It's not, at least according to the handful of sources I checked. But if she means this past winter, 6b was probably more like 8a and with a little microclimate (brick porch?) effect, the plant felt 9a, it's supposed lowest hardy zone. A lot of the success of zone-pushing or oddities seems to be reliant on drainage, which would be at its' max in a pot on a porch, as far as locations go. This is a good example of how an experience with too much cold can put a plant that would never normally go dormant when kept as a house plant into dormancy. It's always worth giving those plants a 2nd chance to see if the entire life was snuffed out or just the foliage. Also, regarding zones and perennials in the ground, one can often have a plant survive, even for a few years in "the wrong zone" before it is truly frozen one year, but most plants in this unique condition never perform as well as they could in a more proper location. They struggle harder than they're supposed to. Zone guidelines are used for reasonable expectations based on years of experience, not unique or temporary occurrences.

If your fish have TB, it was probably present when you bought them as visable signs like the sunken belly as you described are the advanced stages of the disease. It is a bacterial infection that will not respond well to treatment. I would not buy any more fish for your aquarium. My suggestion would be to pamper the fish you have left, if they show any visable signs, they should be moved to a hospital tank untill they pass, because if they die in your tank and the other fish consume them the disease will be passed on. It can also be passed by other fish consuming deseased poop. (which im sure your cory's were doing) I am not sure if your tetras are infected, but tetra's are susceptible to the disease. If you loose all of your fish, I think the best thing to do is strip your tank, clean it really well (filter too!) and start over. Oh and don't buy any new fish from the dealer you used previously. They are probably selling a lot of infected fish and not even knowing it, because you can't tell if the fish are infected untill its too late. One thing you cold do with the fish you have left is feed them a varied diet. Switch things up a bit and see if you can tempt them to eat something different. If your bottom feeders aren't getting any food, try buying black worms, suck a few up in a turkey baster, then squirt them out at the bottom of the tank near the cory's. This would give them first dibs on the food. I had to do this with my little frogs, because the fish always ate all the food before it got to the bottom. Good luck, im sorry to hear that you are having all these problems with your tank. -Jessica

I have houseplants that have been in the same water-filled jars/containers for up to 5 years. I use plastic kitchen containers, short and tall wide-mouth and narrow-mouth Ball jars, tall/short/narrow/fat drinking glasses and many coffee mugs, old tea pots, flower arrangement holders, colored antique jars, beer mugs. I keep teeny-tiny cuttings in those miniature jelly sample jars. I rarely fertilize them, although I have dropped a single ball of time-release fertilizer in the bottom. All of them are very healthy. Some I recently began in water with pebbles/glass beads so that they will transfer successfully to soil later on. I think they feed on dust and plant leaves/roots that break off, drop and rot, and on the light mossy stuff that sometimes grows in the water. If it smells at all, I change the water and scrub the container. Syngonium (Arrowhead) -- three different kinds Pothos -- variegated and plain green Philodendrons -- Monstera, Heart-leaf and a red-stemmed variety. Dieffenbachia (really large and miniature) Wandering Jew Miniature Palm Spathiphylum Impatiens Avocado Seed, and more. I would try pretty much ANY plant in water. :)

TYVM, Russ! That T. spath. hasn't grown as quickly as the other plants. It's at the R edge, just R of the DW Begonia. None of the plants there are thriving, just stayin' alive. It's terrible dirt & for about 5 weeks, it didn't rain at all, just brutal 93-98 temps everyday with no relief. You're right, the soil is sand with just enough clay to be concrete. A maddock is needed for digging a hole in these bare spots, the ground is as hard as a rock. The places I've covered with organic matter are SO different. It's hard to find enough material to improve large areas though, not enough trees and kitchen scraps don't add up very quickly. Eventually the non-lawn areas will have black gold, it just takes time. I'm still missing the incredible soil I spent 8 yrs making at the last house. That yard had tons of trees and shrubs & there was a constant supply of plenty of OM from raking & trimming - oh, and 2-3x year the bank across the street had its' shrubs shaped & that would yield a pickup truck bed full of tiny twigs with leaves still attached. No such windfall has shown up where we live now, yet.