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Lillaeopsis and Phosphate Resins
Subject: Lilaeopsis observations, and a phosphate removal media
> The plant, definitely Lilaeopsis, was labeled as Lilaeopsis
> novea-zelandiae. I thought this would be perfect for such a smal
> since that species does not grow very tall. I soon learned that
> mislabeled, or that this species grows differently in my aquariu
> specimens in my tank are now about 8 inches tall, or over twice
> the literature suggests. This stuff (can anyone suggest what spe
> might be?) went absolutely nuts in this aquarium. From one clump
> months ago, it has now propagated to take over nearly all the av
> surface space. In fact it is almost choking out plantings of Sag
> (subulata, I think) and Echinodorus tenellus. <snip>
> The reference materials I have (Baensch vol. 2, James, Rataj/Hor
> unanimously say this plant does well in very bright light and ri
> substrate. My substrate qualifies as rich, but the lighting isn'
> bright,
Your plant is probabaly L. braziliensis. It tends to grow taller
in lower light conditions. The brighter the light, the shorter it
grows, In the front of my 70G tank where it receives direct
light, it stays quite short. But it also grows around the base of
all the other plants, and in the shady areas, it _does_ get quite
a bit taller.
> On another topic: Have list members used and/or had good experie
> phosphate-removal filter media?
When I kept 4 Discus in my 55G tank, the only way I could keep
ahead of the phosphate (and keep algae at bay) was to use a
phosphate removing resin. It _does_ work, but needs to be
replaced regularly. I'd only want to use it as an adjunct to
large regular water changes to clean up the last little bits of
phosphate.
Karen
Karen Randall
Aquatic Gardeners Assoc.
Boston, MA