Questions...

[bruinsbro1997]

1. What do y'all think about my plant list?
As a Carpet Effect:
-glossotigma
For the Foreground:
-pygmy chain sword
For the Middle:
-water trumpet
-dwarf saggitaria
-Blyxa Japonica
For the Background:
-amazon sword
-Ludwiga respens
-rotala indica
-water wisteria
-sunset hygro
I narrowed it down from a lot of plants I wanted, so I'm not sure if I can narrow it down anymore...I really like all of them and would hate to see them go!

2. How do you plant glossotigma? Every time I see it at the pet store it looks like some sort of underwater herb and looks more like a bush than a carpet.

3. My light fixture is AquaSun T5-HO Double Light Linear Fluorescent Hoods==. Should that be sufficient for the plants I want?

4. I wanted to use a terra cotta pot as a cave but it looks tacky IMO. Anyway to cover it up with plants by using java moss or something and having it stay on permanently?

5. Is organic potting soil or some other type of soil okay for planted tanks?

6. If the answer to the previous question is yes then can I mix the soil with Eco-Complete and sand as a substrate/

7. There is no CO2 running in this tank but are there any liquid ferts that provide CO2? I think Flourish Excel is one, not sure though.

Thank you for any answers you have!

 

[Dangora]

I'm not much help, I know, but I thought I'd share an idea about the terra cotta pot. You could tie the java moss down with some sort of line or string. I personally would maybe even drill small holes (if you have a drill us a masonry bit). I say that because I think it would give the moss a better hold if it rooted through small holes. Another plant you could use is riccia. Just an idea though, take it for what it's worth. Sorry about my lack of knowledge for the other questions. I have a couple of good books on plants that I would be happy to research for you.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

I'm not much help, I know, but I thought I'd share an idea about the terra cotta pot. You could tie the java moss down with some sort of line or string. I personally would maybe even drill small holes (if you have a drill us a masonry bit). I say that because I think it would give the moss a better hold if it rooted through small holes. Another plant you could use is riccia. Just an idea though, take it for what it's worth. Sorry about my lack of knowledge for the other questions. I have a couple of good books on plants that I would be happy to research for you.

I could try tying it with some regular old string. Would that work?

If not, what is riccia?

 

[Dangora]

Yeah regular string shouldn't be a problem. Another good thing would probably be like sewing thread, it's pretty thin, and you could get a color close to terra cotta probably.

Riccia (aka Crystalwort; Riccia fluitans) is a liverwort, so it's flowerless. Riccia is very similar to java moss, and is another incredibly easy plant to keep. Max height is under an inch, but you need to be careful it doesn't grow out of control - it grows well in a wide range of water conditions. Medium light is preferred, so maybe 10-12 hours a day? Try not to plant anything underneath Riccia if you chose it. This is a great plant for breeding anabantoids as well. Riccia attaches to objects and itself to form a very nice colony, and you can even mix it with java moss. That would look cool, half the pot with java moss and half with riccia. Riccia will probably just grow over the string too, I don't think you'll have to cut the string at all; however netting is suggested in one of my books. I'll try to include some nice pictures:

Nice picture for size:

Looking at some other websites, people complain particularly about how quick it grows (so it needs pruning often) and that it comes loose, because it is a natural floater, so make sure you tie it down if chose to use it.

Hope this helps!
-Danny

 

[Dangora]

Also, here's a picture of riccia on driftwood (off aquabid)

(Photo property of Chambers3530 on aquabid)

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Oh very cool! I would definitely want to do half ricca and half java moss. Is it commonly available? My LFS has a tank just full of java moss so if they don't have ricca java moss is always an option.

 

[Dangora]

I can't say for your area but in my area, most of the local places are crappy and small, not to mention far away, and not many particularly care about plants. All my plant needs are going to be done through the internet. Plus it grows so fast, I'm sure some people on here would send you some if you just pay for shipping. If I had any I would definitely do that for you, but unfortunately my tanks are currently empty

If you have a good lfs, they might have, for I think it's fairly common. It's around $10 for a good amount on aquabid (some with free shipping).

Good luck with whatever you chose!
-Danny