Got some new plants!

[An t-iasg]

I went to the hatchery on Friday and got tons of plants! I'm looking at them now and thinking that I have enough to start my own plant store!

I'll be planting them between two 5-gallon betta tanks and one Eclipse 5 gallon hex. Right now, the plants are in critter keepers. I will wait a week before planting for any snails to crawl off, and any snail eggs to hatch. Is a week long enough? There were pond snails in the plant tank, and also MTS. I would like some of the MTS but I don't want them to overrun the small tanks. I may still take them out if I find them.

Here's the list of plants:
Echinodorus angustifolius
Lagarosiphon madagascariensis
Cryptocoryne lutea, C. wendti
Anubias nana "petite"
Sunset hygro
Bacopa - moneywort
Narrow leaf saggitaria
Last but not least -- java moss, for "betta beds" !

I''ll put the moneywort and the sunset hygro in the hex tank, since it has a little more light than the other 5 gallon tanks. I'd like to try a piece in the other 5 gallon tanks too, since the bettas would love to hide in them. Wish me luck with all these plants!

 

[travis simonson]

That's a nice selection of plants I'm especially interested in seeing the Lagarosiphon madagascariensis, it's pretty uncommon and I've never kept it before. Anubias nana "Petite" is also a hard one to come by. I'm slowly propagating some in my large tank but it grows as slowly as regular Anubias and it is taking a while. Hope to see some pics once you get things planted

 

[An t-iasg]

Thanks, Travis! I have to admit I'm a bit apprehensive about the L. madagascariensis. This plant was in a 40 gallon breeder show tank at the hatchery, and it was filling in the back quite well. The hatchery manager cuts quite a bit from the show tank and puts it in the sale tanks. So...I'm wondering if I'm getting into trouble with it in 5 gallon tanks. We'll see! If I can keep it under control, the bettas will love it!

 

[czcz]

Good luck, An t-iasg. Just googled some of your plants: they're very pretty. Sunset hygro especially. Please post back on your success.

Your bettas in your gallery are pretty too

 

[krap101]

where ive seen it its been pretty expensive

 

[Billsgate]

Wow, all that in 3 5gal tanks?
Good luck with your plants, and try to take some pics once all has been planted!

About the mts, just throw them in. How many you will end up with will depend on how much food get's to the bottom of the tank. My algae wafers are kinda messy and tend to dissolve into tiny particles rather quickly, so only half of it is eaten by the fish. I have literally 100's of mts in both my tanks, but I hardly ever see them, they mostly come out at night, and there seems to be very little effect on the bioload. They don't eat my plants. So I'm ok with them being there.

 

[An t-iasg]

Thanks, everyone!

Thomas, I think my 5 gallon tanks are going to end up looking like your overgrown tank in your other thread! That will be great, but I'll do my best to keep on top of it!

czcz, in the show tank at the hatchery, there were some blue-eyed rainbows. The waterflow in this tank is quite fast, even though CO2 is injected. The rainbows were in a group, right at the filter outflow, just hovering in the fast water! The madagascariensis was very pretty as it swayed in this current. My betta tanks hardly have any water movement (just a sponge filter) but I'm sure this plant will be pretty in my tank too -- I'll just have to keep on top of its growth!

 

[czcz]

Thank for the info about the blue-eyes

 

[greenmaji]

Im curious about this hatchery your talking about.. Do you work there or visit? What kind of fish do they produce? Did they have too many plants that needed thinning out?

 

[gheitman]

That is a really nice selection of plants you have An t-iasg. Putting those in three 5g tanks won't leave much room for fish though

 

[An t-iasg]

Gene -- I know, I may have gone a little overboard! But it will be fun to put the tanks together. What I'll probably do is plant the two 5.5 gallon betta tanks and put the remainder of the plants, especially the higher-light ones, in the 5 gallon hex, just floating in there. In about a month, I hope to start a 10 gallon tank, and then I'll divide the remaining plants between the 5 hex and the 10.

I thought I got a Lace Java fern too, but I can't find it now! Maybe it's stuck between all the hygros!

greenmagi -- Here is a link to the hatchery that I go to. It's a great place!

 

[krap101]

ive seen those pics on aquabid. does he aquabid stuff or are people using his pics? or am i so screwed up right now that i cant tell the difference :/

 

[gheitman]

Personally I don't think that you can ever have too many plants. I would like to have them growing from one side of the tank to the other with driftwood and rocks covered in between.

 

[An t-iasg]

Danny, the owner of the hatchery has been on Aquabid before, but not recently. Whenever he is able to resume shipping again (as stated on his website) he may get on Aquabid again.

Update: I found the lace java ferns! They are so small. They were mixed among the crypts.

Gene -- my tanks may test your theory! They won't look so crowded when I first plant, but it's the fast growth in only 5 gallons that I'll have to keep on top of.

 

[TankGirl]

Congrats on your new plants, Deb! You have a very interesting selection and I can't wait to see pics.

I also love the betta pics in your gallery!