[fuzzyletters]

Hi,

There's this little cluster of really neat looking plants in this stream in my girlfriend's backyard that I was thinking about taking a stem from... unfortunately, this would be my first experience with a planted tank, I think the only thing I can keep it in atm is a vase, and I don't really know how to go about providing for a native plant like that. Anyone do this themselves? Any advice? Thanks...

 

[cjyhc4]

I pulled some stems out of a local pond about 6 weeks ago. It was Ludwigia Palustris, and is doing great. I started with two bleach dips, which effectively killed most of the existing leaves (not such a bad thing in the end). Then I quarantined the plants in a small tank with lots of light for about a month, doing water changes every other day. Then when I was ready to plant them in my tanks, I trimmed off only the new growth to replant.

My method was probably a little extreme, but I didn't want to risk any parasites/bacteria/pollution etc getting into my tanks with fish.

You could probably just set your vase outside or in a window.

 

[hooha]

the other thing you can use is potassium permanganate, which is the active ingredient in Jungle Labs' "Clear Water". Add enough drops to turn the water purple and dip the plants for a few hours. Rinse well afterwards.

If you place them directly into your aquarium you run the risk of placing unwanted snails and/or predators into your fish tank.

As for lighting, etc. a typical planted tank setup (you can search the site) will often work, but it's hit or miss. Some plants can't take the warmer waters of a typical tropical aquarium....

 

[fuzzyletters]

thanks a lot, both of you

hooha... that's something i've been wondering about with native fish and plants--whether they can take the temperatures of the aquarium (even without a heater) and whether or not you can do anything to maintain cold water with limited expense :S

 

[hooha]

unfortunately I don't have much experience with native fish myself, but from what I've overheard they can tolerate a "room temperature" (i.e. no heater) tank in a climate-controlled room. As for plants, it is a little harder because the brighter lights of high-tech setups usually increase the temp of the tank to some degree. That being said, you can always try it out with the plants, some will make it, some wont....some of the native-addicted members of our club have found some nice plants on collecting trips.