I'm so confused. On two different occasions I have been given 'Anacharis'.
The plants are similar but different. I shouldnt confuse the issue since I
know there is another plant with this name but one I would say looks like a
coons tail - leaves growing fairly densely together and curled upward. The
other the leaves are not as close together and seem to grow more straight
out. I have tried to research it myself but even various sites seem to
almost interchange pictures with elodea and egeria. Partially its just
another one of those pond things I want to know. But also the less dense
variety my goldfish went crazy over. I was given quite a lot and in a
fairly short time there is none I can find to take a picture of. They do
nibble at the other variety but not near as voraciously.
Thanxx
Bill Brister - Austin, Texas

Newbie Bill wrote:
I'm so confused. On two different occasions I have been given 'Anacharis'.
The plants are similar but different. I shouldnt confuse the issue since I
know there is another plant with this name but one I would say looks like a
coons tail - leaves growing fairly densely together and curled upward. The
other the leaves are not as close together and seem to grow more straight
out. I have tried to research it myself but even various sites seem to
almost interchange pictures with elodea and egeria. Partially its just
another one of those pond things I want to know. But also the less dense
variety my goldfish went crazy over. I was given quite a lot and in a
fairly short time there is none I can find to take a picture of. They do
nibble at the other variety but not near as voraciously.

The reason you see Anacharis also listed as Elodea and Egeria is these are
all really synonyms. Biologists love to reclassify things. There are two
forms that I have seen from the same plant, so it's possible yours are
just exihibitting this. There's the light green form that's usually pretty
stringy. Then there's the dark green form that tends to be very dense.
According to tropica.com, the light colored, stringy growth often occurs
in lower light and nutrition situations. This would dovetail with what
I've experienced since my new growth tends to be stringy and light green
particularly in low light indoor tanks.

So, hate to follow up on myself, but I just had a thought. It's possible
your "Anacharis" is actually not Egeria but one of the similar looking
(and illegal in the USA) "noxious weeds", Hydrilla and Lagarosiphon. You
can see some photos in the Fact Sheet section of the following website:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/weeds/

Hydrilla is different from Egeria in that it has tubers on the roots, so
that's a good identifying mark. Hydrilla used to be common in the aquarium
trade until it became such an invasive species problem. Lagarosiphon isn't
supposed to be available in the USA, but that doesn't really mean
anything, heh. This page has an identification guide to differentiate
Hydrilla, Lagarosiphon, Egeria densa (what Anacharis usually is) and
Elodea canadensis:

http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/seagrant/...html#lsconfuse

Note that it only shows the dark green, full nutrient form of Egeria
densa, not the stringy light green form I mentioned in my other reply. The
stringy form is somewhat similar to Elodea canadensis.

Here's also another page on the Anacharis confusion, written from an
aquarists' perspective. It also explains the difference between the
Egeria and Elodea genus (basically boils down to the flowers):

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/PlantedTk...dex/elodea.htm

Cichlidiot" wrote in message
...
Newbie Bill wrote:
I'm so confused. On two different occasions I have been given
'Anacharis'.
The plants are similar but different.
snip
The reason you see Anacharis also listed as Elodea and Egeria is these are
all really synonyms. Biologists love to reclassify things. There are two
forms that I have seen from the same plant, so it's possible yours are
just exihibitting this.
snips

Hi,
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/pl...ve/elodea.html it shows some
of the plants sold as anacharis. They are similar but definitely different
plants.
HTH -_- how
no NEWS is good

Cichlidiot - I have read a number of times that Anacharis is not truly an
oxygenating plant. That there is little net yield in oxygen due to
respiration and should really only be put in a pond for its value of using
up excess nutrients in the water. Do you believe there is greater benefit
in more confined aquariums(I'm setting up two)? Of course, this could be
the ol ask 6 people and you'll get five different answers since some sites
are so specific about having x bundles per x square ft of pond surface.
Bill

"Newbie Bill" wrote in message
m...
Cichlidiot - I have read a number of times that Anacharis is not truly an
oxygenating plant. That there is little net yield in oxygen due to
respiration and should really only be put in a pond for its value of using
up excess nutrients in the water. Do you believe there is greater
benefit
in more confined aquariums(I'm setting up two)? Of course, this could be
the ol ask 6 people and you'll get five different answers since some sites
are so specific about having x bundles per x square ft of pond surface.
snip
Hi,
All plants are "oxygenating" in the presence of the sun, anacharis does it
underwater. You can see bubbles rising if you look closely. However all
plants are consumers of oxygen at night so plants cannot be relied on to
maintain oxygen levels in the pond. The sites that insist on a certain
amount per square foot/ gallon usually sell them.
HTH -_- how
no NEWS is good

Ahah- I have seen that but didnt realize that what was happening. Thanxx

How wrote However all
plants are consumers of oxygen at night so plants cannot be relied on to
maintain oxygen levels in the pond.

Good point to bring up and I just edited the algae primer to include the
factoid.


kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

Ahah- I have seen that but didnt realize that what was happening. Thanxx

Newbie Bill wrote:
Cichlidiot - I have read a number of times that Anacharis is not truly an
oxygenating plant. That there is little net yield in oxygen due to
respiration and should really only be put in a pond for its value of using
up excess nutrients in the water. Do you believe there is greater benefit
in more confined aquariums(I'm setting up two)? Of course, this could be
the ol ask 6 people and you'll get five different answers since some sites
are so specific about having x bundles per x square ft of pond surface.

