Encyclia Gail Nakagaki (Enc. cordigera x Enc. alata) a second one blooms in my garden> The lip of this seedling shows a richer color than the lip of the first one to bloom.

This is the second plant of this cross to bloom in my garden.  The flowers have a richer color in the lip than the first one to bloom.  These are first bloom seedling so their full potential is still to be seen.  However I must confess that I don't buy these particular orchids for the perfection of their flowers but for their delightful fragrance.

Catyclia Middleburg 'Maj' x Encyclia bractecens

First bloom for this Encyclia cross in my garden.  Do I have to say I am happy?  Conditions where I grow this plant are challeging for most orchids as it is a windy place where temperatures can soar into the nineties and humidity can be low.  But Encyclia crosses take the wind, the heat and the drought without complaint.  I am mighty pleased with the color of the flowers of this first bloom seedling.  The Enc. bractecens parent does exceedingly well in my garden, because of this I expect that this plant will thrive in my garden.

Cattleya Hardyana

Cattleya Hardyana blooms in my garden every June without fail.  The flowers are mighty fragrant.  They are generally pest free but they have to be checked from time to time for scales.  Scales are a very persistent pest that will turn into an awful infestation if not managed when there are still a few of them.  In my garden the hybrid does much better than either parent.

The "peruvian altum" angelfish briefly came out of hiding, and then ran back to hide again

The baby angelfish spent their first day in hiding, barely peeking out from their refuge among the decorations in the tank.  They spurned almost all food, they ignored tiny bits of shrimps and flakes, only mosquito larvae, which are in very short supply nowadays given people's concern about the Chikungunya virus, tempted them to eat.  On their second day they were only marginally less timid.  Since all the mosquito larvae available was consumed on their first day, I resorted to offering them rat tail maggots and bloodworms.  They hardly fed during the day but in the evening they at last started hunting and ate the bloodworms and maggots until their stomachs were bulging.  When I sit in front of the aquarium they stop all activity and hide.  They are very timid and cautious compared with the commercial strain angelfish I have had.  They take from twenty minutes to half and out to become slightly less wary when I sit in front of the aquarium.  Hopefully with time they will become accustomed to my presence.  Unfortunately getting them live food is a challenge.  I am considering raiding the local bromeliad water tanks to see if I can find enough mosquitoes for them.  It appears I will have to add more vegetation to the tank to make them feel secure.  Optimal feeding for juvenile angelfish is twice a day.  Too much food can foul the water if it goes uneaten.

Dendrobium cretaceum, now considered to be Den. polyanthum

I brought this species two years ago and it has proven to be a reliable bloomer that seems not to be bothered by hot weather.  My plant has grown well with no special care.  As you can see it has bloomed the lenght of the cane, not something that is common here when dealing with Dendrobium that come from the north of India and the Himalayas.   The flowers last well if protected from insects.  Thrips in particular are a problem as they are mightly attracted to these flowers, probably due to their white color. 

In the past I saw some plants of this species labeled as Dendrobium primulinum var. alba.  The name polyanthum has precedence over the name cretaceum for these plants.  O have used the name cretaceum because many plants have been sold under his name. This plant was unknown in local orchid circles until fairly recently.  The first person I knew that cultivated and bloomed it was Dr. Julio Rios.  Since then this plant has been imported into the island and seems to be doing well in local collections.

Five baby angelfish, they are descendants from a wild strain from Peru

 A bunch of babies!

Today I got these five juveniles angelfish, Pterophyllum.  They are the descendants of a wild strain.  All the angelfish in today's pet market are descendants of fish that have been mass bred in captivity for many decades.  The need to produce huge numbers of fish to supply the demand, made the fish breeders to remove the eggs from the parents as a mater of standard practice.  This eventually resulted in angelfishes that lacked parental skills and would eat their spawn and fry.   My hope is that these fish will eventually breed and I will be able to document their parental behavior.  Domesticated angelfish are intelligent, somewhat aggressive (they are cichlids, even if they don't look the part) and can become very tame and responsive toward their owners.  Oh, you read these fish are peaceful?  Well, only in relation to their cichlid brethren from South America, which can be extremely aggressive toward other fishes.  Angelfish can be downright nasty to each other when they are breeding.  They are also skilled predators that will eat any fish that will fit into their mouths.