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

[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.

 

[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?