Flaming horse-poop!

Fire hazard?

No, someone did not feed old Dobbin jalapeños. But New York City is now known as a place where horse manure spontaneously combusts:

Environmental authorities in New York state hot and dry weather conditions caused a large pile of horse poop to spontaneously burst into flames.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation said an officer responded to the town of Throop on July 5 to investigate complaints about a foul odor and smell coming from a large pile of burning horse manure.

The officer discovered the owners of a stable had been storing the horse feces in large piles. The owners said the piles had spontaneously combusted before, but previously the smells and smoke had been carried away from nearby residences by the wind.

Talk about a crappy neighborhood…

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Aquarium update: Platys! Platys everywhere!

Not my tank, but you get the idea.

It’s been a little while since I’ve done an update, and that’s for a good reason: things are going swimmingly (ahem) with JJ&J’s Seafood Buffet. But I thought I’d post a couple of recent pictures.

The first is a full-tank shot. I’d done a major trimming of the Ludwigia Repens at the right rear: it had grown across the top almost to the front of the tank throwing shade. That was a couple of weeks ago, and I think it’s growing back quite nicely.

Here’s the left end. The Cardamine grows like a weed, always threatening to overshadow the Hygrophila Stricta:

And here’s the right. I think the amano shrimp like to molt within it, since I occasionally find castoff shells in front of it. You’ll also see one my (many) platy fry at the lower right:

I think I’m happiest over two things: the general health of the fish and plants, and the success I’ve had at developing the red in the alternanthera grove in the middle. Of the first part, I was afraid I’d make serious mistakes coming back to the hobby after several years away, but I seem to have avoided most. Even algae hasn’t been a major problem.

The success with the alternanthera I attribute to higher lighting thanks to the Finnex Planted+ and regular dosing with Seachem Iron. I think the only way I could do better would be to start injecting CO2.

Of the two mistakes I’ve made (that I know of), one is minor and the other is potentially serious.

The minor mistake was planting the Hygrophila in the back. I thought it would grow an inch or two higher. It’s fairly hidden where it is. I perhaps not have ordered it and just filled that whole back corner with Cardamine. Live and learn.

Potentially more serious is a decision that’s coming back to bite me: when I bought the five platys, I said “four females and one male.” Trust me, that one fry in the photo is not the only one in there. Intellectually I knew I’d get fry, but I didn’t realize just what a potential problem they’d become in a 20-gallon tank.

Oops.

So, since catching fry in a heavily planted tank is impossible without destroying the place, I’ve decided I have to give away the adult platys. I can raise the fry and remove any males that develop. Now I just have to find a local aquarist or store willing to take them. It’s a shame there isn’t an aquarium club in West Los Angeles (that I know of), since it would be nice to offer them to other members. Something has to be done soon, though.

That’s all for now!

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