TERMITES - MACROTERMES CARBONARIUS

I was in a palm oil plantation collecting Java moss during the afternoon around 5pm .. been busy looking around without realising what I'd stepped on .. & I saw these black little insects creeping on the ground where I stood. I didn't know then what they were.. after a couple of steps on that area.. I felt my feet being nipped and it was so freakin sore.. I was in a panic and ran a couple of steps and saw more than 3-4 these black insects on my feet. I tried getting rid of them by brushing them of but their claws were left stuck in my feet, so I had to pull them out.. then I saw blood.. euwww!! ..  So I took these pics. Later on, I searched on the net about these insects. They are Macrotermes carbonarius - a termite that can be found in South East Asia.  So, next time you are on a field-trip or in the jungle, wear proper protection on your feet and watch out for these nasty little buggers ;-P

You can get more info at this link: termite-macrotermes-carbonarius

Macrotermes sp

HYGROPHILA CORYMBOSA

When I bought this H. corymbosa, each stem was only about 6-7 inches.. then kept them in my tank.. but they took off afterwards like there's no tomorrow. I cut some of the stems and planted them in an emersive set up. Out of water, they grow like a big tree!! Same goes for Hydrocotyle luecocephala (Brazilian pennywort) - a very fast growing stem plant!

flowering H. corymbosa

Brazilian pennywort

yes ... that is a 1.5L soda bottle!

CURRENT LOW TECH TANK

This is my Java fern tank.. been keeping them quite a while.. most of the plants are from the wild having collected them during my trips in West Peninsular Malaysia. Forgive the crappy pics!!

MY PLANTED TANK

Tiger barbs

these H. difformis never show their spikyness !!

side view

This is my previous planted tank. Flora: H. difformis, Crypt. Wendtii, Echinodorus palaefolius 'Tropica', Blyxa aubertii, Polygonum aquaticum.   Fauna: Tiger barbs, & Rasboras.

CRYPTOCORYNE AFFINIS

I forgot to tell you about my previous trip to Pahang last month for Java ferns, when I took some photos of Cryptocoryne affinis that grows in the stream. But I only have a couple of shots of it using my crap phone camera. From what I read on the net, C. affinis is quite easy to keep as long as you don't move them around in your tank once it's planted there. Melting is very common for crypts, but then it will grow back after some time when they've settled down. I kept some of these plants.. and they're doin great so far!

Cryptocoryne affinis ... and my feet!

the dark area in the water are crypts!

natural habitat

Java fern (Microsorum pteropus)

Piptospatha Species

I went to the local stream just for a short prowl, though I had a very crazy runny nose which I just hate! Was just looking around in the stream areas.. and found a Piptospatha species growing abundantly there emersively.. so I got a chance to take photos of them.. took some of these and might try them out in my tank.. enjoy ;-)

natural habitat

same Piptospatha sp I think?

Piptospatha perakensis & Pellia moss on the rock

growing on the rocks

potted this for emersive set up!

this one will be in my tank

HOW TO TIE JAVA MOSS ON DRIFTWOOD

This time I'm going to tell you how to go about tying Java moss onto driftwood or bogwood. It is quite a  simple & easy job to do. What you need is thread or fishing line (I prefer thread as it's easier to wind), scissors, Java moss, & a piece of driftwood. I'm using an emersive form of Java moss, and you need to wet it first using a sprayer bottle for example; also spray a little bit on the wood. Place the Java moss on the driftwood, spreading it evenly until it covers the wood and using the thread, then start winding it. You can see the photos below :

some emersive Java moss

some pieces of driftwood / bogwood

how to wind the Java moss using thread

finished product

JAVA MOSS - AFTER A MONTH

This Java moss is the same as Pellia after being submerged in my tank for about a month. The colour turned dark green underwater instead of the pale green in its emersed form.

after being submerged for a month

You can read the entry of this moss where I found it growing abundantly in the wild. Here is the link: Vesicularia dubayana

PELLIA MOSS - AFTER BEING SUBMERGED

This is how Pellia turned out after being submerged in my tank for a while. In my previous entry, I posted about how Pellia moss grows in the wild in its emersive form. It's now looking great in the tank, but it needs more light than I previously thought in order to thrive.

You can read my previous entry about Pellia growing in the wild in emersive form here : Pellia (Monoselanium tenerum)