What is your favorite aquarium plant?

[[email protected]]

What is your favorite aquarium plant? How is the selection of aquarium
plants for sale at your LFS?

[Limnophile]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> What is your favorite aquarium plant? How is the selection of aquarium
> plants for sale at your LFS?
>

My favorite aquatic plant is Java fern , it's nearly unkillable.

Of the 15 or so pet stores within 100 miles of me the selection of aquatic
plants is very dissappointing, usually 5 species or less for sale and most
of them in poor condition. I collect most of my plants from the wild.

Limnophile

[thewizardhunter]

What is your favorite aquarium plant? How is the selection of aquarium
plants for sale at your LFS?


Hi there,

I've found a site for those interested in Aquarium plants. Many shops sell bog
plants as aquatic plants. These plants don't do too well in aquariums as they
are only completedly submerged in water for short periods of the year in their
natually habitat. Have a look at http://www.trueaquariumplants.com/

TheWizardHunter

[Eric Schreiber]

wrote:

> What is your favorite aquarium plant?

Right now, my favorite is the Red Melon Sword. This picture should
illustrate why - the one in my tank is gorgeous.

www.ericschreiber.com/aquarium/plant-redmelonsword.html



--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com

[Larry Blanchard]

In article . com>,
says...
> What is your favorite aquarium plant? How is the selection of aquarium
> plants for sale at your LFS?
>
Pygmy chain sword - spreads like mad. Also Echinodorus bleheri
v.Compacta for smaller tanks.

And the local stores are hopeless, except for one that carries a lot,
but the owner insists that none of the stuff I've planted will grow
under my conditions. I planted my 10 gasllon tank with mail-order
plants and will probably do the same for my upcoming 20 -except for the
pygmy chain swords - I'll have plenty of those :-).

--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

[Ross Vandegrift]

On 2005-01-20, Larry Blanchard > wrote:
> In article . com>,
> says...
>> What is your favorite aquarium plant? How is the selection of aquarium
>> plants for sale at your LFS?
>>
> Pygmy chain sword - spreads like mad. Also Echinodorus bleheri
> v.Compacta for smaller tanks.

I was recently impressed by this littel sucker. Picked up two plants
for $1.49 less than a week ago. I almost wouldn't call it "Pygmy"
anymore!

Yea, the LFSes around here deal very poorly in plants. One has a decent
selection and amount, but they basically stick them ni tanks to die.
When they are all dead at the end of the month, they clean out and
reorer. Buying from them is like rehab.

Another has better conditions for their plants while in the store, but
has pretty poor selection. Small, Medium, Large Amazon Swords,
Hygrophilia, and Red Ludwigia. Once I was able to get a Red Tiger
Lotus, and that was a rare event...

--
Ross Vandegrift

"The good Christian should beware of mathematicians, and all those who
make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that the mathematicians
have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and to confine
man in the bonds of Hell."
--St. Augustine, De Genesi ad Litteram, Book II, xviii, 37

[Ross Vandegrift]

On 2005-01-20, Eric Schreiber <> wrote:
> wrote:
>
>> What is your favorite aquarium plant?
>
> Right now, my favorite is the Red Melon Sword. This picture should
> illustrate why - the one in my tank is gorgeous.
>
> www.ericschreiber.com/aquarium/plant-redmelonsword.html

Whoa, that sucker is *goregous*!! As per my last post about the poor
LFS selection, I might just have to see what kind of special orders
places will make for me...


--
Ross Vandegrift

"The good Christian should beware of mathematicians, and all those who
make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that the mathematicians
have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and to confine
man in the bonds of Hell."
--St. Augustine, De Genesi ad Litteram, Book II, xviii, 37

[Victor Martinez]

Eric Schreiber wrote:
> Right now, my favorite is the Red Melon Sword. This picture should
> illustrate why - the one in my tank is gorgeous.

They are very pretty. Mine grew too big for the tank (110g) and I had to
remove it. Luckily, it had a smaller child nearby and I planted that one
in its place. Mine seems to have longer leaves, how much light do you
have in that tank?

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam here:
Email me here:

[Eric Schreiber]

Victor Martinez wrote:

> They are very pretty. Mine grew too big for the tank (110g) and I had
> to remove it. Luckily, it had a smaller child nearby and I planted
> that one in its place.

Some time ago I bought a huge Jade Sword from my LFS. I don't know what
I was thinking, as it was certainly too big for my tank, and cost
something like $18. Naturally, it pretty much died right away. At the
last moment I pulled out what was left and stuck it in a one-gallon jar
of water with a couple of inches of dirt at the bottom. While the main
plant didn't survive, there are at least four small child plants in the
jar now. Still don't know what I'm going to do with them, but for now
maintenance is easy.


> Mine seems to have longer leaves, how much
> light do you have in that tank?

It's a 20 gallon high tank, with an Eclipse hood. The hood has 30
watts. I added more lights in the gap, bringing the total to 56 watts
of compact flourescent lighting.

