hey this is awesome. that is a great fish. i have been accumulating plants here and there with the idea of setting up a brackish system, but i haven’t moved on it yet.
would you like to try another mangrove? i have some spare black mangrove (Avicennia germinans). apparently this one has not been kept in aquariums much. i have a couple of other salt-marsh plants that might work too, though i haven’t tried to grow these in brackish water.
i would really be interested in knowing more about your Cryptocoryne ciliata. this is a great plant–one of my favorites. i have several going in my high-humidity riparium. this link goes to a shot of one with an open spathe C. ciliata spathe. so you have had that one going for a while? i have heard about these growing in brackish conditions. it really would be fantastic to get a tank going with healthy mangroves and thick ciliata foliage. .
I’d love another mangrove – I’ll email you my meatspace address later today!
I chose the ciliata because I’d heard they adapted well to brackish conditions. I started with 4 and am down to one after a year. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong – my hope is that if the mangroves take off (as they seem to be doing – knock wood) and pull all the nutrients out of the water column, the ciliata will also respond, since it can pull what it needs from the substrate. We’ll see – I may need to watch eBay again for a few more…
PS – I recognize the basket your ciliata is in *grin*.
Between you and Kryptokoryne (found via your blogroll) I’m green w/ envy.
I got your emails with information and flickr invite. Thanks a bunch! At present, I am bed-ridden with a severe back strain. I don’t know when it will improve to the point where I can descend the stairs to the fishroom, but I’ll try to put together your plants as soon as I can and send you a notice before I ship.
I’d count that as a success that you have had that ciliata going for a year in brackish water. I have certainly run into references to growing them in brackish setups, but I have ever seen any pictures or real descriptions and wonder if these might just be based on biotope records.
I would like to discuss plant selection for brackish systems. Like I said, I have a couple of other possibilities, but I don’t know if I can really take any divisions from these right now. Is that some kind of Nymphoides water snowflake you have in that picture from 7/17/08? Is that still going?
Ghanzafar’s blog is an amazing place. I imagine that he has bloomed more crypts than any other American. If you look you will see that his culture setup is quite low-tech and easy-care. I would like to know more details about his photo studio. I have to figure out how to get better specimen shots.
…and oh yes, that’s called “product placement”. I understand that you can also use those clear plastic baskets in your sink to dry flatware, but growing plants in them is much more fun.
I’d seen biotope pictures of ciliata growing on mud flats in mangrove swamps (of course, now I can’t find the image), so I thought I’d be OK. It may be that there are specific morphs/cultivars that are adapted to brackish, but I intend to keep trying – mangroves and a carpet of crypts _would_ be a good thing.
Good eye! That was a Nymphoides cristata – it didn’t do well with the tranistion to brackish, but I have more growing in my whiskey barrel lotus garden, so I may try again – more gradually.
Don’t worry about hurrying on the shipping – take care of yourself – I had my first back strain session a year ago and it was no fun at all.
The other 2 plants I’m trying out in the tank are the bombproof old favorites – Java Moss and Java Fern. The moss is already taking off; the fern is taking it’s time. Look forward to further brackish plant discussion.
hey this is awesome. that is a great fish. i have been accumulating plants here and there with the idea of setting up a brackish system, but i haven’t moved on it yet.
would you like to try another mangrove? i have some spare black mangrove (Avicennia germinans). apparently this one has not been kept in aquariums much. i have a couple of other salt-marsh plants that might work too, though i haven’t tried to grow these in brackish water.
i would really be interested in knowing more about your Cryptocoryne ciliata. this is a great plant–one of my favorites. i have several going in my high-humidity riparium. this link goes to a shot of one with an open spathe C. ciliata spathe. so you have had that one going for a while? i have heard about these growing in brackish conditions. it really would be fantastic to get a tank going with healthy mangroves and thick ciliata foliage. .
I’d love another mangrove – I’ll email you my meatspace address later today!
I chose the ciliata because I’d heard they adapted well to brackish conditions. I started with 4 and am down to one after a year. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong – my hope is that if the mangroves take off (as they seem to be doing – knock wood) and pull all the nutrients out of the water column, the ciliata will also respond, since it can pull what it needs from the substrate. We’ll see – I may need to watch eBay again for a few more…
PS – I recognize the basket your ciliata is in *grin*.
Between you and Kryptokoryne (found via your blogroll) I’m green w/ envy.
I got your emails with information and flickr invite. Thanks a bunch! At present, I am bed-ridden with a severe back strain. I don’t know when it will improve to the point where I can descend the stairs to the fishroom, but I’ll try to put together your plants as soon as I can and send you a notice before I ship.
I’d count that as a success that you have had that ciliata going for a year in brackish water. I have certainly run into references to growing them in brackish setups, but I have ever seen any pictures or real descriptions and wonder if these might just be based on biotope records.
I would like to discuss plant selection for brackish systems. Like I said, I have a couple of other possibilities, but I don’t know if I can really take any divisions from these right now. Is that some kind of Nymphoides water snowflake you have in that picture from 7/17/08? Is that still going?
Ghanzafar’s blog is an amazing place. I imagine that he has bloomed more crypts than any other American. If you look you will see that his culture setup is quite low-tech and easy-care. I would like to know more details about his photo studio. I have to figure out how to get better specimen shots.
…and oh yes, that’s called “product placement”. I understand that you can also use those clear plastic baskets in your sink to dry flatware, but growing plants in them is much more fun.
I’d seen biotope pictures of ciliata growing on mud flats in mangrove swamps (of course, now I can’t find the image), so I thought I’d be OK. It may be that there are specific morphs/cultivars that are adapted to brackish, but I intend to keep trying – mangroves and a carpet of crypts _would_ be a good thing.
Good eye! That was a Nymphoides cristata – it didn’t do well with the tranistion to brackish, but I have more growing in my whiskey barrel lotus garden, so I may try again – more gradually.
Don’t worry about hurrying on the shipping – take care of yourself – I had my first back strain session a year ago and it was no fun at all.
The other 2 plants I’m trying out in the tank are the bombproof old favorites – Java Moss and Java Fern. The moss is already taking off; the fern is taking it’s time. Look forward to further brackish plant discussion.