Can anyone help me ID these?

[Fre nchy]

I've had a few plants in my aquarium (Dwarf hair, some stuff that died a week after I got it (the "wool" left over from it's pot is still in there for some reason?), and an unidentified plant. I recently purchased a few new plants: Anacharis, Wisteria, and a broad-leaved unnamed plant. Any helpful tips for a beginnig aquarist is greatly appreciated! I've heard that when the Anacharis starts losing it's colour from the bottom (if it does) you can just break off the discoloured part and replant it and it'll grow.

The broad-leaved one:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v131/genocidalgopher/P1010287.jpg

The older one:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v131/genocidalgopher/P1010284.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v131/genocidalgopher/P1010277.jpg

...with my Bichir:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v131/genocidalgopher/P1010293.jpg

Also, I was wondering how to get the dwarf hair to grow to cover the bottom (carpet). I've had it for two or three months now and it's only seemed to have gotten smaller.

[Drumachine09]

*plays trumpet*
This sounds like a job for chrona!

Are those channel cats?

[sergo]

i don't know what plants those are but the slow growth could be from a nutrient defficiency and/or low light conditions.

edit:one of them looks like an anubis

[Chrona]

The broad leaved plant is anubias afzelli I believe. Not sure on the others, maybe some variety of ludwigia? Tough to tell because it's so chewed up.

Dwarf hairgrass requires a fairly high tech setup to spread into a carpet. How much lighting do you have over that tank (and what size tank is it)? Are you injecting CO2? Adding any fertilizer? What kind of substrate do you have? I can barely get my hairgrass to spread and everything else grows really well in my tank.

You need to remove as much of the rockwool as you can. It's used for shipping and holds enough nutrients for the plant while it's at the LFS, but it impedes growth after you put it in your tank and can sometimes cause the plant to rot.

[Chrona]

For general plant information, you can try my guide
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=4721

Rex Grigg's website

http://www.rexgrigg.com/

Or just post questions here :)


One more thing about dwarf hairgrass: You need to seperate the big clump into smaller pieces, otherwise it will grow VERY slowly (and probably die in some areas) and collect debris/algae.

[sergo]

and he'll jump right on them

[Chrona]

Only up for another half hour though :)

[Fre nchy]

*plays trumpet*
This sounds like a job for chrona!

Are those channel cats?

No, they're silver tipped sharks (I think it's Hexanematichthys seemani, or Arius jordani - same thing?), Renegade and Boomer.

[Drumachine09]

Oh, i didnt see the elongated spine at first. Isnt it funny how they just tag the "shark" onto a bunch of different species just to make them more apealing?

Ex.The rainbow/redfinned sharks are actually minnows!

[Fre nchy]

The broad leaved plant is anubias afzelli I believe. Not sure on the others, maybe some variety of ludwigia? Tough to tell because it's so chewed up.

Dwarf hairgrass requires a fairly high tech setup to spread into a carpet. How much lighting do you have over that tank (and what size tank is it)? Are you injecting CO2? Adding any fertilizer? What kind of substrate do you have? I can barely get my hairgrass to spread and everything else grows really well in my tank.

You need to remove as much of the rockwool as you can. It's used for shipping and holds enough nutrients for the plant while it's at the LFS, but it impedes growth after you put it in your tank and can sometimes cause the plant to rot.

I was thinking it might be Anubis but I havn't seen enough of them to tell. Ludwigia? I'll look that up.

I have no CO2 injection and my substrate is gravel with sand, about an inch and a half of sand with an inch or so of gravel mixed with the top of that. I have no fertilizer and my lighting is only a 20 watt single tube flourescent. I've got a 35 gallon tank. I don't know really anything about the water conditions (no pH strips) so that's about all I can tell you. Not exactly the most ideal setup for plants..

Is there any homemade methods you have for CO2 injection?

[Fre nchy]

Oh, i didnt see the elongated spine at first. Isnt it funny how they just tag the "shark" onto a bunch of different species just to make them more apealing?

Ex.The rainbow/redfinned sharks are actually minnows!

Yeah, I hate how the stores around here refuse to get the correct names for almost all of their fish! There was a tank full of Polypterus senegalus that they had marked as Ornate Bichirs. I watched a couple people raved about them being Ornate for 10 minutes then bought two, sucks for them..

[Drumachine09]

And then wal-mart/other chain stores lowball the full sizes. Oscars max 12"? Dont think so.

[Chrona]

I was thinking it might be Anubis but I havn't seen enough of them to tell. Ludwigia? I'll look that up.

I have no CO2 injection and my substrate is gravel with sand, about an inch and a half of sand with an inch or so of gravel mixed with the top of that. I have no fertilizer and my lighting is only a 20 watt single tube flourescent. I've got a 35 gallon tank. I don't know really anything about the water conditions (no pH strips) so that's about all I can tell you. Not exactly the most ideal setup for plants..

Is there any homemade methods you have for CO2 injection?

Yes, CO2 is very easy to add via a soda bottle reactor and a yeast solution. However, you will not get much, if any benefit with that amount of lighting, and CO2 does lower your pH, which is a consideration. Java fern, any variety of moss, and all anubias will do decently in extremely low light, but I wouldn't attempt anything else since you are barely pushing 0.5 watts/gallon. The java fern and anubias should be secured to a rock or a piece of driftwood until the roots attach. These three plants have very low requirements and look great when you get a lot of them. The best part is that because they draw nutrients from the water column and not the substrate (anubias are heavy root feeders but when attached to something, will draw from the water), you will not have to worry about conditioning your substrate. I think the only thing you would need to add is Seachem Flourish.

[Fre nchy]

Yes, CO2 is very easy to add via a soda bottle reactor and a yeast solution. However, you will not get much, if any benefit with that amount of lighting, and CO2 does lower your pH, which is a consideration. Java fern, any variety of moss, and all anubias will do decently in extremely low light, but I wouldn't attempt anything else since you are barely pushing 0.5 watts/gallon. The java fern and anubias should be secured to a rock or a piece of driftwood until the roots attach. These three plants have very low requirements and look great when you get a lot of them. The best part is that because they draw nutrients from the water column and not the substrate (anubias are heavy root feeders but when attached to something, will draw from the water), you will not have to worry about conditioning your substrate. I think the only thing you would need to add is Seachem Flourish.

I need lower pH (Discus) anyways. What do you think about the Anarharis with the lighting levels? How do you attatch them to the driftwood?

[Chrona]

I need lower pH (Discus) anyways. What do you think about the Anarharis with the lighting levels? How do you attatch them to the driftwood?

If you are just trying to lower the pH then an acid buffer would work much better and be more stable than a CO2 injector. CO2 injection just has the side effect of lowering your pH but since DIY has no regulator, it depends on your diffusion method, etc.

Anacharis can usually grow in most situations, but 20 watts over 35 gallons is really pushing it. You can just leave it in there and pull it as soon as/if it starts to rot.

Anubias and java fern can be attached to rocks/driftwood with a cotton string. By the time the string rots off, the plants will be attached by the roots.

[sergo]

i've got some anacharis in my 55gal with 30 watts of light. it grows ok but the leaf nodes are a little farther apart due to the low lighting. low lighting causes plants to grow thin and tall instead of thick and bushy because they use most of their energy trying to reach the light.