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Re: Daphnia vs Plants
> That's interesting about the daphnia thriving in a plant-only tank, since
> their water requirements are opposite - daphnia need hard water with a high
> calcium content, which tends to be alkaline, while most plants don't thrive
> in that.
What is your basis for this statement, Bill?
Daphnia don't do well in dead soft water (like RO), I agree, but neither do
plants. I have raised all kinds of plants in water that many would consider
"hard" with no obvious problems due to the water. [Is 200-300 ppm CaCO3 equiv.
hard enough?] They thrived if my other husbandry efforts gave them a chance
to. A very few, like *glossistigma* do seem to do better if the water isn't
"liquid rock," but most care not. Others, like Val, the estuarine varieties of
Java moss, and Java ferns do best in quite hard water, and even relish a bit
of salt, I think.
Plants, fish, and AFAIK, Daphnia don't care too much about alkalinity (none
feel pH directly), as long as there is *some* to provide decent buffering. I
refer you to Steve Dixon in the APD archives, for how hard he has struggled to
*add* the missing components in his soft SF water to get decent plant growth.
Wright
--
Wright Huntley -- 650 856-4245 -- 879 Clara Dr. Palo Alto CA 94303
The San Francisco Bay Area Killifish Assn. (BAKA) has a new web
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