[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: Plants for a shiner tank
This is a month long delayed response to a previous thread:
> Martin,
> If it makes you feel any better, I can't grow val worth a damn either.
> :) I manage to grow all the "impossible" ones and kill off all the easy
> ones. My Java Moss dies off, while the Fern flourishes alongside the
> Lace Plants... etc. etc.
I set up an experimental tank that has been a lot of fun and
pleasure. It is a ten gallon tank, lit by two fluorescent 4' bulbs (one a
cheap cool white and the other a plant bulb) in a shop light hung directly
over the tank (actually two tanks). The lights are on a timer for 15 or 16
hours a day. The substrate is about 3/4 inch of cheap building sand or
kids play sand. The fish are 5 blushing angels of about 2 inch size, three
fire gouramis and one whiptail catfish. The filtaration is NOTHING, the
aeration is NOTHING. I try to change a gallon or two of water per week,
which is straight city water, moderate hardness and neutral pH.
The original plantings were three small val plants, two floating
fine leaf water sprites, and a snippet of Hygrophila angustifolia by
mistake. The water sprite just had to come out as it grew to shading
everything. The Hygrophila has spread like a weed, yet is the only tank
where I have been able to grow it. Finally to the val. From the original
three, there now must be 15 to 20 vibrant and spreading plants in all
corners of the tank. In fact, enough to thin and take to the next fish
auction for sale. Another way I have had success with val is to plant it
in a 4" flower pot with dirt covered by a layer of sand or gravel. It will
soon multiply to overflowing in the pot. When you find out what they like,
you can't kill em. When they don't like it, they just ain't gonna grow.
George Davis, Wilmington, Delaware