Joe

I went onto the internet and found a picture of green Limnophila aromatica, but it looks completly different to the plant you pictured. L. aromatica has much longer leaves and looks somewhat like Pogostemon sp. which are not availible in NZ. Also the leaves on the plant you pictured are tiny compared to L. aromatica and there are far less leaves. But whatever it is it is still pretty. I counted 13 Cardinals in your photo. They are sooo pretty but to get a shoal that big would cost heaps - around $150-200. I wish I had the money to afford something like that... Also you have lovely lush plant growth.

I thought that L. aromatica was reddish, not green. All the photos I've seen on the internet are yellowish red. I prefer L. hippuroides because it is more red. I don't want any L. aromatica if it's green.

I still really want some Limnophila hippuroides or aromatica. The pet shop here sucks when it comes to plants, and I'm not sure if I'll find any in Christchurch. The shop here in Blenheim have such a tiny range. Usually they just sell Ludwigia, Alternanthera, Hygrophila and sometimes Bacopa. They have a few aquarium plants in the watergarden section too.

Great! Thanks Phoinex44. Do you know anyone who has some and would be willing to sell me some?

Is Cyperus helferi availible in NZ? It would be a good substatute for the Blyxa japonica I wanted, which sadly is not availible.

Give it a go. People tend to be impatient and think the plant is rotting. Just wait... After a while if you dig it up you will see new roots forming. They are fine and white. Then the plant will start to grow new leaves. It is slow-growing, but is a beautiful addition to the aquarium. I have a whole lot of the green one in my tank. Extra nutients also help it along. If you are unsure, just put it in a bucket of water outside with a couple of handfuls of Dalton's Aquatic Mix. The leaves will start rotting and will then grow back after time, along with new roots.

Why are all these plants not availible in NZ? Can't they just be imported or will it make DOC angry? Also I know Fissidens berteroi is a native and I want to know where some is so I can grab a bit, because I originaly wanted F. fontanus which is not availible in NZ. What DOC doesn't know won't hurt them right? It is a coldwater plant but should adapt to tropical water. I have willow moss in my tank and I grabbed it out of a local river and it has adapted fine to my tank. I've had it for around a month now. It would be good if aquarists were aloud to keep F. berteroi as it is very pretty and if lots of people grew some then it would no longer be endangered and then that would have solved one of DOC's problems.

Does anyone have some: Pomogostemon helferi Pomogostemon stellata 'narrow leaf' Pomogostemon yatabeanus If so I would love some as it would look great in my tank. Thanks, Joe

I have a whole lot of bogwood soaking in a bucket outside. It has been there for about a week, and I will leave it for another 1 or 2 weeks. I have a really nice big bit that I wanted to put some Bolbitis heudelotii on. I have had a lot of troble finding this plant. There was some on trademe, but I don'y have a trademe account so I couldn't bid. Could someone please help me out?

Is there a plant that looks similar that I could use as a substatute?

I had really bad cyano once, and gave my tank a 5 day blackout. I have never seen it since. I have never had hair algae before, but I have had a very bad black beard outbreak. I overdosed with API Stress Coat, and used a bit of Wunder Algae Remover in conjunction. I treated my tank for nearly 2 weeks, and it killed all my black beard. I also had some green spot algae on the glass which was killed as well. So in other words, it worked amazingly. Give it a go and see what happens.

The pH in my tank is very soft - about 4.5-6.5. I always have a low pH because of the types of plants aqnd fish I want to keep. The substrate shouldn't be a problem, beacuse I have some Dalton's Aquatic mix just sitting outside. I can put this into a hollow between some bogwood or rocks, and cover it with a layer of sand (so it doesn't make the water cloudy). The lighting will be very strong as I have a new lightinghood on laybuy which should be payed off by the end of the week. It can fit 2 tubes, plus I will still use my original lightinghood as well (which can fit 1 tube). The tubes will be aqua glo or something similar.

Has anyone heard of a plant called Blyxa japonica? If so, is it availible in New Zealand? I saw some pics of it on the internet and it is sooo pretty. I really want some!!! I was thinking of putting lots of bogwood in my tank and growing ferns and mosses, and creating some hollows in the bogwood structure and filling these with substrate and growing the Blyxa in it, so it looks like it is growing on the bogwood. I also want to do something similar with Lilaeopsis.

No they haven't arrived yet.

I'm not going to do all those extras. I have a coke bottle and am doing DIY CO2. So far the plants are flourishing. The 6kg bottle's a bit big. The amount of CO2 depends on the amount of baking soda added and the warmth of the mixture. I'm injecting my CO2 using a Magic Jet Filter head, and the CO2 airline is attached to the Venturi system. I have a wee bit of black beard algae, which is slowly going away. I am also going to get some JBL balls, Flourish Excel, and Flourish Comprehensive. I have a new lighting hood on laybuy, and that should be payed off by the end of the week. I am going to buy some aqua glo tubes. They are a bit more expensive than normal tubes, but are apparently really good for plant growth and the colours of the fish (although I only have 3 golden bristlenoses and some kitty tetras in the tank). I am not really planning on getting more fish, as the ones in my big tank were nearly all wiped out by columnaris. I might get some more Apistogramma trifasciata though. Strangely, the bristlenoses weren't affected at all by the columnaris. And I was lucky I had most of my baby flags in a seperate tank. Also my tank is just regular glass. It is 100x30x50cm, which is perfect for the setup I'm attempting. I just need another strip of glass to finish the lid. I'm not having an open topped tank. I reckon that guy's a bit insane with getting those Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi, as they'll just jump out of the tank. Waste of money. I learnt this when I first started off fishkeeping, and had just the back of the tank uncovered. I lost odessa barbs, a shoal of pearl danios, glowlight tetras ect. And I don't want to lose what kitty tetras I have left (5).

phoenix44, Which shop did you order your Bolbitis from?

Does anyone have a large amount of Bolbitis heudelotii? I really want some to grow on some bogwood that's looking a bit bare at the moment. It is also very pretty. I found a beautiful tank on the internet that uses Bolbitis, mosses and various other ferns. It is definatly worth having a look at: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/foru ... -45-a.html I don't mind if it is quite expensive. It is denfinatly worth the money. Joe

A-town, I'll have about 10 large stems with a good root system and lots of healthy foliage. How much do you want for it? Are you coming to conference? If you aren't, will you be able to organise someone to bring it down for me?

A-town, the ambulia pictured is limnophila sessiliflora. Also alanmin4304, the reason I want the R. macrandra is because of it's beautiful foliage. I am getting a new lightinghood and some aqua glo tubes for my tank. I have a few hardy plants at the moment.

A-town, The giant ambulia is not availible on trademe. It is all the sessiliflora stuff, which I already have.

Yes Lobelia cardinalis is an underwater plant.

I am referring to Limnophila aquatica, Giant Ambulia

I have finalised my plant list: Lobelia cardinalis Alternanthera reineckii Rotala macrandra Limnophila hippuroides or aromatica - anyway, what is the difference between these 2. They both look the same!! Echinodorus tenellus "narrow leaf" Bolbitis heudelotti Limnophila aquatica Dwarf Hairgrass So who has some of these plants? If you do, please email me. My email is on the first post on this page. Then we can discuss prices ect.

How could I find some?

Is Limnophila aquatica and Dwarf Hairgrass availible in NZ? If so, then I will add them to my list. Also, thanks guys for info and stuff, but now I need to know who actually has these plants so I can buy some.