First Citizens

04/02/04
I brought a bunch of citizens home today to place in the emerald city. My water finally tested 0 nitrites, which is the key to beginning a population of something other than algae. Today we added lots of workers to eat all that algae --2 dozen snails, 4 shrimp (very pretty -- one bright red pair, one peppermint-stripped pair), 1 dwarf abalone, 2 emerald crabs, 2 cucumbers (they eat algae-coated sand and it comes out the other end clean). For aesthetic effect, we bought 2 tube worms (very pretty feather dusters come out one end), and some blue mushrooms and a pink soft coral. This sounds like a lot but all the citizens immediately disappeared, poking their heads out of holes in the rock from time to time to check out the accommodations. One of the sea cucumbers high-tailed it up the side of the glass to the top (hey, there is no sand up there, my friend). The pretty coral and worm flowers look lost but promising among the sea of brown diatom algae.