Daniel

Here is an India specific review of aquatic plants I have uploaded into the forum's files section:

Very possibly water sprite as it is pan-tropical and is also known as Indian water fern.

Like @Koi says 'no sunlight is a generalized rule. I have 2 aquariums that both get quite a bit of sunlight, at least during the winter when the sun is much lower on the horizon. This aquarium depends (almost) exclusively on sunlight. It is next to a south window and at this time a year gets 8 to 9 hours of direct sunlight each day. Can sunlight cause green water and algae? Definitely! But you may have noticed that although most people on this forum do not expose their aquariums to direct sunlight, those aquariums are not entirely free of either algae or green water. Like @TheDukeAnumber1 points out it mostly just a matter of balance.

Please post a recent photo of your results using the Fluval UV.

For what it is worth George Farmer does not think a siesta makes a difference with algae.

I found my broad leaf water sprite on AquaBid and have been very happy with it.

I’m old and I bought the 14 years ago. Which is a long way of saying I don’t remember. It wanted to float it first so I had to hold it down with the boulders in the tank. Some of the very long thin pieces are starting to rot.

I am sorry about the DM problem. My mailbox fills up quickly and then it blocks any new messages until I delete some. I will go clean it out now.🙂

I bet it was me! If there is a misspelled word in a Title, chances are I will fix it. Usually it is just a transposed letter. In this case 'Algae' was originally spelled 'Algea'. Chances are the vast majority of misspelled titles are by English as a first language forum member.😊

Type 'fish' or 'fish in' and it is at or near the top. Type in 'fish in the' and it disappears from the list, but at least a few items remain on the list of search results. Type 'fish in the news' and the search returns no results at all. Run an experiment yourself by typing in word by word slowly 'honey I dirted the tank'. Fascinating.

Yes, @Lizzie Block shows how in this post:

It is always wonderful to have another forum member say they like your aquarium or photo. I know I always appreciate that. But, there are also the reaction buttons that can serve the same function, for example: Clicking the reaction button helps @Hobbit build reputation and also keeps the thread slightly more compact. Otherwise there would have been six separate replies of likes to just this one photo in a thread that has hundreds and hundreds of photos. Meaningful replies are a keystone to good threads. As stated in the guidelines:

In 2021 I want to get discus babies eventually. I watched the parents guarding about 50 wigglers and both went one way to defend against an intruder. From the other way another discus sneaked up and ate all the wrigglers in about 10 seconds before the parents came back to chase it off. Currently there are 3 pairs constantly spawning, but I might reduce the number of discus pairs in the tank before too long.

Q: I can't quite envisage how it's going to look long term. My plan was the Java fern growing bigger out the wood and eventually blocking out the sight of the filter on the right hand side. The wood has lots of little gaps to jam plants into. The cave in the corner has that massive bit of Java attached, could be split individually if required. Should I add something other than Java fern to the wood to mix it up a bit? A: Not sure I can give an answer, that is a matter taste and I am somewhat lacking in that department. Q: The small plants in front, I can't remember what they are, chain sword maybe? It's not showing any signs of spreading anyway A: Looks like chain sword. Not impossible that this is dwarf sagittaria. This isn't spreading? Q: How much space does the filter need around it to work most efficiently? Can I plant closer to it? Seems like wasted space. A: Little or none, your filter almost certainly has enough flow no what is nearby. Q: Will there be issues with the anubias being so close to the sponge filter on the left? I know they like shady areas. A: Anubias are generally pretty tough. I am not sure liking shady areas might not be better phrased as tolerating shady areas better than other plants. Put them where you like them. Q: The Elodea is a bit of an experiment I'm trying, I'm hoping it will attach to the sponge filter and grow though that so I can easily move it around since it's a weighted bottom. The stem on the wood to the right was to see if it would attach and grow up through the wood however I'm having second thoughts about this as I type, looks a bit out of place. A: I see Elodea in the wild frequently, most of the time it is functionally a floating plant. It will grow roots into the substrate eventually. It is not picky.

Good, sounds like although probably no minds have changed (are they ever?), everyone does agree that ultimately the real test is how the experiment develops in the long run. Ask three fishkeepers a question and you will get five different answers. 🙂 I think the reasonable discussion of differing answers to same question in this thread is not only a testament to the members involved, but also to the kind of environment this forum provides.

My first reaction to goldfish in an unfiltered cattle trough was sounds good to me. I have got some koi in an unfiltered 7000 gallon pond and they seemed fine. But then @AdamTill indicated this might not be a good idea. I thought to myself... @AdamTill is a well respected goldfish guy...perhaps I should reconsider? Some other very reasonable people have had other experiences. So can we leave it at that?

I bet ya'll are going to me make me lock this perfectly nice thread.

@Kieflow that is a trickier question than you might think. Because there is a forum guideline against either praising or trashing other aquarium related companies, and additionally there is a second guideline against linking to other aquarium related competitors (with the exception of Amazon.com, Ebay.com, Aquabid.com, and Aquahuna.com which are approved), you have to exercise some common sense and discretion in order not to violate the guidelines. So the general advice is to try Aquabid, Ebay or Aquahuna. In the past I bred show bettas and was a member of the IBC (International Betta Congress). I got all my breeding stock from other IBC members. If I were you I would join the IBC and begin to network with other members.

I found this in green water, in fact it is what made the water green. Ankistrodesmus.

@Hafton that is a trickier question than you might think. Because there is a forum guideline against either praising or trashing other aquarium related companies, and additionally there is a second guideline against linking to other aquarium related competitors (with the exception of Amazon.com, Ebay.com, Aquabid.com, and Aquahuna.com which are approved), you have to exercise some common sense and discretion in order not to violate the guidelines. So the general advice is to try Aquabid, Ebay or Aquahuna.

Sometimes I cut the Tetra Strips lengthwise down the middle in order to get 2 tests out 1 strip.

Okay @Bill Smith this is not quite the same as a DIY forum, but here goes my try at a DIY of a DIY forum. https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/tags/diy/ If you click on that link, it will take you to every post that I have put the DIY tag on.

Almost every picture I have posted on the forum has been taken with my iPhone. For close up photos I use a Moment macro lens with my iPhone.

Pygmy sunfish, so tiny (about an inch) but so much personality when mating. Please, please don't tell my discus.🙂 It was a real 'Sophie's Choice'.