[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Newbie's Progress (and the dreaded 'worm' thread)



Hello again to the list!  And another loud 'THANK YOU'
to the APD Denizens who have provided me with such a
wealth of information.  

My 10 gallon excursion into planted aquaria has so far
been exciting, puzzling, horrifying and satisfying.  I
now have at least two of the following plants in my 2
week old, open 10 gallon tank:

Cryptocorne wendtii 'green'
Echinodorous 'Oriental'
Bacopa monieri
Elodea canadensis
Ceratopteris pteridioides
Hydrocleys nymphoides
Ceratophyllum demersum

I also have a spathiphylum and a pothos growing
emersed and helping to hide pumps, tubing, etc.  These
were 'donated' by a well meaning relative.  I gotta
use'em, at least for now. ;)

Lighting is temporarily provided by a $7.00 clip on
desk lamp and a 50 watt GE Grow Light.  The lighting
appears to be adequate for even the Echinodorous.  I
may keep this for a while and see what happens. 

CO2 is produced with a DIY setup injected into the
pump intake.  I'm using Welch's 100% grape juice and
yeast cultured from a bottle of wine I made two years
ago.  Who knows...  I may get something drinkable out
of the experience.

Excitement:  Most plants seem to be doing quite well,
putting on new growth or at least replacing decaying
foliage.  The water is relatively clear, with no sign
of green water.  Some cloudiness is apparent, but
seems to be subsiding.

Puzzling:  Some of the Ceratophyllum demersum is NOT
doing well.  In fact, some of it was covered with a
bluish green algal growth when I removed it.  It had
not grown at all and some of it was clearly dead. 
Other demersum plants are green, healthy and actively
growing.  Other than just not having its needs met, I
might have handled some of it too roughly when
transplanting from an aged pond out back.  Ideas?

Horrifying:  Worms.  Dozens of them.  These are
whitish, hair-thin, from 3/16" to 5/16" long.  I've
found them mostly at the surface.  I have no fish in
the tank yet.  If these beasts are parasitic to fish,
my expecation is that the entire population should die
after some time without a host.  Is this correct?  I
have salted the water in this tank to a 1.50 ppt
concentration.  Since then, the population of these
critters seems to have subsided.  All but two of my
plants came from an aged and healthy garden pond. 
That water is not salted, because both plants and fish
are positively thriving.

Satisfying:  The entire experience has been immensely
satisfying.  For the most part, things have progressed
as I expected them to, with the exceptions above.  The
serenity of the scene is more profound than I ever
expected.  I sit and look at the plants and rocks for
hours.  I can't imagine what changes fish will
bring...


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get Yahoo! Mail – Free email you can access from anywhere!
http://mail.yahoo.com/