Has anyone looked in a local pond, stream or river?

[JohnSmith]

I mean come on guys/gals, if you live in California, Florida, Texas, etc. there are abundant plants for your aquariums. Some are natural to the continent, some have been introduced--i.e., someone has dumped their aquarium in there and it has taken over. In California, millions are spent each year in attempts to eradicate these "weeds." Gessh, a lot of people employ themselves pulling these "weeds" out of the rivers and selling them to fish stores. Make it a family thing, go explore for new plants to add ... do the proper quarantine first, of course--before introducing them to you aquariums ... where do you think these plants originally came from? God had an aquarium and gave a seller some? <grin>

Regards,
JS

[aquaholic]

I was fishing one one lake and kept on pulling out a plants that look identical to onion plant, I wanted to take one home but was afraid to get somekind of bad desease or something into my tank.

[Bk828]

only if some of the more tropical plants grew in the northern usa....

[JohnSmith]

I was fishing one one lake and kept on pulling out a plants that look identical to onion plant, I wanted to take one home but was afraid to get somekind of bad desease or something into my tank.

You think the guy in Singapore or India or Africa or So. America, etc. worries ... <grin>

Regards,
JS

[aquaholic]

well I thought they somehow properly quarantine them to kill bacteria.

[jmhart]

Ponds and streams are great places to pick up plants. Florida has an abundance of crypts(alien) and ludwigia(native) species. Additionally, in Florida, you can pick up olive nerite snails without even trying...just find your local tidal pool and keep your eye open.

Unfortunately, most of the more popular plants won't survive the winter above the 37th parallel.

John, Tom Barr leads an "expedition" every summer to Florida for collecting and touring to see these plants in their "natural" habitat.

We have a number of plant specimen's floating around our local plant club that have come from all over the world. Many of our members travel to SE Asia on a regular basis. We have a few moss species that are otherwise unidentified....nothing really spectacular. One we call "Baja Moss" because, well, it came from Baja. Not really useful expect for fry. Another one is "amano" moss, given to a member from Amano. Amano just calls it "moss".

[aquaholic]

Well maybe I should get me a mask and some flippers and do some snorkling next summer:) to bad John Smith gave the idea to late this season.

[Riiz]

I've personally collected Ludwigia repens locally, I did that back in when I was in high school and couldnt afford a single piece of manufactured equipment, besides the tank.

Oh, those days of kittlylitter substrate, t12 shoplights and many many bottle of diy co2. It was fun, but I missed a crucial step, I didnt fertilize besides the $10 bottle of micronutrients and always wondered why I didnt have success for long, lol.

[JohnSmith]

Ponds and streams are great places to pick up plants. Florida has an abundance of crypts(alien) and ludwigia(native) species. Additionally, in Florida, you can pick up olive nerite snails without even trying...just find your local tidal pool and keep your eye open.

Unfortunately, most of the more popular plants won't survive the winter above the 37th parallel.

John, Tom Barr leads an "expedition" every summer to Florida for collecting and touring to see these plants in their "natural" habitat.

We have a number of plant specimen's floating around our local plant club that have come from all over the world. Many of our members travel to SE Asia on a regular basis. We have a few moss species that are otherwise unidentified....nothing really spectacular. One we call "Baja Moss" because, well, it came from Baja. Not really useful expect for fry. Another one is "amano" moss, given to a member from Amano. Amano just calls it "moss".

I knew there was a reason I liked you, took me awhile to figure it out ... from here on out, I will call you, "Bwana Jmhart!" <grin>

Regards,
JS

[Jag1980]

MY wife is from Indonesia, If anyone know what type of plants come from there I might be able to get one of her lazy family members to get some plants out of the river in there back yard. Can't import fish since you can't take water on the plane from there.. They feed the Giant Gouramis in their back yard all the time.

[JohnSmith]

MY wife is from Indonesia, If anyone know what type of plants come from there I might be able to get one of her lazy family members to get some plants out of the river in there back yard. Can't import fish since you can't take water on the plane from there.. They feed the Giant Gouramis in their back yard all the time.

