OutBout
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Posts posted by OutBout
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Do you know if your plant started off in emersed form? Personally, I've tried Alternifolia reineckii a few times years ago with little success. The plants were emersed grown, I had poor lighting, and nutrients seemed to be an issue as well. Everything melted away eventually.
Last spring I randomly decided to pick up an AR tissue culture and grow it out in my emersed cryptocoryne tote. The plants did well enough to then transfer them outside to a shallow pond once the temperature allowed it. To my surprise the AR really took off, easily competing with its Hygrophila polysperma 'Sunset' pond neighbor.
The pond contained a nutrient-rich substrate made up of only miracle-gro gold, filled up with soft water, and exposed to full sun for at least 8 hours a day with the water temperature averaging at 70-72. At the end of summer I moved half of the AR plants to a 75 gallon tank I was setting up. I planned for this setup to have soil capped with crushed granite and Barrina grow lights. I expected sustained growth size-wise from the AR, but it actually increased in size and color intensified. This was all without supplemental water column CO2, though adding it would definitely accelerate the growth rate.
Long story short, from my year-long experience, AR is a heavy root feeder and thrives with good lighting. Here's how the tank looks currently.
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The Sewellia hillstream loaches are omnivorous grazers, not obligate algae eaters, and will be eating the stuff (biofilm, aufwuchs, infusoria) that's living on top of the algae. In my experience, if given the choice, reticulated hillstream loaches will flock to any sinking food instead of focusing on the algae areas. I would say that nerite snails are better at algae control, as I've never seen any go for prepared food if there's enough algae to satisfy their hunger.
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On 10/20/2022 at 2:29 PM, Jess said:
@OutBout ok here is my first experiment in high humidity environment! I found that box at my local Target and I had just received this C. ferruginea 'Sekadauensis'. I didn't have enough aquasoil so cover the whole bottom of the tupperware, so I used these takeout cups, filled water up to the top of the soil line (the leaves are not underwater but the roots are) and poured a layer of water in the bottom of the temperature to keep the humidity high. What do you think? Do I also need to mist these guys?
I'm also busy on the other experiment - I put some potted crypts in my tank that doesn't have aquasoil in it. But it would be better to have first added the crushed coral...waiting till next pay period to place my Co-op order because there's a lot of stuff I want to get anyway!!! Once I do that, I'll get some Co-Op crypts, another 10 gal, and set up that experiment. Then I can compare inert substrate+crushed coral, inert substrate, and aquasoil. Not a perfect experiment but it'll do. Now, someone give me some ideas of where I can hide this extra tank from my partner.
Looks good! Using individual planter containers should work out too. Did you place a light for the tote? If not you could place it near ambient daylight or another tank's. The nice advantage with a dedicated light is that the small sealed container will get some residual heat. Another idea is placing your container on top of a refrigerator or freezer. The tops of these appliances radiate heat due to the cooling processes and can keep a tote warm!
In terms of misting, I usually do it on the ceiling of the lid before closing just to get humidity throughout. The water will drop down and evaporate into the container air when combined with heat. Furthermore you can also get some sphangum moss (I do the long strand type that's used in terrariums) and soak it really well before putting it on the bottom of the tote around the planters. This will also help with maintaining an even humidity.
Here's a picture of one of my totes. I didn't use aquasoil in this one, just equal parts of peat moss, safe-t-sorb, and earthworm castings. So far it's grown most cryptocoryne and other miscellaneous plants!
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On 10/17/2022 at 9:08 AM, Jess said:
This sounds really cool. How do you get high humidity in a tote? Do you use like a layer of water at the bottom? Or like a paludarium style thing? I'd love to try something like this. I really do want to see all these different kinds of crypts grow...I see the images in their natural environment but I'd love to see it myself. It may be the case that I can't grow them 100% of the time inside my aquarium but maybe instead need to do a paludarium type setting with very high humidity or something... lots more experiments needed if I want to see this genus flourish in front of my eyes!
I usually use a clear storage container called Ezy Storage IP67. There's various sizes and it has a rubber seal which allows for moisture to stay in. There's similar products around, but these totes are quite sturdy and fully clear! Using an empty aquarium with a clear lid will have similar results as well.
