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Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V4 #1701



Paul K. wrote:
>>If I were to try to grow Glossostigma, Rotala wallichii, and R. macandra
without the addition of CO2 gas, I would try to grow them alone, each by
themselves, and have fish present or have no fish, and add occasional
oatmeal flakes as a CO2 source.<<

Robert H. wrote:
....Thats just not feesable for me. I have no interest in setting up single
plant specie tanks. I still set up tanks for asthetic reasons, and that
means a mix of plants. I will leave the experiments up to you! You also seem
to be intimadating the issue of alleopathy. That just seems like too much of
a wildcard unknown for me to worry about.  With all the other factors
involved how can you possibly determin alleopathy with any certainty?
Oatmeal?? OK, don't leave me hanging...elaborate on that!! :)  (the next
commercial breakthrough, oatmeal bags for your filter!)

Paul replies:

I was not thinking about allolopathy in the Ceratophyllum-Hygrophila
situation, just competition for a limited amount of CO2 where the
Ceratophllum is a lot better than the Hygrophila. I have not yet tried
growing the two plants together when I have had unlimited CO2, (additions
of CO2 gas), but I would expect the Hygrophila to be able to grow quite
well under those conditions unless there is some sort of allelopathy.

The oatmeal flakes work like fish food as a limited source of CO2.  I use
them when I do not have fish in the tank.  I sprinkle a pinch or two in,
depending on the size of the tank, and snails eat them or they just decay.
In either case, they provide CO2.  There is a limit to how much CO2 you can
provide this way.  If you overdo it with the flakes, you lower the oxygen
content of the water to the point where clouds of bacteria develop and all
the animals that use oxygen have to move up near the surface.  This is no
different than overdoing it with fish food.  The flakes worke quite well
for me in single species gallon jar cultures or soda pop bottle cultures on
the windowsill.

Paul Krombholz in humid central Mississippi.