You hit upon it. Plants would be absolutely dirt cheap from the areas they come from ... but, due to quarantine, regulations, controls, etc. we see them as expensive and unique ... capitalism--don't ya' just luv it?

However, some have already dumped these "weeds" into our streams ... somehow, God works to balance all this ... LOL

Regards,
JS

[DAVIDFBT]

The only plant I've seen in ponds here are bunches of hornwort about 6 feet long. :D

[jmhart]

Aracharis grows pretty crazy in the Truckee River where it leaves Lake Tahoe. Kind of surprising given how cold the water is, and the cold winter.


The problem with the idea of shipping plants from SE Asia is to make it worth it you need to ship a decent amount. The amount it takes to make it worth it to ship puts you in the realm of wholesale quantities...

[bkw1982]

It's fun collecting from different water ways. I suggest a bit of caution, as I found out just sticking ur hand in a river to pull plants is a bad idea. I now use gloves, clamps and nets to collect. Also be sure that the area you pick is not protected

Plants ive collected so far that haven't died.
Sagittaria platyphylla
Hydrocotyle verticillata ( i think, it's not doing well.)
Something that looks like hornwort, not sure.

Fish i seen/collected
*Sailfin mollies
*Something that looks like guppies.
*One of the local creeks actually have some thing that looks like cichlids. Prob sume idiot who dumped their tank. They seem to have a good population too, ive counted atleast 10 at one time.
*common plecs, more tank dumps

If i ever can find a group in San Antonio i would love to go to some of the larger areas.

This is the site i use for my IDs http://plants.usda.gov

[jmhart]

Up in Napa you can find Dwarf Livebearers(Heterandria formosa)

[Notophthalmus]

You don't have to be in the subtropical parts of the US to find plants. I've collected Ceratophyllum, Elodea, Riccia, Ricciocarpus, Chara, Nitella, various aquatic mosses and macroalgae, Echinodorus, Sagittaria, Ludwigia, Azolla, Lemna, Spirodela, Wolffia, Vallisneria, Cabomba, Polygonum, Potamogeton, Pontaderia, Lobelia, Saururus, Juncus, Heteranthera, Callitriche, etc. right in my neighborhood. All these plants are native here and throughout much of the eastern US.

I have also collected exotics like Hydrilla verticillata, Bidens tripartita, and Myriophyllum spicatum. If I had a place to put them, I could collect larger native pond and bog plants such as Nymphaea, Nelumbo, Equisetum, Sparganium, Carex, Cyperus, Typha, and so on. It's amazing what you'll find if you look!

[JohnSmith]

Up in Napa you can find Dwarf Livebearers(Heterandria formosa)

There is a subdivision in Stockton, CA. It is called "Quail Lakes." In the center is a very large pond; there are black and red pacu in it. It is possible to catch the youngsters in a minnow trap placed in the pond.

I love Pacu, but when they get so big they can't turn around in a large tank ... it ain't fun no more ....

Regards,
JS

[Darkness9876]

I collect hornwort to sell to my lfs and I am going to see they would also be interested in the micro rushes and arrowroot that grow around my pond.

[lilim10]

I see way too much hornwort around here...thats about all I see!

[oscarluvr]

bkw1982 what lake or river are you going to around san antonio?

[Dan06]

Most lakes and a lot of rivers in my area are either polluted or treated chemically for weed control....

[abcdefghi]

I have thought about collecting some plants from a nearby pond, I have no idea yet what they are but they completely coat the bottom of the pond and look like an underwater forest. Might try to get pictures on a clear day for some ID.

[bkw1982]

bkw1982 what lake or river are you going to around san antonio?

Ive collected from a creek that runs through downtown, this is where i first started. Alot of bog plants and broadleaf sag. Some parts are heavily polluted so i don't vist there much anymore.

Parts of the San Antonio river that run through brackenridge park.

Mitchell lake-shhh don't tell anyone,i don't think i was supposed to :)

Woodlawn lake-not much there, where i saw some of the hornwort looking stuff. Mostly garbage

I wanna get out to canyon lake to see whats out there, or maybe to New Braunfels. There are so many waterways and lakes to choose from. I was looking for someone who is more experianced at it then i am to help me pick good spots that aren't polluted lol.

