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>From: AAronson at aol_com
>Date: Sun, 6 Aug 1995 22:02:57 -0400
>Subject: A Scientific Expedition?
>
>Spent the day today with one of my fellow aquatic gardner buddies tooling up
>the Hudson from Piermont, NY to Saugerties. On the way we noticed some 5' -
>6' Vallisneria type plants growing in the more northern parts of the river
>(past Kingston). We stopped and collected a couple of dozen of the
>Val-lookalikes as well as some duckweed which was abounding.
>
>After bringing the goods home and cutting them down to 2' or so. I washed
>them thoroughly and put them in a gallon container of water with about 2
>tablespoons of AquariSol (with Copper Sulfate) and plan to soak them for
>three days or so to [hopefully] kill off any inverterbrates attached.
>
>My question is: am I making a mistake by putting them in my plant tank? I'm
>sure there is risk involved, but what exactly is the risk? Are there any
>extra precautions I haven't considered? Is there anything else I should soak
>them in before committing them to an otherwise healthy tank? Does the
>duckweed need any special consideration?
>
>Any and all answers would be greatly appreciated. I am leaving for MacWorld
>Tuesday morning and won't be returning until Wed. night so I don't plan on
>acting before then.
>
>Adam Aronson
>Sr. Systems Engineer
>TransNet Corp.
I was at Lake Piseco, NY over July 4th and brought home (to Georgia) what must
be the same val-type plants. They were growing in 3-4 feet of water just off
the beach. I washed them thoroughly and have added them to my 20-gallon tank
with (so far) no ill effects on the fish. They've been in the tank for about a
month now, and are doing wonderfully - new growth is showing on all five plants
I brought home. They were a reddish-brown shade when I got them from the lake
(and I _really_ liked them that color), but have gotten greener in my tank at
home.
I also brought home two lower-growing plants - one very grass-like plant, and
one with fleshy leaves. The grass-like plants seem to be holding their own,
but the fleshy-leaf plants have not done as well. They're still hanging in
there, but I have my doubts as to whether they'll make it...
You've taken more precautions than I did, and I haven't had any bad things
happen. Then again, I may just have been lucky this time... I must say that
I'm now quite envious of people who live near bodies of water where they can
get a variety of plants directly from their natural habitat. I was like a kid
in a candy store...
Todd