L134 Leopard Frog Pleco

This L134 Leopard Frog Pleco has been a rather elusive inhabitant in the tank. Finally got a chance to see it, and it has really grown fat.

Vanilla Orchid

This vanilla orchid is going to be a gift for a new cafe.
Hope it brings as much joy to the new owner as it has for me.

Baby Jo passed away

Baby Jo, my blind goldfish, passed away today after a long fight with SBD.

3rd Generation Sulawesi Shrimps

Just saw some very tiny shrimplets. Seems like the 3rd generation has finally arrived. This is so exciting!

Experience with Sulawesi Cardinals & Yellow Cheeks

I've got 7 cardinals and 5 yellow cheeks about 6 months ago.
Currently, there are about 25 cardinals and 3 yellow cheeks, which means that there are some births and some deaths, so here are some of the things I learn, which I hope will come useful to others interested in these beautiful shrimps.

They are housed in a 1 feet nano tank, with coral chips as base (covered with gravels). This helps to stabilize the PH.
I started the tank with an established nano hang on waterfall filter (it was used for my very successful cherry shrimp tank). The water falling from the filter creates lots of bubbles and breaks the water surface, and I think that helps oxygenate the tank.
The tank is placed near the window, with morning sun. This turns all the large rocks and coral in my tank green (covered with algae, but not the bushy or hairy type).
I find that algae grow better on course surface rocks.
I do not perform regular water change, but I do top up the water once in a while.
The initial shrimps there were very shy. They went hiding in the crevices of the rocks and corals. Once the algae start showing on the rocks, they come out more often to graze on the algae. I heard that these shrimps likes their own personal spaces, so I make sure that there are enough crevices for all of them.
The shrimps are also fed daily with a rotation of hikari algae wafers, mosura, and some generic shrimp food pellets. Some days they are not fed, so they just pick on the rocks.
They start moulting regularly. This is also when the mating starts. The male shrimps get crazy and start mating with any females that are newly moulted.
Females become berried, and little shrimplets come soon after.
I cover my nano filter with a filter sponge, so that no shrimplets get sucked up the filter.
The new batches of shrimplets are now young adults, and are not shy at all. Like their parents, they love grazing on the rocks.
I last counted 5 berried females. Hope to see some 3rd generations shrimps soon.
The tank is very established, with its own ecosystem of small ramhorns snails and water fleas, which helps finish any food that doesn't get eaten. I also have a crew of nerites snails to help keep the algae in check.

I also learn a trick to determine the sex of the shrimps:
When the lights are off at night, the shrimps become transparent. When you suddenly switch on the tank light, you can see which shrimps have a saddle on it's back, and which shrimps are carrying eggs. Those are the females.
That's all folks.

Mao Shan Wang Durians

Finally get to eat Mao Shan Wang. They were on offer, and we got 2 durians for 10 dollars each.