Dragonfly larva No. 20… plus: how do I stop my tank looking like medieval tea?
Today I removed dragonfly larva number TWENTY from my 30L tank.
The tank has been running since February, and the last new plants were added in March. So… how many of these little armored nightmare shrimps should I realistically still expect? Can they keep appearing for this long from plants, or am I unknowingly hosting a full dragonfly dynasty?
Current inhabitants:
3 nerite snails
approximately 400 million bladder snails
the apparently endless dragonfly legion
And while I have the aquarium hivemind here:
How do I get rid of the blackwater/tinted look without removing the wood?
The wood was boiled, soaked for several days, and I’ve already done four partial water changes. The tank runs with a sponge filter and an air stone/bubbler, but the water still looks like someone brewed weak tea directly inside the aquarium.
I like a natural look, but this has crossed the line into “Victorian swamp documentary.”
Any advice? Activated carbon, more water changes, just waiting it out… or sacrificing one of the 400 million bladder snails to the aquarium gods?