SAKURA SHRIMPS

The 5 Sakura Shrimps are moulting and reproducing quickly. The first photo shows a baby shrimp at the corner of the small tank. Unfortunately I am unable to take good close-up photos of the minute red shrimp.

By the way, this tank is suffering from an infestation of Planaria and I had to dose it yesterday and today. Hopefully, I can get rid of the Planaria soon.

JUSTICIA BRANDEGEEANA

 Today's weather - sunny

This is a rather slow-growing shrub and it really took this plant quite a while to grow to this size. Unlike the ones planted at HortPark with completely red bracts, this one that I first saw in books as Beloperone guttata (common name: Shrimp Plant; Family: Acanthaceae) and fell in love with produces new bracts that are creamy in colour and gradually turns pink before finally taking on a crimson red. The flowers are white compared to the pinkish ones at HortPark.


Between the two, I definitely prefer this more because of the varied colored bracts. Maybe I should add the more uncommon Justicia fulvicoma and common Pachystachys lutea that I love in the same planter to provide some contrast in their flowers.

MOSS AND SHRIMP

I set up a new mini tank with an aquatic moss and a $5 packet of at least 8-10 shrimps that I bought recently but now I'm left with 3 shrimps. What am I doing wrong here?

JUSTICIA BRANDEGEANA & SUNBIRDS

I was barely 2 m away when I heard the calls. To be exact, the calls were from 2 very different sunbirds.

When I located them, my priority was on shooting the Crimson Sunbird on camera. But it was so hard to focus on the bird, when its colour almost blended with the red bracts of the Red Shrimp Plant. The Olive-Backed Sunbird didn't stand a chance next to it because I was just so so focussed on the small red birdie.

Well, in the first photo, I captured nothing! It flew off before the camera shutter managed to imprint an image of it onto the memory card. In the end, I didn't manage to get a decent looking photogenic shot of the little friend. It was either hidden by the foliage or its face was turned away from the camera. Damned!

CRYSTAL SHRIMPS

I bought 6 crystal shrimps of two different types on Monday for my aquarium. But they gradually died over the last few days, and I am now left with 1 or 2 shrimps only. Sigh.

I guess I should switch to my usual fishes?

JUSTICIA FULVICOMA

This is another Justicia that won my heart over some time ago. It is also known by its other synonyms Beloperone fulvicoma, B. comosa, J. comosa or its common name Orange Shrimp Plant or Mexican Plume.

I bought the Justicia brandegeeana (Red Shrimp Plant) about 2 years ago and by luck, this plant was also in the same pot. So I planted it at the Home Garden and the plant is still there but it is not performing optimally due to the low light conditions and minimal care.

This photo was taken from a pot propagated by my colleague. With the attention given to it and the high light and fertilizers given, there are many inflorescences and the colours are so vibrant.

Anyway, the 2 links attached below provides more information on the plant:

1. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/114847/
2. http://www.stgmagazine.com.au/issue_19_preview/iss19_fa.htm

JUSTICIA BRANDEGEANA

This Shrimp Plant from the Acanthaceae Family is one of my all time favourites. In books though, I often see a range of coloured bracts, varying from orangey yellowish pink to red.

I first saw this plant about 5 years ago at a Paya Lebar industrial building area near the entrance guard house. When I went back in 2008, the bedding plant was no longer there because the site was affected by the Circle Line construction.

These photos taken on 12 Jan 10 showed a free flowering shrub with gorgeously red bracts, which are often mistaken as the flowers. The true flowers are pink and can be seen subtended by the red bracts.

During a recent trip to the Secret Garden @ One Utama at Kuala Lumpur, we found some yellow bract variety that differs from the more common but equally gorgeous Pachystachys lutea, whose inflorescence is more upright with white flowers. Hopefully, this yellow variety would see the light of day in HortPark soon.