finally started

[Mr Burns]

i just got back from the lfs (family owned by a close relative) with some healthy Egeria densa (anacharis) and Hygrophila polysperma (green hydro). i got a couple bunches of each for two bucks, and of course i had the pronunciations wrong...

i figured that i'm going to need quite a bit of both of these plants once my new tank is ready to setup, so i might as well save some money and start growing it myself. hopefully these will stand up against my clown loaches and establish themselves. the 'evil trio' are already inspecting the anacharis like food but haven't started chomping away at it. if i start hearing the clicks, and there's no zuchini or algae wafers in the tank, i'm going to be upset.

 

[Mr Burns]

lol...after watching the tank closely for a while, my only hope is that the hygro can grow faster than the loaches can nibble at it...

 

[Guest]

HyGro, with a "G" , Burnsie!

I had no idea that clownies ate any kind of plants, I thought they were carnivores.

 

[Mr Burns]

hehe...but that's what i said originally! [edit]

the clowns are omnivores...they go nuts over normal tetra flakes, zuc, algae wafers (spirulina), bloodworms (live and freeze dried), and the frozen hikari food (mostly creepy crawly things). hell, they even went nuts over broccoli, so you know there is something seriously wrong with their appetite.

sorry if i'm getting all these typos...i have a massively important exam tomorrow, and if i don't pass i have to drop the class. to say that my brain is fried would be an understatement.

 

[Mr Burns]

after a few days of CO2, 1.9wpg lighting, and pleco-protection behind a piece of drift(plastic)wood, the hyGro ::glances at CC:: is getting very green and starting to mend its clown-loach-inflicted-wounds. the anacharis has a lot of new growth and seems to be doing very well. pH seems low, around 6.4 would be my best guess from these stupid color tests. i figured it is simply an effect of the CO2, but would it be anything to be concerned about? i'm actually surprised and happy to finally have a pH in the 6 range -for once- without having added a single drop of pH-down in about a month.

 

[betowess]

You have hungry clowns, of course, they are always hungry pigs. Mine don't touch Hygros or any of my plants, but they love to school with the Ottos, or Swordtails, or the lone Gourami. Go figure. I guess thats why we all love the Clownie Boys so much. I'll have to try the brocoli for my little piggies. They are indeed, my favs. Good luck with the exam!!

 

[Mr Burns]

they clowns seem to have backed off all of the plants. i attached a healthy bunch of java jern to a large rock today. it already has a strong root structure, so i just tied it down with some cotton thread. aside from the main bunch, there are three other 3" sections of the rhizome that i attached to the rock. they were showing signs of new growth so hopefully in a week or two everything will anchor itself and take off!

 

[betowess]

Are you sure it wasn't your pleco that was nailing your plants. Just doesn't sound like Clowns? You are right about omnivores, as mine love to eat flakes too.

 

[Mr Burns]

the pleco was only knocking the plants around and uprooting them. they are on the right side of the tank behind a piece of driftwood so it can't knock them around now. i know it was the clowns because i watched them take bites out of the leaves...then i'd chace them away, but then remember you're not going to change a fish's behavior like a dog or cat.