[Que]

You hit upon it. Plants would be absolutely dirt cheap from the areas they come from ... but, due to quarantine, regulations, controls, etc. we see them as expensive and unique ... capitalism--don't ya' just luv it?

However, some have already dumped these "weeds" into our streams ... somehow, God works to balance all this ... LOL

Regards,
JS

You need more research. Introduced plants have devastated many lakes all across the US. Here is one.

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/weeds/hyacinth.html

Dumped plants have UPSET the BALANCE that was established over millions of years.

I really hope I am misunderstanding you in that you seem to think it's OK. It is if you want to gather some free plants. It's not if you think there is no problem with invasive plants destroying long established eco systems.

Q

[jpappy789]

All the plants up here are...not great...:D

[aquaholic]

Well how about someone telling us how to introduce these plants into the tanks safely, without really screwing things up?? I might visit my cuz'ns house who has a huge creek running through his propertie. I asked him about plants and he said he wouldnt do it because he once added a freshwater mussel and a couple plants and his whole 55g tank died of in less that a week. He didnt know which it was but that does frighten me to try and throw something in my tank.

[bkw1982]

I get them home, rense them under tap water to get all the dirt and what not off, then i do a bleach dip, followed by a rinse in water with an OD of prime. After that i stick em in a 10g tank to make sure nothing crawls off. Eventually it gets moved to another tank to see if will grow.

This works for me so far.

[Darkness9876]

I get them home, rense them under tap water to get all the dirt and what not off, then i do a bleach dip, followed by a rinse in water with an OD of prime. After that i stick em in a 10g tank to make sure nothing crawls off. Eventually it gets moved to another tank to see if will grow.

This works for me so far.

What not. The quintessential english phrase.

Goes well in the sentence.
You know with the what not and so on and so forth.

Underused and underappreciated.


As for my collected plants I wash them off, bleach them, wash them off and drop them in the tank.

[Wycco]

How dillute does one make the bleach dip- and how long does one bleach-dip for- and what not and so forth?

[247Plants]

Wow...old thread bump.

Usually its about 20:1

[Wycco]

Wow...old thread bump.

Usually its about 20:1


Yes it is an old thread :) ... followed it off a link on the bottom of a recent thread!

Seemed the right place to ask. I've never been worried about bleaching plant from fellow aquarists that seem to be trustworthy and have good feedback ratios- but searching local streams and ponds is something I've been considering for a while and I would want to be fairly sure I'm not bringing back any beasties.

Anyhow- after seeing so many people talk about bleach dips over the months I was just curious how strong to make it...

... thank you!


How long do you dip for? Or, is it literally just a "dip".

[deeleywoman]

old thread, yes, but a good one to revive! =)

[TechAquaria]

I live in the central valley of California. They have been running massive 'weed' eradication campaigns here, to rid the Delta of non-native 'problem plants.'

Suddenly, bunches of elodea which use to cost $1.99-$2.50 a large bunch have more than doubled in price, and just about half-ed in size! Some other plants have done about the same.

I bet you think I spend a lot of time wondering why.:huh: LOL!

Regards,
TA

[froglover007]

I was fishing at a lake in BC and it was packed full of Eurasian Milfoil.

[excuzzzeme]

What's a plant? Better yet what does "aquarium" mean???











:D

[froglover007]

um... this is a hard one.:huh:

[steffish]

Local ponds have ludwegia, cabomba, elodea, hornwort, bladderwort,hairgrass, and the banks are full of bog plants-lobelia, sphagnum moss, sundews, fourleaf clover, more hairgrass... While SO is busy feeding worms to the fish:) , I'm busy checking out the shoreline! I keep the pond plants in a separate tank so I can see what crawls out of them! Of course, after seeing all the little critters I am getting reluctant to go in the water!

[Death Pony]

I was thinking of grabbing a few of these amphibious plants that grow in the ditches behind of the the residence halls of my school.