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Crypt Propagation, Nitrate and Discus
Subject: Crypt Propagation
> I have a curiosity to report. Awhile back (about 2 1/2 months a
> bought a crypt, C. balansea. I planted it and it's rather long
> the gravel of my tank. A short time later I noticed redish leav
> up approximately 2 inches away from the original plant. Also, t
> growing in sort of a line. Now I have approximately 5 baby cryp
> addition to the mom crypt. I assume the babies grew from the un
> roots. Has anyone else noticed this behavior with crypts?
That is the normal method of vegetative reproduction in
Cryptocorynes. Congratulations on your babies!<g>
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Subject: Nitrate in Planted Discus Aquarium
> I have set up a 29 gallon, planted aquarium. Ammonia and nitrit
> cycled to the not perceptible range, according to my kits. I te
> for Nitrate with a Wardley kit. The kit showed Nitrate to be in
> range, or aproximately 10.0 ppm (mg/L). How important is Nitrat
> Discus home?
> The kit I used specified certain 'freshwater conditions' as bein
> ranges. For fresh water, the kit indicated that for freshwater
> should be 40.0 to 60.0 ppm. Any advice?
Depending on your light levels, you will have more trouble with
algae with higher amounts of nitrate. With low - moderate light
levels, some people find that algae is controllable with nitrate
levels up to about 20 ppm. For those of us who use stronger light
levels, 5-10 ppm seems to be the higest you can go without
problems. Personally, I find that I seldom have any measurable
nitrate level in my tanks.
While I've seen the advice that 40-60 ppm nitrate are acceptable
for fresh water fish, this doesn't take into consideration that
nitrate acts as a marker for other substances building in the
water that we cannot easily measure. I would not feel comfortable
with levels this high even in a fish-only system, and particularly
with Discus, which are particularly susceptible to problems when
not kept in very clean water.
Karen Randall
Aquatic Gardeners Assoc.
Boston, MA