u/positive766

I have been experimenting with going out and grabbing random creepers and sticking them in my tanks. They are are all doing great. I recommend going out to unkempt places (medians, parking lot perimeters, etc), finding any weeds that are clustered together and growing along the ground (creeping weeds) and bringing them home. They are usually invasive so do not plant them outside.

Make sure to get some roots with them, wash them thoroughly and stick them in. Obviously make sure you can identify poison Ivy and oak lol.

Creeping charlie looks the most beautiful and drapes nicely out of the tank, but I also have some relative of purple heart which is always flowering cute blue flowers, I have some spiky grasses that are doing well and looking good!

Its nice because their roots are not too big and they grow fast, which is good for cleaning the water. Just a tip for anyone cheap like me or on a budget.

Disclaimer: be smart about it and be ready to trim and discard constantly.

After starting one outside I just got so obsessed I had to start another. It's easy to keep making more since the plants multiply like crazy.

I believe it's ornamental sweet potato. All my riparian plants are free! Also, they provide aphids as a snack for the fish.

I brought my medakas inside and filled my outside pond with rosy reds because I can see them so much better and they're more active in the pond. I thought I would lose some because feeder fish have a bad reputation, but I treated them with general cure and everyone is thriving!

It's nice to help the bee population, but it does make maintenance pretty nerve wracking.

Last picture is with a lot of floaters removed. I went on vacation and when I came back the whole surface was covered with plants.

Can you identify these and any other critters in this super zoomed video?