Fishes! An illustrated history, part 1

We used to have a different fish blog. Here it is, to keep it safe on the cloud and to provide some context for subsequent posts:

1/25/2009
For my birthday, FF got me a fish tank. 
We decided we wanted to have a planted aquarium and try fishless cycling. This is nana, our first plant.

01/29/2009
We quickly decided that we wanted more plants. The additions are a Crypt Lutea and a java fern (the cabbage bush looking plant). We were going to get more from Petco, but their "aquatic" plants were actually terrestrial. Grrr!

02/03/2009
We had gotten a log to put in the tank the first day, but we had to soak it until it stopped leaching tannins. We also got a MOSS BALL!!!! It is really cool. You should look up what they are and get one. They are fuzzy and squishy at the same time! Here we have it tied to a string since I thought it would get nibbled on by the trumpet snails we accidentally introduced into our tank with the crypts, but we later found out that no aquatic animals eat moss ball algae. Also note our DIY CO2 injector (made from a 2L bottle with a sugar solution and yeast -- its connected to the tube/airstone in the back) and our retro foil-wrapped fluorescent tube (our second bulb) for additional light.

02/06/2009 
On an impulse we got the red Ludwigias. We had stopped by the fish store to test if our nitrite levels had gone down yet (they hadn't, so we couldn't get fish). Red plants were a good substitute...for now.