Hard to say since lots of things can damage leaves: my purple coneflower had some leaf damage from sap-sucking insects that produced curled leaves, but it has grown past the damage now and looks normal after I nuked the bugs. I wonder if it could be something related to aster yellows since that can do freaky things to coneflowers and other plants... Good idea on not buying the messed-up flowers.

I agree the tank is too small. The underwater filters (the kind you described) are useless. I've seen far too many filters of this sort sold and it just doesn't do any good job at all. I'd suggest you look for another type of filter, the type that hangs outside of the tank. I used to own one of those water wheel types and it did perform a good job. (However, I moved on to Eheim cannister filters given that I have a 55 gal. tank). I think its a shame taht most petstore owners do not explain the difficulties of small tank maintenance (which is far more frequent) in comparison to large tanks. I did start out my aquarium hobby with a 10 gal tank and almost immediately changed to a 29 gal. and then to a 55 gal. The larger the tank, the less frequency of water changes. For a small tank like yours once a week 1/4 change is not enough given the size of the tank and the number of occupants. Nitrate buildup is what you'd need to watch out for. You also need to vacuum the gravel as well to remove fish & frog waste which are the sources of nitrate buidups. Guppies (including mollies) require soft water. So I think simply adding aquasafe which removes clorine is not enough. Check your petstore to get a product that helps to soften the water (it's a form of salt). Looks like sunlight is the source of your algae build-up. So can you move the tank to another area? Watch out for another form of blue green algae which forms slimy sheets and covers large surfaces. This type you can get rid of by using fish antibiotics. Believe it or not, this specific type of algae is so ancient that it's part bacteria and part plant. Antiobiotics normally used to kill germs, can kill these stuff. And it does so very quickly. Do not use any of those algae killing chemicals. It's just not good to the other inhabitants in the tank. Add more plants that produce oxygen. More oxygen, less algae, Plants are good additions but you didn't describe which type of plants you have. I own a nature aquarium which generally means the emphasis is on plants rather than on fish (although I own several New Guinea and Australian rainbow). I use ghost shrimps to eat uneaten food debris that fall to the bottom. I have a pleco (now 7 years old) that helps scrapes the algae off the walls and floor of the aquarium. However plecos grow very large and mine is getting there. I also recently added siamese flying fox to address hair algae. I do 50% water changes every week. I try to gently vacuum off the fish poo that remains in the bottom of the tank. My lighting set up is simple flourescent lighting. I also use a CO2 generator (which is a DIY) to boost plant growth. Plants love CO2 during the day and at night provide oxygen to the tank. Hope that helps

Seedmama, you are so sweet. I really don't mind bringing food, but I am just not ready to commit to naming it yet. LOL I like to cook and I can always bring something in a cooler. I talked to my daughter and both of her children have tournaments this weekend so she can't come. I don't feel like I am bringing much at all. George gave me the seeds for Baker's Family Heirloom so I'm just giving a couple back in a different form. I wish I had planted more, but I only did four. One failed to germinate, but another pot must have had two seeds sticking together so I got four after all. I don't even like Roma's much, but my DH does. I will gladly share those with George because I have plenty. My plants are still very small though, because I was determined not to "plant and cover" like I normally do. I guess they are strong little plants however, because the night George lost his, I just slid mine under the shed that had a piece of plastic on the front of it. Our temps went to 31 according to Mesonet, but I didn't lose anything. One of my carpenters told me today that everytime I get my yard in shape they come and mess it up again. I think this is the last time though. They had a bobcat for this project and it made some pretty deep ruts, but they also graded it out to make the water flow away a little better, so all and all I think I will benefit. They poured the final concrete today for our safe room/tornado shelter, but we still have a lot of work to do. It has been an interesting (although stressful) process. Tomorrow they are ordering siding for it and with a little paint it should just look like another room on the house. They are also ordering in the metal to match the house roof. That should take care of the outside but we have the finishing on the inside to take care of. We probably will leave that until the roof is on. The roof is just to make it look like the house and to make the water flow off, because it has a thick reinforced concrete flat roof already. I will have to explain it to you on Saturday, because it has been an interesting project. The flower pots are just lightweight plastic, but they are big enough for small plants. I grew lettuce and peppers in some of them last year and they were plenty big for that. I have oodles. If I could trade one for a plant, any plant, I would be happy. LOL I have the room where the shelter connects about 2/3 painted and that is my last inside project, then I am moving outside for the summer. LOL It always seems like I have so much to do that I think my neighbors must be frustrated from looking at our home, but they always just say, "Look how much you have already done, and how good it looks". Guess that's what happens when you buy an old house. The work never ends. Thanks again for your offer to bring food for me, but I am indepted to you already for all of those flowers I have growing that came from your seed stash. Hope to see you on Saturday. Carol

Well, to be honest, I haven't seen a whole lot of bats, there is another scraggly one at the C&S nursery, not sure I want to "adopt" that one...I took a second look at my dark green one and it has some pattern to the leaves, just nothing as clear as Katrina's. Dunno, thanks to both of you for helping try to name my batty.