Re: [Killietalk] Re: java moss

["Mark & Peta" <mbethke at socal_rr.com>]

WOW, thanks, you have descibed it to a tee. I will seek this out in  the
books. The water had a earthy smell much like a hothouse in the summer. I
have tried Algaecide but to kill anyalgae it also destroyed both the fish
and the plants and the algae was mearly dented. so what you say makes 100%
good sense. will do , i'm on three lists so i'll cross post also, but if
someone knows of this i would appreciate. mark
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris" <cgraseck at optonline_net>
To: "'killifish discussion list'" <killietalk at aka_org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 7:51 PM
Subject: RE: [Killietalk] Re: java moss


> Mark what you are describing as algae sounds a lot like cyanobacteria.
> It forms a green sheet that quickly covers everything.  The type that
> seems common in fresh water aquariums has a very distinctive odor.  It
> grows much more quickly than algae.  You can pull a sheet of it away
> from an object and it will immediately start to grow back.  Under
> optimal conditions, it only takes a day or two for it to cover what you
> just cleaned off.  I have found that Maracyn works very well against
> this stuff.  The problem is that I can't remember weather it was Maracyn
> I or II.  Maracyn is an antibiotic.  When used at half strength it
> doesn't seem to upset nitrification but will get rid of cyanobacteria.
> It takes about a week of dosing the tank at half the recommended dose to
> wipe the cyanobacteria out.  Maybe someone else on the list knows which
> one (Maracyn I or II) works the best.  Maracyn I is for Gram-positive
> bacteria and Maracyn II is for Gram-negative bacteria.  Unfortunately
> Cyanobacteria are gram- but closely related to the gram+ bacteria.  I
> don't Know how Maracyn works but I imagine it has something to do with
> the cell wall structure of the bacteria.
>
> If you don't want to mess with antibiotics against the cyanobacteria I
> have found that Mollies will suck it up like no tomorrow.  Ramshorn
> snails and pupfish also help to keep it at bay without doing too much
> damage to the plants in the process.  The Maracyn really works well
> though.
>
> Cheers,
> Chris
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: killietalk-bounces+cgraseck=optonline_net at aka.org
> [mailto:killietalk-bounces+cgraseck=optonline_net at aka.org] On Behalf Of
> Mark & Peta
> Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 11:16 AM
> To: william ruyle
> Cc: killifish discussion list
> Subject: [Killietalk] Re: java moss
>
> Excellent instruction, will follow thru. Yea I can't believe that dope
> sold those so cheap....
> We do have a problem in our area with obtaining quality aquatic plants,
> tried once to get some on-line, didn't look much like the picture on the
> website, as it was lush and green, mine was sparse and yellowed.
> Java moss is hard to get but I'll ask my LFS guy to pick some up for me
> . anyways I will add it to the tank..
>
> My big battle is algae, the short green type, not thread type , flat
> type, lines the leaves. I have tried everything short of an all out
> algaecide chemical attack as I have learned in the past that to kill
> algae in that manner you have to use it in such strength that it kills
> the delicate plants and tetras long before even putting a dent into the
> algae, it just smiles and keeps coming at ya.
> I have reduced light to only 8 hours for a month, didn't work.
> Used Phosex to check PO4, no lasting effect,
> Reduced the bioload by more than half, worked shot time then rebound
> Added more plants, so progress but not noticeable.
> 80-90% water changes @ 2 week intervals, nope.
> My lights are all 48", 40 watt, two pink full spectrum, two white full
> spectrum, *two blue atinic(sp)* The lights are over 1 year old, maybe
> they have lost their effectivness? Ballast are not the cheap chinese
> ones either, they are the better american built units.
> Run out of ideas here chief, algaecide is not a viable option, too many
> chemical
>
>   Subject: java moss
>
>
>   Mark, the java fern you got is cool, but java moss is the carpet of
> choice for the tank bottom: lin lay eggs top *and*
>   bottom I've found and the young that hatch out in the moss
>   stand a better chance of survival (lots of little critters to eat
>   in the moss initially). Java fern stuck in the moss looks pretty fly,
> too. Try it, you'll like the looks of it in the tank. You
>   can make moss balls by tying the moss to rock/lava rock with 4-6lb
> monofilament fishline. I had these interspersed amongst the rotala
> indica (easy plant) green hygro (even easier) and limnophila
> sessiliflora (dwarf ambulia).
>
>
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>
>
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