There are two somewhat poor photos, and an explanation, of the
additional lighting at:
www.ericschreiber.com/aquarium/tank1.html


--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com

[Eric Schreiber]

Larry Blanchard wrote:

> Pygmy chain sword - spreads like mad.

I'd like to try something like that to cover my tank bottom. What kind
of lighting do you have?

Someone from these newsgroups sent me some Indian Stargrass in trade a
while back, but I'm not having much luck with it. I've managed two keep
three tiny plantlets alive, two in a cup by the window and one in my
tank, but I can't say they're doing well.



--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com

[Eric Schreiber]

Ross Vandegrift wrote:

> Whoa, that sucker is goregous!!

I assure you, it has nothing to do with me - just dumb, blind luck that
it does well in my tank.


> As per my last post about the poor LFS selection, I might just have
> to see what kind of special orders places will make for me...

You might consider ordering online. There are numerous reputable
dealers out there. Also, if you have something to offer in trade you
can often find other hobbyists in the newsgroups who can give you some
interesting things.


--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com

[Victor Martinez]

Eric Schreiber wrote:
> There are two somewhat poor photos, and an explanation, of the
> additional lighting at:
> www.ericschreiber.com/aquarium/tank1.html

That is very cool! How do you prevent water from touching the add-on lights?

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam here:
Email me here:

[Nikki Casali]

Victor Martinez wrote:
> Eric Schreiber wrote:
>
>> Right now, my favorite is the Red Melon Sword. This picture should
>> illustrate why - the one in my tank is gorgeous.
>
>
> They are very pretty. Mine grew too big for the tank (110g) and I had to
> remove it. Luckily, it had a smaller child nearby and I planted that one
> in its place. Mine seems to have longer leaves, how much light do you
> have in that tank?
>

Yes, mine has stems which are far too long for the 24" height of my
tank. When the leaves grow too tall they bend over double and make it
very difficult for algae eaters to keep the leaves clean. Mine get
covered in green fuzz and BB algae.

Nikki

[Elaine T]

wrote:
> What is your favorite aquarium plant? How is the selection of aquarium
> plants for sale at your LFS?
>
I'm lucky - I'm blessed with an outstanding LFS. They've had pretty
much every different common plant I've looked for, and they get rare
ones in regularly. The other day I went in and they had a big aquatic
fern that nobody could even identify.

I have two favorite plants. One is Rotala macrantha. I had a healthy
bunch of it growing once and it was so colorful it almost glowed. The
other is a plain old Amazon swordplant. I love the shape and how they
put out runners with baby swordplants along the length of the runner.

--
__ Elaine T __
><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

[Eric Schreiber]

Victor Martinez wrote:

>> www.ericschreiber.com/aquarium/tank1.html

> That is very cool! How do you prevent water from touching the add-on
> lights?

I don't know if you're familiar with the Eclipse hoods or not, but
perhaps you can see from my photos that there is a filter area at the
back. You might be able to make out the two metal hooks I have hanging
from this filter area, into the 'gap' in the Eclipse hood design.
Resting on those two hooks I have a piece of Plexiglass, cut to just a
bit larger than the size of the add-on lighting fixture. The lighting
fixture then rests of the Plexiglass.

It isn't by any means moisture-proof, and no way would it pass a UL
inspection. :-) But, the Eclipse hoods don't make much splashing, and
as long as I'm careful when working in the tank, the fixture stays
pretty well dry. Because of the way it's all jammed in, and the shape I
made the hooks in, it's actually pretty sturdy. I'd really have to
wollop it to knock the add-on fixture into my tank.

I'm surprised that no one makes a commercial add-on similar to this. It
shouldn't be hard to manufacture a reasonably well sealed fixture with
a better hooking system that people could just drop in place.

Here is some truly awful ascii-art that shows the shape of the hook.
This will only work if you're using a fixed font, like Courier, to view
it. The left side hangs into the filter area, and the right side drops
into the gap to support the Plexiglass. Notice the upturn at the far
right, which serves to keep the Plexiglass and fixture from falling off
the hook. While I made this with a pair of thick, stiff wires, someone
with some skill in heating and bending Plexiglass or acrylic could made
a continuous form that served as both hook and splash guard.
__
/ \
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\________________/



--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com

[Victor Martinez]

Eric Schreiber wrote:
> I don't know if you're familiar with the Eclipse hoods or not, but

I have one in my 20g long tank. :)

> It isn't by any means moisture-proof, and no way would it pass a UL
> inspection. :-) But, the Eclipse hoods don't make much splashing, and

If you keep the water level high... :)

My concern actually comes from the top part. Sometimes when the filter
gets a bit clogged up, there is some level of splashing up there. It is
a interesting concept though, I might give it a shot.

