plants from local streams/ponds.

[NickT]

theres a large variety of aquatic plants that grow naturaly in oregon.

im thinking of collecting some and trying them in tropical conditions.

the only thing that im wodering about is teh temps. local waters probly 45F-55F
my tank is 75f-78f. can the higher temp kill the plants? shold i go looking in the summertime when teh temps are mor like 55-65 and up?

i shold probly not be so cheap and buy my plants at the lfs... but if i can do this i will have alot more plant cover for alot less.

 

[mhoward1999]

Hi, I tried this and it spelled disaster with a capital D! Unless you can come up with a way to kill any possible critters that might come in with the plants. I thought I had checked my plants over, but I guess there were eggs or larvae or something on/in them, because in about a week weird stuff started appearing in the tank. I am sure that this would pose a threat to the health of tropical fish. I did this when trying to have a wild tank, which was a disaster. Even with my Empreor 400 + UGF in a 29 gallon tank it couldn't keep up with the waste of three 4-5" bream. I ended up releasing the fish and bleaching the entire tank to kill all the weird stuff that came in on the plants. GL. If you find a way to do this successfully, I would love to know about it!

 

[NickT]

my biology teacher in highschool had a tank he filled with plants from a local stream.
along with the plants he had 1 small minow of some sort he also found.
the tank had to be around 20G and he said it was 2 years old.
no filter no heater and no light but the sun. i know it dosnt haveto do with my post but rading what you said about natural tanks made me remember that tank.

EDIT; the tank was seald too so there was no way to feed the fish. it ate the alge and tiny organizims in the water.

 

[NickT]

maybe clorinated water or a mild bleach solution?
or i could treat the plants for parasites?
maybe all the above with about a month of isolation?

anyone???

 

[Lateral Line]

I have used plants I collected from local sources, together with plants I collected from the tropics, together with purchased plants. You need to be careful about introducing parasites etc., of course. Sadly, you have pretty much as good a chance of doing that with shop bought plants/stock these days.

 

[NickT]

Sadly, you have pretty much as good a chance of doing that with shop bought plants/stock these days.

sad but true! i think thats how i got ICH in my tank .....

 

[scarecrow]

Hey djdotnet let me know what happens if you try it and where you found the plants/what they are. I like in Beaverton and work in Portland so would be interested. BTW what school was this teacher at?

 

[NickT]

cool. i have finaly met some one from portland area on the boards.
i have alredy decided to wait till spring. i think ill have better luck then.

hey LL i have a question for you .
did you ever try any anti parasitic/ antibactirial baths for you wild plants?
i have herd of a broad spectrum antiparacitic bath but cant remember what was sugested.

edit: it may have been orange phosephate but i reay cant remember.
also will a mild bleach solution kill the plants? i could use 2 5 gallon buckets and dip teh plants a fue times a day for a week if teh bleach dosnt hurt them.