Taking plants/seaweed from Lake?

[jbarr]

Hi, I just recently visited my cabin in northern MN.

I was wondering, I brought back some seaweed and this long grassy looking plant. I stuck them in the gravel of my tank, hoping they'll grow. If they don't, then whatever. But,

is that bad? Can any parasites or bad things come from plants?

I have a 30 gal. W/ a pleco, small Tiger Oscar, and a goldfish.


any help appreciated. i'm pretty new to aquariums

 

[Buffalo Bill]

There is more to growing plants than sticking any ole plants into a tank.

1)lighting..Typical tank lights need to be upgraded to produce enough lumens.

2)substrate..Needs to have nutrients to feed the plant

3)fertilizer dosing. again to feed the plant

A good place to start is reading the stickys on the forum this will get you in the right direction.

 

[Buffalo Bill]

Oh Yea...WELCOME to AA this is definetly the place to get your advice!!

 

[MattAquaBio]

And yes, parasites and other hitchhikers can ride in on the plants.

 

[Purrbox]

You'd want to carefully inspect the plants and either treat them or quarentine them before adding them to your main tank. In addition you should make sure that there aren't any regulations prohibiting the collection of these plants.

 

[JDogg]

not to be a scrooge but

Under Minnesota law, aquatic plants growing in public waters are the property of the state. Because of their value to the lake ecosystem, they may not be destroyed or transplanted unless authorized by the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/shorelandmgmt/apg/regulations.htmli do not know if this holds true infront of you own cabin

us this page to id your plants http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/nr/plants/aquatic/index.html
also i hope you are not spreading one of the many invasive species to new water...Eurasian water millfoil look kind of like hornwort if you are not careful

just an FYI

 

[jbarr]

Thanks for all the help. Yes I figured there may have been some regulations against that. Novice mistake, I have removed the plants from my tank. Thanks all.

 

[Lepomis]

Collecting plants can be a rewarding. As mentioned just follow guidelines and take precautions to "clean"/quaratine collected items.

 

[mr funktastic]

perhaps we need to talk about your tropical oscar and your cold water goldfish in the same tank lol. how big is this tank and how many watts. maybe we can help u get some plants to suit your tank. plants are always a good thing to have.

 

[jbarr]

Well my tank I keep at a steady 79 degrees. And my Oscar is at the top of my list when it comes to fishes needs. My goldfish has lived in this water for about 2 years now, been very healthy (aside from a recent ICH breakout). I dom't know how many watts, but I'm planning on getting a new bulb asap. What is good wattage for easily sustaned plants, a pleco, and an oscar?

 

[JDogg]

I dom't know how many watts, but I'm planning on getting a new bulb asap. What is good wattage for easily sustaned plants, a pleco, and an oscar?

this is a 30 gal if i read you first post right...if you are interested in live plants (which i do encourage, you should snoop around in the planted tank forum.)

if you are not interested in adding co2 to you tank then you can grow most types of live plants at around 2 watts per gallon. if you have a 30 gallon tank you will need around 60 watts of light. there are different ways to get that...but i would look at the planted tank forum before you go out and buy anything!

Edit: I notice you are in Edina...if you have not already you should really check out 'A World of Fish', GREAT Selection, VERY knowledgable staff!!

 

[rich311k]

Just wanted to throw out there that Oscars do not like greenery even plastic greenery, when he gets a little bigger he will start ripping them up. I would not worry to much about the goldfish, since once the O has enough size, he will take care of that problem for you.

You are going to need a bigger tank soon Oscars grow very quickly, within a year he should be pushing 8" and he will be very cramped in that tank.