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Riccia on the rock
>------------------------------
>
>From: "Dan Resler" <resler at liberty_mas.vcu.edu>
>Date: Sun, 17 Sep 1995 22:29:14 -0400 (EDT)
>Subject: Amano & Mike T.
>
>Just had a long conversation with Mike T. at Delaware Aquatics (easy
>to do - the man is not lacking in opinions <g>). Anyway, Amano's book
>came up. He was chuckling because everyone under the sun has been
>calling him asking for Riccia. And he talks them all out of using it,
>saying it just won't work. Mike claims that the stuff will look like
>the pictures for about 3 weeks, then everything next to the rocks
>starts rotting and it all goes to h*ll. Has anybody out there actually
>tried tying this stuff to rocks to see how it will do?
Yes, I have tried Riccia on the rock (Amano's new drink). The secret
to prevent rotting is to trim it. Yes, just like your outdoor garden lawn !
If not, when it started to get too thick, the bottom part would turn yellow
because Riccia is a high-light plant. I only have fluorescent lighting in this
tank. If you have metal halide, you might be able to get away with thicker lawn.It grew beautifully for 6 weeks in my tank (Wright Huntley is my witness :) )
but then it started wriggling itself free from the fishing line that I used to
tie it down on the rock. I also had a nasty case of blue green algae that for
some reason pick the riccia as it's favorite nest. I got rid of the blue green
algae so I'm ready to start again. I'm still experimenting with different
medium (mexican pebble, granite rock, broken clay pot) to tie the Riccia that
would induce the plant to "root" so that I won't have to tie it down every now
and then. Wood is my next choice. If you don't mind tying it down every now
and then, I would suggest that you use overlapping small flat rocks instead
of one big piece. This way you only have to tie down one small piece at a
time.
Hardjono