Great detail on this journal - I'm in awe of your efforts!
(really makes me appreciate how much I deserve that "lazy aquarist" epithet
... I've been "cleaning" my filter/hoses "tomorrow" for about 3months now
...)
Some thoughts
- stop uprooting plantlets to remove damaged leaves, if the stem has melted
completely it's fair enough but otherwise you're damaging the roots hairs that are doing the nutrient uptake (or in process of getting established to do so), instead just trim in situ as well as you can (shrimp help a lot at this stage as they will often tidy up, if sufficient ratio of shrimps to plants & you don't feed shrimp much, this can be very efficient) & allow plant to become more established; then replant the tops when they've grown on enough (old "rule" was ~10cm stem plant + 2-3 leaf nodes that could be trimmed to become root nodes when this "top" is replanted, cut the stem ~ halfway between the nodes so that there's no chance of damaging that node, that extra stem bit will initially help to anchor, then "melt" in the substrate & potentially supply local nutrients ... or so the adage goes
... if the internode length is long, a single leaf node is sufficient for root growth, the 2-3 is just "hedging your bet")
While tank & plants are establishing, resist the urge to help too much.
- some of your plants are "planted" rather deep into the substrate, eg those crypts prefer to have those submerse leaves at the substrate level; just use your fingers to gently remove the melted bits, scissor trim rather than "pulling" on the plantlet - emerse growth from crypts that travel below substrate & emerge happily from subterranean regions aren't subject to this (obviously).
I'd just leave these crypts in place & let them surprise you once they get going
(I couldn't find your plant list so no idea which crypt this is
)
- Alternanthera Reinecki Mini, again I'd just leave it alone, give it light & CO2 & fertilizer (it doesn't actually need much as plant volume is low, it just needs "enough") &
time
Tropica vids:
layout 93 layout 75 In your tank, Day 0 is the last day that you uprooted/trimmed; obviously any incoming plant that doesn't need "adjusting" will get off to a quicker start than plants that have needed trimming etc ... this is why it's the
Art of Planted Aquaria (rather than
Science - too many unidentified factors!)
- depending on the state of the remaining plant, sometimes I remove damaged leaves, sometimes not ... during transition, the new plant doesn't have roots to support itself & until enough new leaves emerge, it's just stored energy in the stem/rhizome/old leaf ... so an older leaf with limited damage gets left, it's a balance of how much does this leaf contribute vs cost to maintain. I suspect there is some mechanism to scavenge stored "energy" from these emerse leafs. (though like everything else, it's a shifting balance)
(eg, I'd likely have left some spaced leaves on that microsorum - if it has enough stored energy in the rhizome, it should come back just fine, again just leave it in place & ignore, check intermittently for rhizome health - feels firm with no "mush" factor)
- re adding oyster grit etc to your filter to add GH/KH, you'll have more control with liquid GH/KH booster that you add to your change water. Depending on tank conditions/maintenance you can end up with lots of swings in KG/KH when using grit etc. My tap is very soft & acidic, I support the shrimp with frozen brine rather than messing with GH/KH but as with anything aquarium related, there are many paths to success
