jn

Would an algaecide kill it? I know that if the cause isn't cured it will come back but if the tank was immature might things have stabilized enough for it not to come back? (ie: drop in nutrients and plants settled in enough to keep on top of it)

Here we go. Not the best photo nor particularly glamorous but different' nonetheless! (I didn't know the plant could flower!) I should try to get a better picture in daylight. I had one closer up but it didn't get quite the right focus as I was holding it up closer to the light and it wasn't steady! If you click on it and go to the webshots site you can get the full sized pic which is a bit bigger.

Yup.. and heres a picture of one of my boys realizing that a little too suddenly for his own liking.

Congratulations! Is that the flower on your avatar? Its stunning if so If not how about a photo here?! I have to say I'm pretty sure mine would never have flowered it it had stayed at the bottom where it belonged but still cool to see what a plant is capable of regardless. I'm also keen to know if the plant was labelled correctly as Alanmin3404 recently said they sometimes aren't. Hoping a flower will help make that clear.

A small clump of my lilaeopsis floated out of the substrate last week. Its been floating at the top of my tank waiting for my next opportunity to get wet up to my armpits to replant it and has graced me with a flower in the meantime! It was sold to me as lilaeopsis Novae-Zealandia but I can't find any photos of a flower to confirm that for sure. Anyone have one? Would anyone know if they saw it? I'll try to get a photo later but don't have much practice with the macro mode! The flower is minisule, roughly daisy shaped but all green so far. It just opened yesterday. Looks like there's another bud going to open too. I'm having fun this week!! :lol:

We have 4 cats at the moment Frisco, Georgie, Poppet and KittyKat. Here are some of my pictures of pets past and present http://pets.webshots.com/album/54471855DzCQAd

I made a discovery last night...Since I got my fish (WCMM's) they have done nothing but hover in the top corner of my tank :evil: First thought this was due to a bully but this bully wasn't picking on all the fish so that didn't add up. (He's still definitely a bully!) Maybe it was the strong current? So I tweaked the filter and reduced the flow.. no change. "Maybe they're hiding when I turn up?" :oops: So I started sneaking peeks at them without going into the room :-? (I know I know...that's pathetic!!) but still they hovered in the corner!! SO last night I took out the big piece of driftwood (see photos in this thread http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/easy-c ... 18569.html.) This morning.. there were fish everywhere!!! Wooohoo!!! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: The tank looks dreadful now.. but the fish are happier so I'm chuffed! I'll have fun coming up with another idea. I see this is never going to end though :lol: I guess that's why they call it a 'hobby'. Just thought I'd share my little victory

Alan, I have another question (I'm sorry I'm such a curious sod! ) How do you differentiate between sagittaria and lilaeopsis? Do you have to rely on emersed growth again or is there a difference in the leaf?

Well... from what I've read so far hydrocotyle verticillata is slow growing anyway.. so maybe I should buy both some marsilea and some hydrocotyle and let them battle it out to see which fares better. More reading tells me the pennywort behaves like glosso under poor light and refuses to grow through the substrate preferring to stretch up towards the light (but worse case it'll still look nice like cardamine lyrata . I'll just start it in a spot where I won't mind it if grow upwards!) Have you got a link reference for verticillata growing smaller in low light? I'd be most interested in reading it Finding the right plants is the next challenge!

Not labelled correctly! Oooh.. not so good! Especially since this marsilea supposedly can only be told apart based the submersed leaf form! Never mind. I can but try.. :roll:

Doh! I hadn't made the correlation with 'growing out' the fish ie: extra feeding and hence the extra risk of polluting the water. It's all suddenly very clear :oops:

Hey Shiuh, The plant I saw was similar so I'm not 100% sure it was that particular variety. The internet indicated there are a heap of plants in the genus but they don't all do well permanently submerged so I need to check which one I saw. The shop though is The Water Garden on Blenheim rd. they sell stuff in pretty good sized pots intended for ponds and I think 1 plant runs about $10 but you get alot of it. They're all grown emmersed but some are suitable for underwater. Good thing is I can put a plant in my pond and just take some out for the tank that way if it dies in the tank I suppose I haven't wasted all the money!! I'll try to call them in the next few days maybe and I'll post back or pm you if they have the right variety. Thanks for the encouragement meesheely. I'm definitely up to trying things out. I hoped someone might have said "I know exactly what you need!!" but alas it was not to be :-? I also believe that most info on plants... well.. garden varieties anyway.. have their preferred/safe range of conditions listed and not necessarily their full range which is where experience from people like you guys come in! (ie: I firmly believe there are all sorts of stuff out there that's hardier than people give it credit for) but I'm happy to research things and read and then pick what might seem like a suitable option and give it a go! I fully expect to stuff it up a few times in the process. Just hope to get through without emptying my pocketbook My lilaeopsis is doing fine at the bottom and spreading already. So I don't think it's hopeless...just a question of finding the right plant! I have some extra filter wool. Maybe I can try putting it over the outlet holes (under the ceramic bio-noodles) and see if that helps. I'm not sure my fish are keen on the full current either. Thanks for the idea! Will share the results of any experiments in due course.

What would the answer be if it wasn't for the discus plz? ie: if you're not changing water to remove accumulated nitrate then what are the benefits of water changes?

This is the one I mean. I could be wrong but I seem to recall seeing a plant that looked like 4-leaf clover at The Water Garden shop here in chch. I wasn't looking for a groundcover at the time so could be remembering wrong. It certainly sounds promising! Marsilea quadrifolia, and a smaller version minuta described here. http://www.floridadriftwood.com/aquariu ... folia.html With the current in this tank I don't think there would be any hope of growing anything floating without getting extremely dizzy while I watched it get tossed around in the flow!! Even stem plants near the front are having a hard time standing up!

