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Trimming needs to be done when plants grow out but

Trimming needs to be done when plants grow out but sometimes I get a tad enthusiastic and over cut. I did just that and ended up with a bald patch of what used to be fluffy pearlweed on a slope. But I just gave it time and 2 weeks later, leaves grew back and all’s looking swell again.

Had a group of five for a workshop today where Val

Had a group of five for a workshop today where Valerie made an aquajar, Morgan & James did an upsized duo-powered aquajar, Timothy with a mini pond, and former shrimpjar participant James returning with his own nano tank to do a filterless planted setup. An afternoon well-spent for all, including myself.

Fish keepers, shrimp keepers, crab keepers… all

Fish keepers, shrimp keepers, crab keepers… all the same, we can get quite sad when we find a pet dead. So when I saw a crab listless on a plant this morning, I immediately thought it was gone case and my heart sank a little. But turns out it was just a moulted shell. And the reason why the moult didn’t happen in water is because this species of vampire crabs, the cf.notophorum white arm, is one of the more unusual ones that moult on land. In fact, too much water in their crabitat can actually drown them. So all’s good, I get to watch my crabs scramble around and get all giggly at them for more days now.

This opae ula jar started from a marimo moss ball

This opae ula jar started from a marimo moss ball and some ulva that were sitting for months in an old jar. It’s looking dreamier now with a sea fan, white sand and, of course, shrimps added.

The opae ula shrimps originate from Hawaii rock pools. In Hawaiian, opae means shrimp and ula means red, although they do vary in colour from transparent to hot red.

The shrimps here vary from 2 to 4 mm, and because of their size, they basically feed off microfauna and algae, making them maintenance-free and self-sustaining.

While there are jars that are sealed completely, I open mine to feed shrimp pellets weekly, which they seem to enjoy a lot. I, on the other hand, enjoy ogling and wondering what they’re up to wandering around in there.

If you would like a similar opae ula jar, DM for a custom build or hassle me to do a workshop on it. Accepting local Singapore orders only.

Spotted the female elbow crab pregnant again with

Spotted the female elbow crab pregnant again with a bright orange bulge of eggs under her today. This time, I managed to catch her and transfer her to one of my macroalgae jars. It contains no fish that will eat her zoeas when they hatch, so hopefully they’ll develop into baby crabs in time. While reading up on the life cycle of crabs, I found out that a male crab is called a Jimmy and female mature crab is called a Sook, however a female immature crab is called Sally. Wonder how that came about.

I like to go with the flow to create things and di

I like to go with the flow to create things and discover what the tide brings in. Even with non-aquatic projects.

This started a couple of nights ago with the choice of a big rock, and then a smaller one as a visual counterweight. Then an idea came to build a small hill where an assortment of little trees would grow. As I build on the wet soil and imagined it covered with moss, the foreground called out to me to create some contrast, whereby I noticed a crack on the big rock that resembled a cave, and from there a path was formed. I wanted to put a focus on the cave so I planted a curvy broom moss that arched towards it, while various other moss were selected to ebb out to form the rest of the terrain, flattening out behind the trees, and rising in texture once again towards the right.

The result appeared to be an ode to Easter, unintentionally but seemingly so. Interestingly, before it became a Christian celebration, Easter was observed as the coming of Spring, where renewed light welcomed the return to life of plants and trees that have been dormant for winter, as well as the birth of new life in the animal world. It seems apt then that a bright path leads out from a dark cave into a lush green world.

This mossarium shall be named Easter.

I’ve been wondering for days where those teddy b

I’ve been wondering for days where those teddy bear hairy crabs were hiding but finally discovered one of them had made a home out of a sea urchin shell. They are omnivores and would eat some macroalgae so I wasn’t worried that they’ll go hungry. But it’s high time for a treat so I placed a few chunks of chopped up prawns at the entrance — had to place more since the skunk shrimp kept scurrying away some — for it to sneakily grab back into its hideout to enjoy.

The baby clarkiis are still adorably shy that it t

The baby clarkiis are still adorably shy that it takes them forever to eat when I’m watching, constantly darting into the carpet anemone for safety. This has been sped up 4x by the way 😄

Spruced up, pellets dropped, time to zone out.

Spruced up, pellets dropped, time to zone out.

Feeding the pea puffers involves tapping the glass

Feeding the pea puffers involves tapping the glass with my tweezer while a frozen bloodworm cube thaws and releases worms. The peas will typically wait for the drumming to stop before choosing their favourite pieces, though on occasions a greedy one might peck at the cube. At some point through the night, the cleanup crew of a pair of elusive black khuli loaches will appear to gobble up the remnants, so nothing goes uneaten and the mini pond is kept clean.

Water top-up once a week, the occasional trim and

Water top-up once a week, the occasional trim and a dose of loving admiration is all this needs.

I guess it’s time for a trim.

I guess it’s time for a trim.

Did a rescape of the macroalgae cube at home durin

Did a rescape of the macroalgae cube at home during this week’s water change. There used to be a chunky lava rock for the macroalgae to cling and grow from, but it took up a lot of space and made the layout quite restrictive. So that was swapped out for 2 flatter rocks that used to adorn one of my son’s tanks.

With the scape more compressed, I was able to sandwich the existing plants in between the 2 rock slabs. A bunch of feather and paddle caulerpa were taken from my son’s tanks to fill in the back and front of the scape.

At the right side in front, there’s a half pipe tunnel aquarium decor from Daiso for the pistol shrimp to take residence in. It was from my first planted tank maybe 6 years back which had been collecting dust on a shelf. Took a bit of nudging but the pistol shrimp finally went into the cave, but knowing it’s ways, it’ll likely tunnel more from there as well.

The new layout has freed up a lot of swimming space for the clownfish and 3 pyjama cardinal fish to swim in, although the clownfish is still triggering the cardinals to avoid him by staying mostly at the back. This was definitely worth the hour of work that resulted in a more interesting arrangement of the various macroalgae.

The group of green neon tetras has been a fab addi

The group of green neon tetras has been a fab addition to the aquajar, bringing a non-stop radiant shimmer with their active swimming.

It’s prawn chops for dinner tonight.

It’s prawn chops for dinner tonight.

Decided to revamp the micro sexy shrimp tank when

Decided to revamp the micro sexy shrimp tank when I did the last water change. The macroalgae was getting too crowded which left me with not. Ich space to drop their food. So I took out all the plants and coral rocks, gave the sides a good scrub and siphoned it clean. Then in went new coral rocks, and some old and new plants, in an arrangement that left a row of space at the front for the shrimps to feast.

These teddy bear crabs look so fluffy that I just

These teddy bear crabs look so fluffy that I just wanna hug them.

Woke up to a nice, cool morning.

Woke up to a nice, cool morning.

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