aerial leaves survive when the plant is submerged in the aquarium. The leaves, in particular, distinguish Echinodorus ‘Aquartica’ from other Echinodorus foreground plants such as for example Echinodorus tenellus. Echinodorus ‘Aquartica’ is suitable as a solitary plant in smaller aquaria or as illustrated on the photo in small groups of 5-6 specimens. Reddish or pink markings sometimes appear under high light intensities, while Echinodorus ‘Aquartica’ under low light develops shorter leaves and a more compact growth form. Echinodorus ‘Aquartica’ is an easy plant, it is attractive and different, and we are confident that it will become popular among the aquarist in the near future.
Tropica

Modified Sea Horses


(not sure I like this at all)

Sea Slugs


Lionfish face


Saturday, November 14, 2009

Aquascaping: Aquarium meets terrarium in the Japanese-inspired design practice


Aquarium meets terrarium in the Japanese-inspired design practice of aquascaping.
Deborah Netburn reporting from san francisco
LA Times
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Cryptocoryne

[C. wendtii Green]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocoryne

Mastacembelus erythrotaenia - Fire eel