Unknown plant that popped up in tank

[CoryWithAKatana]

So, awhile back I asked y'all for some recommendations of how to clean a rock I found in my backyard retention pond. I power washed it, let it sit in the sun for three days then I added it to my tank. Well today I was checking out my Java Fern Plantlet and spotted this little bugger starting to grow from my pond rock. Can anyone help me identify it? If its harmless I would like to keep it (free plant whoo) but if its bad/invasive/poisonous how do I get rid of it. 

My tank is currently in the process of starting up I tested it yesterday and I still am waiting for the nitrites to turn into nitrates before adding anything like fish or snails. I live in FL so ive got hard water but everything else like was stable.

Edited May 23 by CoryWithAKatana

[Seattle_Aquarist]

Hi @CoryWithAKatana,

Two things, first the leaves you see now are called 'seedling leaves' and will look nothing like the actual plant leaves when they emerge.  You will have to wait for the second and possibly the third set of leaves to emerge from the stem for a possible identification. 

Second, that rock appears to be pure limestone.  I suspect you did not check to see if it was inert prior to putting it into your tank?  It will slowly dissolve in you tank increasing the carbonate hardness (dKH), general hardness (dGH) and the pH of your tank.  You will find it almost impossible to get the pH of the tank down to neutral or on the slightly acid side.  Limestone is a form of calcium carbonate and has a natural pH of about pH@9.9....very alkaline.  -Roy

[CoryWithAKatana]

Well the one thing I did check was I poured some vinegar on the rock and it did not bubble so I assumed it was fine.

On 5/23/2024 at 7:11 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said:

Hi @CoryWithAKatana,

Two things, first the leaves you see now are called 'seedling leaves' and will look nothing like the actual plant leaves when they emerge.  You will have to wait for the second and possibly the third set of leaves to emerge from the stem for a possible identification. 

Second, that rock appears to be pure limestone.  I suspect you did not check to see if it was inert prior to putting it into your tank?  It will slowly dissolve in you tank increasing the carbonate hardness (dKH), general hardness (dGH) and the pH of your tank.  You will find it almost impossible to get the pH of the tank down to neutral or on the slightly acid side.  Limestone is a form of calcium carbonate and has a natural pH of about pH@9.9....very alkaline.  -Roy

if it was gonna dissolve in water I think it would have done so already since it was sitting in a pond for years

Edited May 23 by CoryWithAKatana

[Seattle_Aquarist]

lol @CoryWithAKatana,  it has been dissolving....can you not see the areas of the stone (holes) that have dissolved.  You don't have to believe me - I was just giving you a 'heads up' based upon what I learned in Chemistry, geology, and keeping aquariums for 60+ years.  If you are planning on an African Cichlid tank for fish from the Rift Lakes of eastern Africa then that is just the right rock for your tank!  -Roy

[CoryWithAKatana]

@Seattle_Aquarist Are there any fish you would reccomend for a 20 gallon? I really like this rock but this kinda limits the fish I can get

here is a photo of my tank

Edited May 24 by CoryWithAKatana

[Seattle_Aquarist]

Hi @CoryWithAKatana,

Most species of livebearers can tolerate (even prefer) harder, alkaline water such as guppies, mollies, swordtails, platies.  ans also members of the Goodeid family.  I would stay away from soft water species like rainbowfish, apistogrammas, tetras, for example.  -Roy

[Beach Cruiser]

On 5/23/2024 at 7:39 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said:

 @CoryWithAKatana If you are planning on an African Cichlid tank for fish from the Rift Lakes of eastern Africa then that is just the right rock for your tank! 

The South Florida aquifer travels thru 300 miles of limestone before it gets to a tap. 😁 

There are fish farms that just carve a big hole out of the bedrock (more oolitic limestone ) & the African cichlids love it! My buddy managed a 10 acre facility & i got to "swim" with 300 of these. 

