Merry Christmas!

It's been three long weeks since the last update: Overdue? Missed it?

Well.. nothing major was done to the RH Fish Tank, no rearrangements, no additions, etc. One Singapore Wood passed away two weeks ago, the Food Timer required a battery change and food refill, and a food-containment straw square is affixed under the Food Timer.

The food-containment straw square was made by simply connecting two plastic transparent straws and shaped into a square, fixed underneath the food timer. What does it do? It's meant to contain the food in the square until 1) the fish eat it, and 2) the food sinks to the mid- and bottom-levels for the other fishes. This prevents the food from floating throughout the tank and getting sucked into the Surface Skimmer, eventually ending up in the filter and rotting there.

In the meantime (until the semester starts) Mr Chee Kok Tiong will be stand-in caretaker of the RH Fish Tank. He will take charge of all RH Fish Tank matters until 10th January 2005. This will enable him to learn the ropes in preparation for his taking over when I graduate in May 2005. Assist him by informing him of any irregularities and encourage him by tagging stuff ok?

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to all, especially to the RH Fishes in the RH Fish Tank, and not forgetting Raffles Hall Residents!

Did the plants MOVE?!

If you think you thought you saw some plants moved from where it was yesterday, and the day before, and all previous days... you're probably seeing it right.

After a trip to the fish (and aquatic plants) farms in LimChuKang today, and getting two new plants, Tweety and myself re-arranged the plants on the right side of the RH Fish Tank for a more pleasant viewing experience. Re-arrangements done:

• The Erect Moss (the big clump of stringy plant previously on the right side) is now in the centre.
• The Hygrophilia Difformis (the leafy plants previously stuffed against the wall behind the filter outlet, on the right side) is now planted into the gravel next to the Erect Moss.
• The Mini Moss (the mini clumps strapped to the white plates on the gravel previously at the back and in the middle) is now on the right side. The other two plates in front remain unmoved.
• The driftwood (the piece of wood previously in the centre... how else to describe?) is now positioned on the Erect Moss bush to add some height to the scaping. We tried to make it look as natural as possible... sorry if it doesn't look natural, we tried.
• A new plant is introduced: Red Tiger Lotus (sponsored by Tweety). It is very small now, sitting pretty at the right corner of the Erect Moss bush. In time this beauty will have its leaves growing wide, and it may grow upwards towards the light, floating on the surface if i do not trim it to keep it short.
• A new plant is introduced: Java Moss (sponsored by Tweety). It is grown on the new piece of driftwood which is sitting on top of the newly positioned driftwood. We hope that in time the fast-growing Java Moss will flow downwards and create a moss-waterfall effect.

The water would have looked cloudy during dinner today, a result of our re-arranging efforts (dirt from the gravel is disturbed and floats around). The dust should settle, the filter overworked for a night, and the water should be clear again tomorrow.. hopefully without any casualties.

Enjoy the new aquascape...!