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Re: water sprire in low light
>From: "D. Gama Higgs" <dgamahiggs at mail_telepac.pt>
>
>>Water sprite in low light?? really?? I've never been able to grow them
>>in anything but really high lighting.
>
>I have no problems whatsoever with water sprite. I use it on my
experiments in breeding Anabantids as a floating anchor for nests and it
never stops appearing and growing everywhere in all my 15 tanks. Sometimes
its behaviour resembles more like a weed than anything else.
>My tanks are fluorescent lit with 1,3 W/G and water parameters are
1º<GH<3º and 6,5<pH<6.9. As for nutrients 0,9 ml/G of Fe liquid compound
every 11 days.
I can grow water sprite in low light or high light, but find that it is
easier to grow in soft/acid conditions. A cavaet is that I only grow it in
"low tech" tanks and have not attempted to overcome the "barriers" of
alkaline condition by providing the water sprite with extra nutrients.
Recently, I added some crushed coral to the overflow outside filter. Some
of the plants immediately benefited from the higher Ca levels (e.g.
Cryptocoryne affinis and aponogefolia, but the floating water sprite is
languishing. It turned a pale yellow and is barely growing. Before, I would
have to pull it out monthly by the bucketful. The main source of nutrients
is fish,fish food and occasional water changes. This used to be ALL the WS
needed. Obviously some water column nutrients are lacking (Mg, K, maybe
even Fe). My crypts are happy, so I don't care (they are probably getting
some of their nutrients from the substrate. When I get to it, I will add
Mg, K or Fe and see what happens.
Neil Frank
AGA
BTW, the Sep-Oct issue of TAG is in the mail.