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam here:
Email me here:

[Eric Schreiber]

Victor Martinez wrote:

> I have one in my 20g long tank. :)

Ah, good. My explanation wasn't very good, and probably wouldn't make
sense if you weren't familiar with the hood design.

> If you keep the water level high... :)

I have to - I sit next to mine all day, and it drives me nuts with the
noise when the water level gets low.

> My concern actually comes from the top part. Sometimes when the
> filter gets a bit clogged up, there is some level of splashing up
> there.

I do have water spots on the top of the add-on light, which supports
what you're saying. It's not entirely clear in the photos, but I also
attached a strip of Plexiglass to the top of the fixture, mostly to
provide support for the screws and to run the wires through. But it
also works somewhat as a splash guard on the top, too.

Really starting to wish I had skills with heating and shaping plastics,
as I can see some much better design ideas for my fixture. Maybe if I
get bored this Spring I'll play with the idea. After all, the idea of
playing with a blow torch and hot plastic in my garage, well, "a thrill
a minute" is the phrase that comes to mind :)

--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com

[NetMax]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> What is your favorite aquarium plant? How is the selection of aquarium
> plants for sale at your LFS?


You need to specify whether we can grow it or not. That I can grow in my
well water: Hornwort, good old Echinodoras amazonica and tennelus
(grudgingly).

That I can't grow, all Crypts, Riccia, Tiger Lotus, Undulatus... and the
list goes on and on *wipes tear away*.

Big Als and SuperPet would be my plant store choices *if I could, wipes
other eye*.
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Victor Martinez]

NetMax wrote:
> That I can't grow, all Crypts, Riccia, Tiger Lotus, Undulatus... and the

You *can't* grow crypts?!?!?!?!?!?! Mine are like weeds that need
prunning constantly. They're a nuisance... ;-)

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam here:
Email me here:

[Larry Blanchard]

In article >, "Eric Schreiber"
<eric at ericschreiber dot com> says...
> Larry Blanchard wrote:
>
> > Pygmy chain sword - spreads like mad.
>
> I'd like to try something like that to cover my tank bottom. What kind
> of lighting do you have?
>
It's a 10 gallon tank with an incandescent hood, but I replaced the
bulbs with the compact fluorescents with 6500K color temperature. Mine
were AllGlass, but Walmart has some for a lot less.

I bought 6 plants from aquariumplants.com (IIRC) about 2-3 months ago.
I just took 8 plants out for another tank and you can't even see where
they were :-).

--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

[[email protected]]

> Hi there,
>
> I've found a site for those interested in Aquarium plants. Many shops
> sell bog
> plants as aquatic plants. These plants don't do too well in aquariums
> as they
> are only completedly submerged in water for short periods of the year
> in their
> natually habitat. Have a look at http://www.trueaquariumplants.com/
>
> TheWizardHunter
>
>
> --
> thewizardhunter


I think my WEB site is better, but I may be a little biased! There is
actually no information to speak of on that WEB site, look at mine!
www.aquabotanic.com

[Robert Flory]

I grow crypts, but my Java ferns are ragged ;-)
Amazon sword out grew my 55, and I sell micro-chain to the LFS.
Bob

"Victor Martinez" > wrote in message
...
> NetMax wrote:
>> That I can't grow, all Crypts, Riccia, Tiger Lotus, Undulatus... and the
>
> You *can't* grow crypts?!?!?!?!?!?! Mine are like weeds that need prunning
> constantly. They're a nuisance... ;-)
>
> --
> Victor M. Martinez
> Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
> Send your spam here:
> Email me here:

[Larry Blanchard]

In article >,
says...
> I grow crypts, but my Java ferns are ragged ;-)
>

I only have one Java Fern. It's kind of ugly with pups growing on every
other leaf. I'm going to use a few, but than I guess I'll just start
removing them as they appear.


--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

[Morten]

"Limnophile" > wrote in message
...
>
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > What is your favorite aquarium plant? How is the selection of aquarium
> > plants for sale at your LFS?
> >
>
> My favorite aquatic plant is Java fern , it's nearly unkillable.

Ha, tell that to my goldfish, they eat them like there was no tomorrow...


/Morten




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[[email protected]]

Howdy,

For me, it's got to be anacharis. I love anything that grows like a
weed, and especially this plant. When I was a kid I could never grow
it (!) and now that I'm clueful it grows like mad. Most satisfying.

Runner up has to be the simple amazon sword, or maybe java moss.

Hey, I never said I am a connoisseur, did I? :)

As to the LFS, it's not actually that bad. Better than any place I've
seen, in fact, though I've never seen a place that's super-serious
about plants. The shop, New World Aquarium in Manhattan, usually has
about 10-15 varieties of plants, and they're not beyond hope when I
take them home. Most, in fact, are in decent shape all things
considered.

If you're in Manhattan, it's worth a peek. They're on 38th street
between 2nd and 3rd avenues. They also have sal****er stuff, and a
good selection of cichlids, but I never really look at either.
--
Trapper, in snowy NYC