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

RE:Eustralis



>
>
>Dear Hobbyists,
>
> I can maintain one inch thick glossostigma carpet for almost three
>months.Initially they spread like weed and later the show the signs of
>stunted growth.Now i can observe that this plant stopped growing
>completely even though the same same tank parameters are maintained.pHis
>6.6, General Hardness 5dGH, Carbonate hardness 3KH.In my other tanks
>also the same pattern of growth is exhibited by this plant.I am not
>using any substrate fertilizer.This plant grows like weed in all my
>tanks for a period of 2-3 months in my newly set up tanks followed by
>steep decline in the growth rate. I would like to hear from very
>experienced hobbyists.

Gloss, being such a fast growing weed, eats lots of "food". As it's mass
increases, so does it's nutritional  requirements. Often this exceeds the
aquarist willingness to keep up with it. At higher lighting values/short
tanks etc you will find it difficult many times. At lower lighting value you
may find things a bit more manageable. It seems to like N quite a bit(yellow
color- holes etc) and I feel it's not after Fe/Mg/Ca too much. It's not to
picky about substrates. A large amount of CO2 is often used up by this plant
when growing fast. Pruning and removing excess growth is difficult for most
folks without damaging the lawn. It can be a very high maintenance
foreground plant unless you use lower lighting values or limit it in other
ways. You can also just use a smaller amount of Gloss and this won't happen
near as much. Lowering the CO2 has proved effective once the lawn is grown
but this takes some skill and a good eye so the work is not "over" even
then. I like hairgrass the best myself.
FWIW,
Regards, 
Tom Barr