On Thu, 09 Mar 2006 21:23:13 -0500, Bill wrote:

"Koi-Lo" Spaketh Thusly:


"Mr. Gardener" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 6 Mar 2006 19:16:37 -0600, "Koi-Lo"
wrote:


"Bill" wrote in message
m...
Sometimes a water sprite will come loose but that might just be from
being
bumped. Such little roots and the Flourite is very light, I end up
pusing
them
down every few weeks anyway.
================
Isn't watersprite a floater any way?

It's either/and/or. When floated, it grows long roots down into the
water, great fry hideouts and spawning grounds for some fish.

I remember as I had it in all my tanks in NY where the water was soft and
slightly acid. But whenever I tried to plant it in the gravel it would pull
loose on it's own and end up back on the surface.
Mine works its way up, but doesn't actually come loose on its own.

I just walked through the fish room for my morning inspection,
actually it's more like my morning report; my lifelong girlfriend
watches all of the tanks during the Today Show commercials and does a
head count of the fish and an assessment of the overall health status
of the tanks. There are two tanks where I have water sprite "planted",
and the plants are all sitting on the bottom looking that slightly
different shade of bright green. I usually have to replant them a
couple of times during the day I first install them, but once they
"take", they really take off. I agree that the plants are quite
buoyant and a lightweight substrate could present a losing battle.
I've read here that water sprite won't grow if it's planted, but that
has never been the case for me. I have had some that withered and died
when planted, but I blame myself for burying them too deeply. Because
of their buoyancy, it's tricky planting them and leaving just a bit of
the crown above the gravel. Mine are also in tanks with zero rowdy
fish, one tank is gentle livebearers, guppies and platies, and the
other tank is all young corys, who, in spite of their constant probing
the substrate for edible morsels, don't disrupt the gravel or sand as
much as I would expect them too. In spite of corys' vigorous activity,
there is a certain irresistible gentleness about them.

I seldom keep planted watersprite as a permanent fixture - I generally
use it for new tanks and rehabilitating tanks - those are the ones
that I have been neglecting and finally get around to cleaning up the
sky high nitrates. Once a tank is well established, usually a couple
of months, I replace the anchored water sprite with more traditional,
stable plants, like swords and crypts. I always keep a few handfuls of
it floating in tanks where the fish appreciate a little shade, like
the corys, or where fish are frequently spawning. I haven't bought any
in at least 20 years, and sometimes my supply gets down to less than a
single handful, but when I give it half a chance, it grows and
multiplies rapidly. My lfs won't stock it, he says it melts and turns
brown in his tanks. He's hard and alkaline, I'm soft and acid.

-- Mister Gardener