View Full Version : Too much java moss?
yhbae
12-16-2003, 11:11 PM
I have a 10g platy breeder tank with some adult fishes (5 adults). Obviously my intention is to keep some fries live long enough for me to detect and catch them out.
Originally java moss occupied about 1/8 of the tank, and even with this mount, this tank never saw any ammonia or nitrite. No nitrates either.
I looked at the tank again today carefully and just realized that now it occupies almost 2/3 of the tank! Even the density has increased, I can hardly see through the mass...
That got me somewhat worried... Would this be ok for the fishes? During the night, I'd imagine java moss will suck in O2. I do have AquaClear Mini on it which creates surface disturbance, would this be sufficient?
Are there any other "side effects" that I should be aware of in this "heavily planted tank"?
Trying to be cautious... :D
dethjam316
12-16-2003, 11:23 PM
plants don't suck in too much oxygen at night...though some occurs do to respiration. the benefit of added O2 throughout the day surely outweights that. i can't imagine any negative impact from that, really, as long as it didn't occupy most of the water column! i don't think it'd be a problem.
dethjam316
12-16-2003, 11:24 PM
an addition: of course, all that java moss should increase the survival of your fry by a huge amount...perhaps too much!
yhbae
12-16-2003, 11:58 PM
No need to worry about too much fries - I have a separate tank just for that purpose. I can take almost any number of surviving fries.
It seems that for most things in this life, too much of anything is not good so I was curious in this case...:D
Another curious thing about this tank - there's alot of algae growing on the glass! I would have thought that java moss will easily drain everything algae needs but that's not what is happening...
At least the two otos in the tank are happy and always full... :D So far, I didn't have to supply any additional food just for otos.
travelinman1969
12-17-2003, 12:27 AM
Just curious, but what are u planning to do with the frys? I've been down that road before and you can get overwhelmed real quick. I always left a hiding spot at the top and bottom, and he who survives is worthy of being there. If you try to save every one, have a LFS that is willing to take em, cause population gets to be an issue quick. I had swords, mollies, guppies, platties, etc., they're worst than rabbits, lol.
travelinman1969
12-17-2003, 12:29 AM
Just saw the part on the algae situation. How close to a window is the tank? Is the sun shift maybe getting to the tank now? I had to close a drape for the winter because the sun was hitting the tank in the late afternoon.
Java Moss is generally considered a slower growing plant and therefore doesn't use nutrients from the water column as quickly as stem plants like hornwort and water sprite. Fry tanks can get high nutrient levels quickly due to overfeeding (I find this easy to do in my platy tank). Perhaps more frequent water changes will help slow down both the algae and the moss growth.
Wippit Guud
12-17-2003, 3:18 PM
Where in Canada are you?
You could ship me some, we have a distinct lack of it round these parts,
Originally posted by travelinman1969
Just curious, but what are u planning to do with the frys? I've been down that road before and you can get overwhelmed real quick. I always left a hiding spot at the top and bottom, and he who survives is worthy of being there. If you try to save every one, have a LFS that is willing to take em, cause population gets to be an issue quick. I had swords, mollies, guppies, platties, etc., they're worst than rabbits, lol.
I sell the 3 months old fries back to LFS for store credits. So far so good... :D
I still have more tank space than the amount of fishes overall, so I'm not going to worry about that, yet...
Originally posted by travelinman1969
Just saw the part on the algae situation. How close to a window is the tank? Is the sun shift maybe getting to the tank now? I had to close a drape for the winter because the sun was hitting the tank in the late afternoon.
It is actually located in my basement room - it is pretty dark even on a sunny day. On the other hand, I do have 15w light on it for about 14 hours per day so that could be the reason, I'm not sure...
Originally posted by TKOS
Java Moss is generally considered a slower growing plant and therefore doesn't use nutrients from the water column as quickly as stem plants like hornwort and water sprite. Fry tanks can get high nutrient levels quickly due to overfeeding (I find this easy to do in my platy tank). Perhaps more frequent water changes will help slow down both the algae and the moss growth.
Generally, I feed them flakes (only once or twice a week), BBS, freeze dried daphnia, and freeze dried brine shrimps. Would any of these leech nutrients fast?
Remember, this is a breeder tank, not a grow out tank. I have 5 adults plus fries that are no older than few weeks (no idea how many, since they usually hide in java moss). Once they reach about 3 weeks old, they get moved to a larger tank...
I would try reducing the light to a max of 12 hours a day. I keep mine on for 10-11 hours a day and that is generally enough. Low light can't really be made up for with extra time on. And java moss does great with low light.
Originally posted by Wippit Guud
Where in Canada are you?
You could ship me some, we have a distinct lack of it round these parts,
I wish I could - I am located in Montreal region and I suspect shipping cost would be quite high - I bet it would be cheaper for you to purchase from your LFS than for me to ship them t you...
Wippit Guud
12-18-2003, 7:15 AM
How much could it be to ship a plant that weighs nothing to my little sandbar? :)