Thanks alan3404. I sort of figured that was you. I guess I'm going to be the 'guinea pig' with this tank and see what works and what doesn't! I'll be sure to report back. It looks though like I can grown some anubias and some crypt. wendtii but I might try something different just to see if I can then. I read something about something called marislea or something like that. A little clover looking plant that's supposedly really easy to grow. I think I saw some at the watergarden shop here. Maybe I'll try that Thanks for your help.

Hmmm.. another one that needs stong lights huh?! And then alot of what's currently up on trademe is suitable for tropical not cold tanks. Looks like I have some more research to do then. No rush then! I'd sooner do it right than do it over and over again!

Thanks guys. Yes I definitely want some anubias nana for around the base of the driftwood but was waiting till my BBA cleared up cause I've read the leaves of these can get covered in the stuff as they're slow growing. I considered mouse's ear but after thinking about it looked like it wouldn't take much for it to get too big for my space. Definitely need some darker green in there and a bit more substance so I'll have to find a crypt or java fern that's a good size for me. Was considering eventually growing some moss on the top of the driftwood. Being high in the tank it seems to get a reasonable amount of light. If I get a pair of jordanella floridae they might keep it trimmed for me?! I also suppose that you must be right about the light being low cause the algae on the stones isn't green, it looks brown (mind you in a fit of optimism I'm convincing myself I see some green in there with the black ) My nitrates are officially zero so I shouldn't be having much increase in the amount of algae with any luck (it's been 10 days since my last water change) Would still appreciate hearing from anyone out there who's got some lower light levels or anyone who has some more plant or layout suggestions.

Ok.. here's an attempt at posting a photo. Excuse the fact that the filter is running. I had given up on taking a decent photo and plugged it back in but I carried on playing around with the camera. This should give you a reasonable idea. There is some type of hygrophila on the left. I'm taking that out this weekend cause the size of the leaves just make the tank look small. I'll move the lysmachia to cover the filter inlet as it blows around in the flow where it is now anyway. There's 2 clumps of lilaeopsis which have BBA on them but are putting out new shoots, And lastly there a wee sprig of ludwigia repens near the back corner that I'm waiting for to fill in!! It's actually grown quite a bit already.. I might cut that bit off near the gravel as there are a couple new shoots at the base and replant the top beside it (there's a root at the first node above the gravel so that shold help it not have too much of a setback) I welcome any feedback. The large stones next to and on top of the driftwood are temporary since it was still floating a bit when I installed it!

Thanks plantman. My lights are only 11w (standard fitting in AR-380 Aqua one tank) I don't know what spectrum though. Can't find it anywhere. Have emailed aqua one to find out . Tank is 34l, tall and narrow. I might open up the hood later and look again. It could be underneath I guess. Anyone ever manage to grow glossostigma in a standard tank like mine with any luck? (I hate wasting money!!) I have lilaeopsis (can't remember right now if it's Braziliensis or N.Z) and that's about 4 inches tall and putting out new shoots so can't be too unhappy. Was looking for something to grow shorter and around the base of those. Hairgrass sounds bigger? It has a finer 'leaf' right? Maybe I should try the saggitaria but I was hoping for something less spiky. What's a good website with pictures of planted tanks?

I'm getting algae on my stones at the front of my tank and am considering some sort of creeping groundcover. Doesn't have to be a lawn looking plant but I don't want something that will want to grow upwards. Tanks is tall and narrow so access for maintenance at the bottom is awkward. Looking for something that needs little pruning and will stay short and handle low/medium lighting in a low tech, coldwater setup. I understand glosso needs pruning to look good? I like the soft look of hydrocotyle verticillata but am not sure if its suitable. Suggestions?

Oh what a shame any idea what did it? Was the sand altering the pH or something?

I was reading the Purigen thread elsewhere Zoban and you made a comment about price. That's the biggest thing with these hobbies in NZ. Much of what you have to buy costs easily twice what you'd pay in Canada if not more!! You could probably start yourself up a little sideline taking orders from people here and shipping them stuff from Canada for a small fee!! I'm new to fishkeeping myself and already can't wait for my next visit to Montreal to stock up on some cheaper stuff!! Hope you're enjoying your winter!! Brrrrrrrrrrrrr! :lol:

I've posted this in another thread but if anyone is still watching this thred it could be worth posting here... I'm interested in getting an american flag fish. Can I keep only one? If so would it matter if it was male or female? I could consider adding a second eventually but that would be the limit I think as far as my tank size goes. If I was to have a pair would a pair of females be better than a pair of males (I'm not interested in breeding them) just don't want any aggression? Would they be safe with WCMM? Does anyone know who would have these in chch?

Coool.. Where in Canada are you? I'm from Montreal Been here almost 8 years though ! I suppose I should have put this in the killie section.!! I've never ventured into the section before.

Ok...it's been suggested that this would suit me as an algae eater. Who can tell me more about them? My nitrates are quite low and I am planning on adding more plants as well so I think my tank can handle it. Internet suggests they can be aggressive. Would their mouths be big enough to eat WCMM's? Can I keep only one? If so would it matter if it was male or female? If one went well I could consider adding a second but that would be the limit I think as far as my tank size goes. If I was to have a pair would a pair of females be better than a pair of males? Does anyone know who would have these in chch? Thanks in advance.