Re: Killing Hair Algae

To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
Subject: Re: Killing Hair Algae
From: krombhol at felix_TECLink.Net (Paul Krombholz)
Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 16:14:33 -0600

>From:  (Dirk)
>Date: Wed, 28 Feb 1996 23:40:56 -0600
>Subject: Low Light Plants & Killing Hair Algae
>
>My sister-in-law has a 20H with a 15W bulb.  She wants plants but doesn't
>have the money/time necessary to add more light.  I was thinking that a
>Java Fern might survive in her tank.  Any thoughts on this?  Any other
>suggestions (except algae)?  I can no longer imagine keeping a tank without
>plants so I feel the urge to raise plants that I can share with my
>friends/relatives with low-light tanks.
>
>I was thinking of giving her one of my (many) little Java Ferns, but I
>wanted to make sure I didn't also share that dark algae in my tank that
>nothing will eat (hair/brush/red).  Will a 5-minute dip in a 5% bleach
>solution (as I think I read in a FAQ) serve to kill the algae?  Will it
>also kill the fern?
>
Fifteen watts is pretty low for a 20 gal., even assuming it is fluorescent
light.  The Java fern will probably be able to grow very slowly, but it may
become thin, ribbon-like and translucent, with little rhizoids rather than
roots, taking on the gametophyte form, rather than the sporophyte.
Five minutes of bleachis a little rough on Java ferns and is longer than
necessary.  Three minutes in the 5% bleach solution with agitation should
do the job.

Good luck!
>
>------------------------------
>
>From: Troy <ots at oanet_com>
>Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 00:31:56 -0700
>Subject: Re: Pond Snails
>
>I made the mistake about 10 months ago in getting river mud (stinky
>Stuff) from a local river. Needless to say it was not sterilized and
>resulted in an explosion of snails as soon as they encountered the warm
>aquarium temps.
>
>        1. Soft water is GOOD.
>           Less minerals for the snails to form shells.
>
>        2. Get a Clown Loach.
>           They eat the eggs and slowly stop the cycle.
>
>They are VERY prolific and have survived a 15min. bath in
>Pottassium Permanganate solution. Fish that eat algae are good as well,
>every little bit helps.
>
>------------------------------
>
>End of Aquatic Plants Digest V1 #291
>************************************
>
>To unsubscribe to aquatic-plants, send the command:
>    unsubscribe aquatic-plants
>in the body of a message to "Majordomo at ActWin_com".  Archives are
>available on the web at http://www.actwin.com/fish/aquatic-plants
>or via FTP to ftp.actwin.com in /pub/aquaria/aquatic-plants.

Paul Krombholz                  Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS  39174
Where the spring beauties are blooming and winter (the two days we had that
you could call winter) is hardly a memory.