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Extinct
Oh, dear. I was just passing on some suggestions and comments, not trying to
start a fuss.
"Extinct" is Extinct. No more living specimens of the plant exist. The only
possible way to determine if there is a "real" difference between aquarium
grown specimens and "pressed" specimens in the Herbariums is DNA. It is
expensive. Is it worth it? Probably not. I have seen too many PhD
dissertations arguing the earlier dissertations were wrong, for years and
years and years. It is the way of the PhD process. Hopefully, knowledge is
advanced. However you view it, the plant in question is certainly NOT
Extinct.
Moving on, the vast majority of our Aquarium plants are NOT grown in
aquariums. They are grown in ponds. Nope, not in aquariums. In ponds.
Most of them with dirt bottoms. My source? The folks who grow them. From
several countries.
Re-establishing a plant that has disappeared from its former habitat is
assuming the habitat has not changed. Hey, the evidence that the habitat has
indeed changed is the disappearance of the plant.
if a plant is no longer FOUND in the wild, so be it. However, it is simply
not proper to call it "extinct." Just say "No longer found in the wild."
Keeps everybody happy. Follows the rules. Well, it might keep lists more
civil, but heck, even a good argument can advance knowledge.
Cheetahs are an example of the complexities of biology. And of the arguments
between the learned professors. It is really important only to the cheetahs.
Sorry, I have spent too many years in the rarified atmosphere of the
University to suffer fools gladly. We are, supposedly, all searching for
knowledge.
Lets see, what else? Yes, KMnO4 is a powerful oxidiser. Mix the powdered
form with the right stuff, and you could cause some unpleasant things. Don't
do that. It can stain your fingers pretty good too. NEVER mix chemicals
unless you know what will happen! We recently had a gas poisoning incident
locally. Some darned fool decided to strengthen the ordinary bleach with
another common cleaner. Result? A nice cloud of a pretty yellowish green
gas that put a lot of folks in the hospital. Want another deadly
combination? Liquid Plumbing solvents. They smell nice. Have you ever
talked to an ER doctor or Gastroentorologist about what happens when a child
tries to drink the nice syrup? You really don't want to know. It is pretty
awful. Almost everything we put in our aquariums can cause some really
serious harm if mis-used. Including CO2!
Please use Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters, regardless of what kind of wire
you immerse in your aquarium, and be sure the WATER is grounded. Most of the
aquarium electical accidents are from heaters and lights, neither of which is
usually protected with GFIs. I mentioned modern enamelled wire because I
work with it. It is pretty sturdy stuff. It is very difficult to remove the
enamel for soldering. VERY difficult. And, we are heating substrates using
quite low voltages, which reduces the risk substantially. Teflon insulation
is also nice. I will let you know how the wire works in the long run.
Short run results are very encouraging. I don't dig around in the gravel in
my tanks, your MMV. But, in my electrically heated hotbeds I always mounted
the heating cables to hardware cloth, with the cables on the UNDERSIDE of the
wire. I dig around a lot in those hotbeds. Again, YMMV.
I will have to see the cables which were mentioned, but I have heard
(through my greenhouse connections) that the modern cables are truly
waterproof. Being zapped is no fun, and I hope no one suffers it. Use
interrupters. They are dirt cheap nowadays, and they work so well and so
quickly that you can deliberately dip one hand in water while holding the
bare wire with the other. You don't feel a thing. (Black humor follows.
Don't read if you don't like Black Humor.) And, if the GFCI doesn't work,
don't worry. You won't feel that either. Forever. :-(
Does this controversy mean I will become extinct on the list? Heck, I might
as well go back to lurking. I have been here for years, I rarely write.
Jean :-)