For high humidity, misting is one way to go and also keeping the substrate moist. Just be sure to have a light and possibly some heating, and be wary of mold developing. One of my experiments I planted tissue cultures of C. purpurea and C. spiralis 'Red' in glass jars with latching lids containing Fluval stratum. Filled the jars with water up to the soil level and placed them in the kitchen that's very low light, and ambient temperature of the house (64-70F). To my surprise the crypts grew, although slowly, and eventually were quite bushy by one-year's time.
If you're interested and have the ability, see if you can apply the the suggestion from @Cory about aquasoil. Take the same crypt and plant it in various substrates to see how they perform. Later on maybe change another parameter and keep a record, but just don't change too many things at once as then you won't know what affects what.
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On 10/15/2022 at 3:41 PM, Jess said:
This is what I just tried to do yesterday - I made a database of as many crypts as I could find, their origin, and what conditions they like. It's 98% based on Buce Plant because they have a lot of variety and detail. So now to the extent that their info is correct, I can try with just the softwater varieties specifically. Here are the ones I've tried:
Lived: C. spiralis, two probable C. wendtii specimens, one brown and one 'Tropica'. - these are huge plants now. The spiralis took over my entire 60 L tank. I've also got a number of very tiny, weak plants in all my tanks.
Died: C. willisii, C. beckettii, C. retrospiralis, C. spiralis 'Tiger', C. balansae, C. lutea, C. albida costada, C. mioya, C. 'Yujii', C. axelrodi, C. ferruginea 'Sekadauensis', C. petchii, C. hudoroi, C. pontederifolia, C. usteriana, C. undulatus, C. blassii, C. sp. 'Pink Flamingo,' and many, many specimens of every type of C. wendtii and C. parva. (I keep a database of the plants I've tried and whether they survive - problem is I don't always indicate what tank they're in and most of them die so sometimes I lose track of which ones finally make it.)
Thank you for this suggestion, as well as all your other suggestions and advice!!! That's very helpful. I can definitely say that the tissue culture crypts I think died about 100% of the time. The C. spiralis that did well came from my local LFS, and the other two super healthy ones I can't remember where they came from. I put root tabs under most of them this weekend so we'll see if that helps.
Good call on keeping a personal database. In terms of accurate information, I'm not sure that a business that wants your money is the most forthcoming about compatibility. Of course there are the more ethical shops out there, but being in business means they want to sell you products and more of them. For instance, crypts as a group seem to be lumped together as "beginner" plants, and while it's true to a degree, there is still quite a variety that includes many finicky species.
Regardless of this point, have you looked into the website 'The Crypt Pages'? It's a little outdated and anecdotal at times, but the information (however limited) seems mostly in line with how my various cryptocoryne have performed.
As for tissue cultures, 90% of mine perished when I placed them directly into an aquarium. My strategy is to first plant tissue cultures in a high humidity tote that has lights and heat. This allows for the lowly plants to slowly adjust to an environment outside of a a super-rich agar, while staying emersed. The high humidity also helps when if I decide to transfer them to a running aquarium, as I've noticed less leaf loss. Alternatively, crypts that I've kept in relatively medium humidity (60-65%) melted within 24 hours upon being placed in an aquarium.
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Plenty of good suggestions here! Consistency and stability is key with cryptocoryne, but also be aware some prefer soft water (blackwater) or hard water (limestone deposits). My last aquarium that was dominated with crypts was loaded with mopani wood which created nice blackwater conditions. I hardly changed water in this tank, and the parameters were: pH 6.0-6.4, Kh 1-2, Gh 4-5. I tried out various types of crypts and predictably the hard water ones (C. hudoroi, C. aponogetifolia) croaked. However, other crypts such as the C. nurii group, C. affinis, C. jacobsonii all thrived due to their soft water preference.
Also consider that cryptocoryne will have a transitional period where they will lose leaves, and the rosette with roots will stick around. The triggers for crypt melt are numerous, including: emersed growth to submerged (and vice-versa), temperature, humidity, nutrient availability (tissue culture media to inert substrate), water composition, health of plants (sterile tissue culture plants never being exposed to various pathogens). A suggestion to help with this transition is to either cut the leaves off at the time of placing them in the water/planting or cut them when you start noticing malnutritional signs. This will reduce energy expenditure for the plant as it'll try to repair and preserve damaged leaves, and new leaves should follow.
