Question to plant gurus! Lol

Colin_T said:

a fan with streamers and a tv works just as well in a fish room as it does in a bedroom

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Colin_T said:

Salvinia, water lettuce, water hyacinth and even duckweed to an extent, will absorb nutrients from the water very rapidly. If you have plant fertilisers in the water the floating plants will suck out the nutrients extremely quickly and can literally remove all the fertiliser from the water in 24 hours. These plants are so good at absorbing nutrients they are often used to clean up polluted waterways, which they do very well.

If you use fertiliser tablets that go under the gravel there won't be as much in the water but any that is in the water will quickly be removed by the floating plants.

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Salvinia, Frogbit, Water Lettuce, Water Hyacinth and water lilies don't like humidity around the leaves and will rot if they are in humid conditions. Duckweed and Water Sprite are fine in humid conditions and with a cover on the tank.

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You can grow Water Sprite on the surface or planting it into the substrate. When growing in the substrate the plant turns into a nice light green bush. When it's grown on the surface as a floating plant, it can get huge (2ft diameter) and has long roots that hang down in the water. However, most floating Water Sprite only gets to about 6 inches in diameter. You can take the floating plants and grow them in the substrate.

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Roots don't do much for the fish. If is the leaves on the surface that shade the fish that you want.

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Colin_T said:

Most smaller species of gourami can breed at 6-12 months. If there is too much surface turbulence the males won't build a bubble nest. Lots of floating plants (like water sprite) will reduce surface turbulence and provide a nice suitable nest site for him.

If you want to keep floating plants separate, you can use plastic airline and an airline joiner. Make a circle (loop) of airline and join the ends with the joiner. Let it float on the surface and put your plants in that. You can use an airline clamp to hold the circle of airline at one section of the tank.

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cowgirluntamed said:

The salvinia seems to not mind the humidity in my tank. It's growing quite well(curious...how does this one propoagte? It doesn't seem to be joined together like frogbit and water lettuce do...I've just noticed more and more plants.

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Colin_T said:

if your blue gourami is 4 inches then it is mature. Males have a longer more pointed dorsal fin compared to females that have a shorter more rounded dorsal fin.

Salvinia reproduces like Duckweed, little plantlets that come off the main plants.

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Byron said:

Salvinia is a small floating fern, the sole genus in the Salviniaceae family. It consists of three leaves, two floating and one modified leaf submerged that may be mistaken for a root; the stem is branching and creeping, bearing hairs but no true roots. Although most authors call them "leaves," being a fern I suppose fronds is the correct term.

Ferns reproduce by spores. Here, the sporocarps develop on the submersed "leaf" on usually a short, branched axis. These are unisexual. Kasselmann (2003) notes that while not difficult to maintain, optimal keeping is rarely achieved in aquaria. Salvinia species are exceptionally light- and warmth-requiring, and prefer a very nutrient-rich and hardly disturbed water. Under good conditions (to the plant) it will spread rapidly; for this reason it is deemed a noxious weed in the USA because it can easily out-compete natural plants if released into the ecosystem, so it should absolutely never be discarded down the drain.

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seangee said:

That gourami is gorgeous!
Based on comments here I have just ordered a bunch of water sprite. FWIW frogbit copes much better than water lettuce in mine. The leaves never look good but I can't see them. They do keep multiplying and the roots are healthy. I'm growing them out now so I can move them into the garden pond once its warm enough

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NickAu said:

You can stick the tea bag anywhere.

50 Small IAL Indian Almond Leaves Teabags - The Tech Den

You can use IAL. Oak Leaves Alder cones Peat Moss drift wood

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cowgirluntamed said:

Quick question....of I wanted it a bit more darker, you had a teabag of some sort in yours? Does this just go in like the filter of the tank or how does that work? I know there are different things you can do to make it more blackwater.

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cowgirluntamed said:

Awesome! Thanks! Nick actually linked me to your tank. It looks cool and I'm glad to see someone else keeping tetras in harder water too! Even cardinals! So awesome.

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seangee said:

Rooibos (Red bush) is a S African herbal tea. I read about it on one of the forums It does nothing to the water other than colour it and contains no chemicals. Most supermarkets in this part of the UK sell it and its pretty cheap. I just boil up a couple of bags in a mug in the morning of a water change and let it stand for the day. Then I empty the mug into the tank. I have some waiting to go in right now.

FWIW the plant is apparently very sensitive. SO if you do find it don't bother paying extra for the "organic" version. The plant simply dies if you use any pesticides or chemicals whatsoever (just make sure its not blended with something else).


Mine are all locally bred in hard water. Last time I was in the LFS they did have softwater cardinals as well. Looked closely for differences and the "wild" ones did seem to have a slightly deeper colouring. Hard to say for sure because their softwater section is in a different part of the shop.

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