As others have said, in the presence of strong light, you will see the
plant "pearling". If there is any breaks in the stems or if the plant is
free floating, you will see streams of oxygen bubbles rising from the
breaks and ends of the stems. In the home situation, I have only seen this
when the tank gets a good dose of natural sunlight.

Now I'm more interested in the tropica.com Egeria dense entry that reads:

"The plant secretes antibiotic substances which can help prevent
blue-green algae (a type of bacteria)."

Anyone have experience with that?

"Cichlidiot" wrote in message
...
snips
Now I'm more interested in the tropica.com Egeria dense entry that reads:
"The plant secretes antibiotic substances which can help prevent
blue-green algae (a type of bacteria)."

Anyone have experience with that?

Hi,
Never heard of it but found this site:
http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.co...CGBYVALRLC.pdf
that briefly discusses allelopathy of aquatic autotrophs, not much there
and requires subscription for more. The doctor (Dr. Elisabeth Gross ) who
did the above study is mentioned on
http://www.tropica.dk/article.asp?ty...aristic&id=532
In one of her experiments Myriophyllum spicatum (saw no mention of Egeria
or Elodea spp ) is mentioned as being somewhat allelopathic to cyanobacter
on but the article concludes,
begin quote
"Hopefully, this article has provided you with sufficient knowledge so that
you are naturally skeptical next time you meet these allegations on
miraculous algae control by means of allelopathy- snipped "
end quote
HTH -_- how
no NEWS is good

"Cichlidiot" wrote in message
...
snips
Now I'm more interested in the tropica.com Egeria dense entry that reads:
"The plant secretes antibiotic substances which can help prevent
blue-green algae (a type of bacteria)."

Anyone have experience with that?

Hi,
Never heard of it but found this site:
http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.co...CGBYVALRLC.pdf
that briefly discusses allelopathy of aquatic autotrophs, not much there
and requires subscription for more. The doctor (Dr. Elisabeth Gross ) who
did the above study is mentioned on
http://www.tropica.dk/article.asp?ty...aristic&id=532
In one of her experiments Myriophyllum spicatum (saw no mention of Egeria
or Elodea spp ) is mentioned as being somewhat allelopathic to cyanobacter
on but the article concludes,
begin quote
"Hopefully, this article has provided you with sufficient knowledge so that
you are naturally skeptical next time you meet these allegations on
miraculous algae control by means of allelopathy- snipped "
end quote
HTH -_- how
no NEWS is good

"Cichlidiot" wrote in message
...
snips
Now I'm more interested in the tropica.com Egeria dense entry that reads:
"The plant secretes antibiotic substances which can help prevent
blue-green algae (a type of bacteria)."

Anyone have experience with that?

Hi,
Never heard of it but found this site:
http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.co...CGBYVALRLC.pdf
that briefly discusses allelopathy of aquatic autotrophs, not much there
and requires subscription for more. The doctor (Dr. Elisabeth Gross ) who
did the above study is mentioned on
http://www.tropica.dk/article.asp?ty...aristic&id=532
In one of her experiments Myriophyllum spicatum (saw no mention of Egeria
or Elodea spp ) is mentioned as being somewhat allelopathic to cyanobacter
on but the article concludes,
begin quote
"Hopefully, this article has provided you with sufficient knowledge so that
you are naturally skeptical next time you meet these allegations on
miraculous algae control by means of allelopathy- snipped "
end quote
HTH -_- how
no NEWS is good

"Newbie Bill" wrote in message
m...
Cichlidiot - I have read a number of times that Anacharis is not truly an
oxygenating plant. That there is little net yield in oxygen due to
respiration and should really only be put in a pond for its value of using
up excess nutrients in the water. Do you believe there is greater
benefit
in more confined aquariums(I'm setting up two)? Of course, this could be
the ol ask 6 people and you'll get five different answers since some sites
are so specific about having x bundles per x square ft of pond surface.
snip
Hi,
All plants are "oxygenating" in the presence of the sun, anacharis does it
underwater. You can see bubbles rising if you look closely. However all
plants are consumers of oxygen at night so plants cannot be relied on to
maintain oxygen levels in the pond. The sites that insist on a certain
amount per square foot/ gallon usually sell them.
HTH -_- how
no NEWS is good

Newbie Bill wrote:
Cichlidiot - I have read a number of times that Anacharis is not truly an
oxygenating plant. That there is little net yield in oxygen due to
respiration and should really only be put in a pond for its value of using
up excess nutrients in the water. Do you believe there is greater benefit
in more confined aquariums(I'm setting up two)? Of course, this could be
the ol ask 6 people and you'll get five different answers since some sites
are so specific about having x bundles per x square ft of pond surface.

As others have said, in the presence of strong light, you will see the
plant "pearling". If there is any breaks in the stems or if the plant is
free floating, you will see streams of oxygen bubbles rising from the
breaks and ends of the stems. In the home situation, I have only seen this
when the tank gets a good dose of natural sunlight.

Now I'm more interested in the tropica.com Egeria dense entry that reads:

"The plant secretes antibiotic substances which can help prevent
blue-green algae (a type of bacteria)."

Anyone have experience with that?