Furthermore, cryptocoryne can be exceptionally slow growers. Adding nutrients directly to roots and having access to higher concentration of CO2 can create an environment for a smoother transition.
What species of crypts have you tried out? I've found that C. undulata and C. spiralis to be quite hardy to many parameters. Hope this helps!
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Cool idea with having carnivorous bog plants at the pond surface. Do these plants care if their roots are constantly wet or do they need a dry period?
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Welcome! I've taken a similar journey where I fell out of aquarium keeping years ago. Good to have you back.
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Without a clearer picture of the leaves I'm going to guess Anubias nana.
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Oh looks nice, might have to get one!
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Fun idea! Swiss chocolate sounds awesome too!
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On 9/17/2022 at 8:40 PM, Anjum said:
Aaaaand the eggs have already disappeared. I assume any of the tank inhabitants could've eaten them.. Rasboras, SAE, or the Corys themselves.
I'm so surprised they'd be spawning already though! Now I gotta decide if I want to go down that rabbit hole...
Egg survival is luck of the draw inside a community tank. But this also means your cories are feeling happy and well fed, so congrats!
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A type of algae. No real concern. How long has your aquarium been running? New aquariums tend to take time to reach a point where plant growth out competes algae.
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On 9/17/2022 at 9:45 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
So the wood in question is mopani.
A. Boil it for the sake of sanitization. DO NOT use a kitchen pot. I have my own fish pot because the last piece of mopani I cooked decided to seep some goop all over the pot. It took a while for it to get clean, but not sure if that's safe for spaghetti anymore.
B. You can then soak it for any desired length of time. Typical is 3-5 days minimum. You can go longer.
C. Add it to the tank.
You WILL ALWAYS have some tannins in the tank because it is mopani and it's the most wonderfully dense and tannin-ed wood you can get besides something like malaysian driftwood. This stuff is like tea bags. Even with weekly 50% WCs my tank has tannins and it's not something I expect to ever go away..... this is 4-5 years after the wood was first purchased. For the first few years, you're going to have tannins pretty heavily and you control that color by how often and what volume of water is changed.Good advice. Mopani doesn't really stop leaching tannins, just slows down over time. I have noticed that mopani that's only composed of the dark brown wood will leach much less from the start. Personally I've never boiled mopani and have always enjoyed the black water, though the pH can drop a bit.
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Welcome! We all have to start somewhere, and learning is part of the journey. Seems like you're on your way.
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Very cool! I'm thinking of doing a tub with medaka myself.
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That's a nice looking room. The aquarium fits perfectly. Seems like a nice place to sit and relax.
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My opinion is that black goes with everything, and hides all the cords/equipment. Frosted is another cool option, but make sure there isn't anything hanging from the aquarium in back or you'll see it. Personally, I've never understood using blue as it seems very "fake" and makes me focus on it than anything else in the tank.
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Welcome! Good idea on the nurii carpet. Should look unique.
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Went for a walk today alongside a creek that's having its wetland area restored.
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Stem plants don't mind floating. If anything, you'll see new side-stems starting because of the closer proximity to atmospheric CO2. Floating is also a strategy stem plants use in order to proliferate and expand their range. Personally I've had a bunch of Sagittaria filiformis floating in a bucket with aquarium water for a month with hardly any change.
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On 9/12/2022 at 3:53 PM, tolstoy21 said:
@OutBoutYou know, in the pair I have they both display a ton of color, depending on mood, etc. The pic above is the male. The one below is the female.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing. Are these related to Nannacara anomala?
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Could be detritus worms. Overfeeding can cause a population boom. Try feeding smaller amounts or less frequently.
Also could be flatworms. Do these worms crawl/glide over the surface? Do they have triangular heads with eye spots?
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These are quite funky for a dwarf cichlid. Kinda unique how the females color up more than the males!
Who has had success with scarlet temple?
in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers
Posted
A seasoned tank will help, but plants will need to go through a transition period when adapting to a new environment. This is seen in emersed versus submerged, CO2 versus non-CO2, inert versus nutrient-rich substrate growing conditions. Bucephalandra is rather forgiving, but is a slow grower and can take forever to get new growth if CO2 isn't added.