Is my aquarium lighting too high?

[Byron Amazonas]

Thanks for the advice guys. I will wait on carpeting til I know what kind of lighting my system has. As I have not started to fertalize anything yet, I will get both the pellets and liquid ferts as it seems like I will need different types for different plants. I'm going to try to save my micro swords which are indeed the lilaeopsis brasiliensis.

What type of plant would the Poobahs, grand or deputy or likewise, suggest to cover the lava and/rock or driftwood? It has to be something not too complicated, of course.

One of the nicest cover plants for wood or rock is moss. Mosses are low-moderate light too, and CO2 is not necessary. I have Java Moss (Taxiphyllum barbieri), and quite regularly, say every 4-5 weeks, I have to pull off and toss out chunks of it. This is a highly irregular moss that in its growth pattern can take the form of tree branches, long loose strands, and straight branches. Some surmise that the moss varieties known as Christmas Moss, Willow Moss, etc. may actually be variants of, or even the same as, the subject species.

Propagation is by breaking off chunks and positioning them wherever you want the plant to grow. It attaches itself to object with root-like structures known as rhizoids; these do not assimilate nutrients, which occurs through the tiny leaves. Regular liquid fertilization will improve its growth.

In much of the literature Java Moss is described as Vesicularia dubyana, but this scientific name actually belongs to another very similar plant known as Singapore Moss. It is the subject species, T. barbieri or Java Moss, that appears to be the most widely available in the hobby. However, common names are not official and may in fact be applicable to any of several different species depending upon who uses the name.

Alternatively, if you want more substantial plants, Java Fern (Microsorum pteropus) and Anubias (which has several species) are suitable. These too are low to moderate light. Being slow growing, CO2 is again not necessary.

Byron.

 

[ROYWS3]

The Bolbitis that I mentioned earlier will grow on rocks and driftwood. In fact it won't do well at all if planted in the substrate

 

[ZorroNet]

The Bolbitis that I mentioned earlier will grow on rocks and driftwood. In fact it won't do well at all if planted in the substrate

Bolbitis heteroclita (I have some) does fine planted in plain aquarium gravel if you take care to not completely bury the rhizome. It takes FOREVER to attach to hardscape objects like rocks and other things harder than wood. So if you are attaching it to anything, plan to make it wood and tie it on with fishing line (you can cut it later) as cotton thread will rot before it attaches itself. It's a neat looking, slow growing, low light plant! It really appreciates a higher flow area near the filter output or a power head as it's collected from African streams and rivers typically.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

 

[Evanleigh]

Are all the Bolbitis species ferns? I have found Bolbitis Heudelotii which looks like a dark fern. Is this the same or similar plant as the Bolbitus Heteroclita?

 

[ZorroNet]

Are all the Bolbitis species ferns? I have found Bolbitis Heudelotii which looks like a dark fern. Is this the same or similar plant as the Bolbitus Heteroclita?

Yes, they are all ferns. Heudelotii looks a lot like what you have, and Heteroclita has a broader leaf (actually frond since it's a fern.) Heudelotii is more common from what I have found. They require the same care and parameters, so aside from appearance, they are essentially the same.

 

[Evanleigh]

During my 50% water change last night I planted the following: Corkscrew Val, Anubias Nana and Java Fern (both on driftwood), and 3 bolbitis Heudelotii (they are very small) on my lava rock. This morning I used a liquid fertilizer and noticed the Val seem to be getting transparent already! Are they melting? Is there something I can do asap for them so they don't melt? All the plants were in great condition when I got them yesterday.

 

[Byron Amazonas]

During my 50% water change last night I planted the following: Corkscrew Val, Anubias Nana and Java Fern (both on driftwood), and 3 bolbitis Heudelotii (they are very small) on my lava rock. This morning I used a liquid fertilizer and noticed the Val seem to be getting transparent already! Are they melting? Is there something I can do asap for them so they don't melt? All the plants were in great condition when I got them yesterday.

Many if not most plants go through a slow-down of some sort when moved to a new environment. Different lighting (intensity and spectrum), different water parameters, different nutrients can all impact plants, as can having the roots disturbed. Usually the oldest leaves, being the outer leaves on plants like swords, vallisneria, etc, will show this. I just look for new growth from the centre of the crown.

But, other things impact plants long-term as well. What is the GH of your water? And what fertilizer did you use?

 

[Evanleigh]

The hardness of the water showing consistently throughout my weekly water tests is between 100-160. I haven't done a water test yet today, but during the water change I used NutraFin Aquaplus to condition the water and take out chlorine and chloramine. I added Nutrafin Cycle which is a biological aquarium supplement (bottle says to use it after water changes).
The liquid fertilizer is Tetra FloraPride. It adds iron and potassium to the water. The bottle says it doesn't contain phosphates or nitrates.

 

[Byron Amazonas]

The hardness of the water showing consistently throughout my weekly water tests is between 100-160. I haven't done a water test yet today, but during the water change I used NutraFin Aquaplus to condition the water and take out chlorine and chloramine. I added Nutrafin Cycle which is a biological aquarium supplement (bottle says to use it after water changes).
The liquid fertilizer is Tetra FloraPride. It adds iron and potassium to the water. The bottle says it doesn't contain phosphates or nitrates.

The GH is between 5 and 8 dGH, which should be OK though I have not myself tried this with Vallisneria. Val does better in harder water (it is native to the African rift lakes for one example) because it can use bicarbonates for carbon (which some plants find difficult if not impossible). I have near-zero GH and cannot keep Vall alive, and while I intend to try it in my tank that I raise the GH to 5-6 dGH I have not yet done this test. The GH issue is due primarily to calcium and magnesium. These minerals are usually minimal in prepared fertilizers because most people have sufficient in their tap water.

To the FloraPride, I would change to a complete liquid like Flourish Comprehensive Supplement (Seachem) or FlorinMulti (Brightwell Aquatics). Both of these have all essential nutrients (except oxygen, carbon and hydrogen) though as mentioned above, the "hard" minerals are minimal. But with your GH, one of these might be sufficient.

Now, this is not going to affect the plants so quickly, in a day or two, so I still think we are dealing with the transplant issue. But I would recommend one of the other liquid fertilizers. I did have Vallisneria doing fairly well (I use the Flourish Comp) for a few months, but it slowly weakened which I now believe was the hard mineral factor.

Byron.

 

[Evanleigh]

I wanted to initially get the Seachem Flourish Comprehensive but the only brand the LFS had was the Tetra and I wanted to get some kind of fertilizer in as I hadn't fertilized any of my plants yet. I'll look elsewhere for one of the other two. I did purchase from Aquariumplants.com their substrate fertilizer pellets and put one down between my ruffle leaf sword and the Bleheri Sword. Aquariumplants.com is where I got my plants from as well. But, I will try to find one of the other two fertilizers you suggested.

Will I be able to see any new growth from the crown of a Vallisneria? If I don't, should I let the melting leaves just hang out in the water until I do or should I take the leaves off as they get yucky? I don't want to yank them out if I know at some point there might be new growth.