[CoryWithAKatana]

On 5/24/2024 at 8:34 AM, Beach Cruiser said:

The South Florida aquifer travels thru 300 miles of limestone before it gets to a tap. 😁 

There are fish farms that just carve a big hole out of the bedrock (more oolitic limestone ) & the African cichlids love it! My buddy managed a 10 acre facility & i got to "swim" with 300 of these. 

Not trying to dismiss the great advice Seattle_Aquarist gave me but like you said we have some very hard water in Florida so having a limestone rock in my tank wouldn't affect it much right?

[Beach Cruiser]

Difficult to guess without testing. A lot of homes run water softener devices, etc. The harder the tap water, the less effect it will have. Unless you are trying to have a bunch of fast growing, delicate plants, or breed soft water fish... your tank will probably adjust.  If you get yellowing/pale leaves or no growth, you might have to adjust your fertilizer dosage to include a different kind of iron supplement.

Edited May 24 by Beach Cruiser

[Tony s]

So you added a permanent source of hard water. Honestly not really an issue. Most fish species will do just fine in it. I'd stay away from appistos, german rams, discus as well as most wild caught species from south america. most other species will adapt just fine. 85% of the US has hard water. only the east coast, gulf coast, and pacific northwest has a amount of soft water. even discus can be done in harder water. that's growing but not breeding. guppysnail raises rams in harder water and jwcarlson raises his discus in harder water. so, it can be done just fine. most fish are raised by fish farms and their water is whatever they have on hand. usually hard. no problems. I think it's more important to raise them in clean water than worry about hard water

[johnnyxxl]

Just go for the African cichlids they are cool.  

[JoeQ]

On 5/24/2024 at 10:19 AM, CoryWithAKatana said:

Not trying to dismiss the great advice Seattle_Aquarist gave me but like you said we have some very hard water in Florida so having a limestone rock in my tank wouldn't affect it much right?

You can buffer your source waters ph up or down depending on item you place in your tank/filter. For example if you put a huge hunk of lime stone in your tank your ph most likely will buffer up. On the flip side if you put wood/peat in your tank/filter it will buffer your ph down

Edited May 25 by JoeQ

[Tony s]

On 5/25/2024 at 6:55 AM, johnnyxxl said:

Just go for the African cichlids they are cool.  

Agree. But you can basically forget about a planted tank. But some of the rock dwellers are amazing. And then you get the shell dwellers. Just very cute.  
 

but really, I find a lot of regional bias against hard water when in reality most fish adapt just fine to higher ph and harder water. The majority of fish keepers are never going to keep their ph in the low 6’s even if we wanted to. Unless we start chasing parameters. Which is just a bad plan 

[johnnyxxl]

On 5/25/2024 at 7:27 AM, Tony s said:

Agree. But you can basically forget about a planted tank. But some of the rock dwellers are amazing. And then you get the shell dwellers. Just very cute.  
 

but really, I find a lot of regional bias against hard water when in reality most fish adapt just fine to higher ph and harder water. The majority of fish keepers are never going to keep their ph in the low 6’s even if we wanted to. Unless we start chasing parameters. Which is just a bad plan 

I understand that we don't want to chase numbers, I went with black water because I have lower pH and softer water being from SC.  I don't know why one of the fish shops is dosing pH up in their system raising the pH from about 6.4, or 6.6 bringing it up to neutral.  I was surprised when they said that.  

Personally I say embrace what we have either run with fish that will do well or better yet thrive in our water.  My hope is to see breeding behavior from my tiger barbs. 

[Tony s]

On 5/25/2024 at 7:34 AM, johnnyxxl said:

Personally I say embrace what we have either run with fish that will do well or better yet thrive in our water

I absolutely agree. And for most people, just relax, it’ll be okay. One of the reasons I like the Primetime Aquatics channel is he does fish profiles. Most of them he has personally kept in hard water. Same with Ben Ochart. Same with Kgtropicals, at this point. 
 

good luck with your tiger barbs. That’s a very cool project. Also one of those fish that are often overlooked. Just from having a bit of a bad rep. Cool fish. Sometimes a bit of an attitude problem but not in big groups.