alanmin4304

Why are the older/tougher/emersed leaves being eaten rather than the new/juicy/soft/submersed leaves?

Fertilizer balls will make sure the problem is not lack of micronutrients. What sort of sword is it? (it must be a big variety)

Both forms of corymbosa in Christchurch are usually sold emersed. I would be surprised if it is grown submersed in any quantity elswhere. I think the leaves are drowning because the emersed growth has a different structure. The new growth looks like it is OK (a little smaller because of less light) so when it is big enough the plant can be nipped off and the new growth on the old stalk will be OK as well.

Swords need a lot of light and 600mm is a deep tank and would need a lot more light than you have at present. You could add more light, drop the water leval and/or leave the lights on for longer. I have two three foot flouros on a 500mm tank going 16 hours a day and they are throwing runners at present. This I think would be a minimum.

Most people supplying the shops grow the plants emersed because they propagate and grow a lot quicker. They get paid so little that it is not economical to heat a glasshouse and the plants are in short supply over the winter. It is not a bad thing but it is the cause of a lot of people having problems with keeping aquatic plants. Some plants sold are not aquatic plants and many do not convert to submersed growth easily. The plants would be a lot more expensive if they were all grown submersed.

The new leaves on the hygrophila are not as robust as the old growth and the alternanthera is still green on the top of the leaf and is usually red in the submersed form. I may be wrong but it usually takes some time to convert and is sold in the shops in the emersed form. A dead give away with alternanthera are the flowers at each leaf (I can't see any). A good test usually is that if it will stand upright by itself it has probably been grown emersed.

If the plant is a recent introduction it may have been grown emersed and is having trouble converting to submersed growth. The alternanthera in the foreground looks like it is still converting.

It will not be the silicone. It may be overfeeding and causing a bacterial bloom

I bought one of the siphons but did't find them too good. The very fine thread which connects to the tap did not last long and I was not that keen on putting tank water down the kitchen sink. I made one up with a fitting from a water filter supplier and a snap on connector for a garden hose. Now I siphon from the tank out the window and refill with water at the right temperature from the tap. Works a treat.

Careful with the vodka, I used it and it caused a bacterial bloom. I don't think nitrate contributes to cyno because it is a nitrogen fixer. Lots of water changes worked for me once and another time I had to resort to antibiotics. Try the easiest and work up the scale.

Actually they did used to adjust the pH on some wells because the water was a bit acid, but I understand they have put in new deeper wells and no longer do. The chlorination would only be to sanitize the pipework after they have been working on it.

I guess we are lucky we are not somewhere like the mouth of the Danube where they say the water has been through six people before you get it. We have a completely untreated artesian supply so the fish and us love it.

I may be a pessimist but if you seperate the fry and parents the fry definately will not get eaten. Great to watch the parents look after the few remaining young but not much fun to watch them getting eaten.

They are probably not a good plant to have with discus as you want low water nutrient for the discus which means no food for the ferns.

Used to use RTV732 when making tanks commercially as it was easier to use and could get it wholesale. It has a different viscocity but they both do the job.

That is not why we declorinate the water, but it is why the Local Authority will adjust the pH of the water supply so it is not corrosive. In the good old days when the water mains were galvinized pipe and fire places had a caste iron wet back there was enough iron in the system for the copper to be protected by a copper/iron amalgum in the first few weeks of its life. Now when wet backs are copper and pipes are plastic or ac it is corrosion heaven

You get a type of corrosion called dezincafication where the zinc is corroded out and a honeycomb of copper is left behind then that is dissolved away as well. In corrosive conditions they use special alloys like bell metal. In the good old days they used to drop a penny or copper wool into a tank to treat for white spot and remove it when the snails try to climb out.

Ordinary brass will corrode in acid conditions. You would be safer with plastic.

What looks like roots is only a means of anchoring and the plant only feeds through the leaves so needs nutrient in the water. I read somewhere that the harder the water the more light required.

You can scrape the eggs off the glass with a razor blade but I had best success by spawning one pair in a bare tank and leaving the eggs to hatch. What works for you is the way to go.

I built one years ago for use on cold water marines. You can buy the tubes (not cheap) and then set it up like a leiburg condenser. The clarity of the water, depth of water and rate of flow are critical. There is also an optimum operating temperature (which I think is about the same as a tropical tank) the tube needs to remain clean and they only have a limited life. But they are good if you stick to the rules.

The black spots on the underside of the leaf are spores and are to do with reproduction rather than deterioration (they are ferns)

It is normally grown emersed and will have to adjust to growing submersed.

It could be: A tropical plant in a coldwater tank Not enough light A plant grown emersed that is having trouble living submersed A plant that would do better in a pot on your window ledge.

I use sellys as it is labelled safe for aquarium use and is the cheapest at Bunnings.