carpet plants (not wanting to steal other thread)

[JPKeenan]

OK, friend of mine has a pond on his property. Was also thinking about streams near by....

I was wondering how bad it would be if I took a moss covered rock from a pond (we are getting close to first frost so I need to act quick) that has moss on it and added it to my tanks.... or cut off a bit of moss and placed them on rocks in my tanks.

I live in a fairly cold climate and was wondering if I should experiment and do this or if anyone else has and will slap my hand with a ruler like a mad nun for doing something stupid!

I figure it might be a cheap way to get some mossy rocks to put in my tank and have some places for fry to hide as well as have my algae eaters munch.

 

[meegosh]

If all you are after is some moss then I'm sure some other members could send you some. I threw out a basketball sized chunk of java moss a month ago or so... should've divided it up and sent it out instead of trashing it. I'll have more in a few months, I have both java and xmas moss.

I'm always skeptical about adding anything to my tank - Especially if it is found out in the wild. It may not hurt your tank but if there is some kind of pollutant on it, I would be devastated if it wiped out my tank. Just my $0.02!

 

[JPKeenan]

errr I am impatient.

Actually might be passing by your way on the weekend of the 17th. When I am finally going to drop off the tank for my daughter. Got 5 fish in it for her. 3 male platies and 2 zerba danio. I hope they survive the trip cause I have no idea where a pet store near Shade Gap would be.

Told her that maybe come the summer if she is still interested in fish that I would try to upgrade her tank and get her going with some live plants.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, stupid me got some bog plants instead of submersable plants so I need to return them before work.

 

[jsoong]

And "mossy rocks" in streams are more likely algae than moss (at least at my neck of the woods.) Unless you are sure of ID, and willing to QT the wild specimen, meegosh's offer is much safer.

 

[Etunes]

Also be careful on just pealing moss of rocks. Most mosses on rocks next to streams are not completely aquatic and will just rot in your tank over time creating ammonia issues.

 

[JPKeenan]

true might just wait it out till someone has some extra and wants to get rid of it.

 

[mgamer20o0]

well all the plants came from somewhere. i wouldnt add them directly to the tank. make sure you have a qt for it.

 

[JPKeenan]

I been reading a little on PlantGeek about dipping the plants but wondering how it would work on mosses.

No one thinks about a QT until something very bad happens.

 

[Robert H]

I have a moss that I think is actually a Fissidens sp, that a friend of mine collected from a stream in Washington. He said it was growing both above the water and underwater. After three weeks each frong sprouted a fresh new frong, bright green. I have it attached to rocks with thread and also with netting on other rocks. Those that are tied have the old growth standing erect on the rock with the thread wrapped aound the base. This is where the old growth is sprouting new growth. On the rocks with netting, the old growth was laid across the rock with the netting ontop of it, flattening it out. New growth is popping up thru the netting.

Try to find moss that is growing underwater. You should be able to tell the difference between moss and algae.

If you want to disinfect the moss before putting it in your aquarium, I formulated a product called Aqua-clean which is a concentrated mix of potassium permanganate. This will kill any parasite, pathogen, algae or other contaminant. I have a couple people who have used it specifically for wild collected plants with great success.

 

[JPKeenan]

Hopefully with it being in the 40's last night it hasn't killed off the aquatic plants here in Ohio.

Hard to describe, the mosses tend to be a bit more lighter green and more "fluffly" than algae.

I do have a little bit of algae in my one 20g tank. It stays nicely on a few rocks and the terracotta pots. Nice color contrast and the SAE like it, so far I haven't had a huge outbreak of it so will keep it where it is.

I do have a tank I am cycling and might end up trying to test the plants out in there first.

I have heard a few dip methods. I am not sure I want to try the 1:19 bleach. I wish I could find the article or two I saw about the peroxide dip.

 

[Robert H]

Here is a list of the "dip" type products and methods;

Aqua Botanic-Disinfecting Plants

Here is an article about the bleach method written by the gentleman who invented it over ten years ago

Aqua Botanic-Plants and bleach

Bleach is not a safe way to treat plants, and is usually done as a last resort to get rid of hair algae, not to kill parasites and pathogens. bleach kills plants too, and any plant that has very little body mass, plants with very thin stems and leaves will be the most sensitive to it.

 

[JPKeenan]

yeah bleach kills just about everything .

Plus even with rinsing it off afterwards I would be concerned about the extra chlorine going into the tank.

 

[meegosh]

Bleach didn't kill my vals, I used a 1:19 mix. It didn't kill all the snail eggs though. Just a FWIW!

 

[jsoong]

I have heard a few dip methods. I am not sure I want to try the 1:19 bleach. I wish I could find the article or two I saw about the peroxide dip.

Bleach killed all the leaves of my Vals. They all melted like crypt melt. I did not dip the roots, so the plants did came back after a fashion.

Peroxide is NOT any safer than bleach. I did an experiment on some of my extras. And basically, any plants that is sensitive to Excel, is also sensitive to Bleach, and also sensitive to H2O2. <At least on the samples I have - Vals & hornworts.>

 

[JPKeenan]

I took a chance on the last plants I got and looked for snail egg sacks... so far lucking out but it has only been a few days.