Hiya, I've already posted another thread on my water dragon paludarium, and thought I'd make another to ask for friendly advice regarding the aquatic plants specifically.
As of right now, I have no livestock or plants picked out for the aquatic portion of this vivarium. The land area is on lockdown (wanting a lot of vining plants and spanish moss), as I'm going for a sort of cliff look with a lot of hardy inhabitants that are normally overlooked by most hobbyists. I'd like to keep the same sort of semi-barren feel in the water section, so if anyone can suggest some plants in particular it'd be appreciated.
My first obstacle is the lighting, as the fixture will be five feet from the floor of the enclosure, and approximately 4 1/2 feet from the plants. I'm using two Repti-Sun 10.0 UVB Bulbs (http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=105&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=20) that will be the major source of lighting in the enclosure. Are the lights too far away for the plants to photosynthesize correctly? UVB bulbs tend to wear down pretty fast the further you are from it, although I'm not sure if the plants would be utilizing the UV rays or not, and if this affects the plants at all. If needed, I could always mount some LED's a little closer to the water, but it'll be difficult, unattractive, and probably expensive (money isn't my first consideration, but I'm not exactly made of it at the same time). I'd like to use live plants as they're attractive, help to keep the water healthy, and also I just enjoy having mini-ecosystems in my enclosures and plants are at the "root" of it
Puns aside, my other concern is the dragon trampeling them by mistake, or uprooting them, or similar. They're not exactly the most graceful of animals, and I can speak from experience from this. Many years ago I had a female water dragon, pretty flight although she'd never threatened to bite. I once had her out on my shoulder while I watched me some shows, and she'd spotted a moth on the outside of the window. Well, she made a six foot jump for it, fell to the floor, and climbed up curtains that were not secured to their fixture and tore down the curtains with her. At this point, I'd gotten up from my seat only for her to attempt to jump up the windowsill (which was too smooth for her to grasp). Determined little booger, although not graceful and I could only imagine how my little male would handle once he got to be three feet of clumsy. Sorry for the story, but while these lovely animals aren't exactly grazers, they're bound to cause some damage here and there.
If anyone has some suggestions for some hardy plants or algae (planning on growing some on my rock wall), I'd appreciate it. Of course, if it would be practical to have plants in this sort of condition.
As of right now, I have no livestock or plants picked out for the aquatic portion of this vivarium. The land area is on lockdown (wanting a lot of vining plants and spanish moss), as I'm going for a sort of cliff look with a lot of hardy inhabitants that are normally overlooked by most hobbyists. I'd like to keep the same sort of semi-barren feel in the water section, so if anyone can suggest some plants in particular it'd be appreciated.
My first obstacle is the lighting, as the fixture will be five feet from the floor of the enclosure, and approximately 4 1/2 feet from the plants. I'm using two Repti-Sun 10.0 UVB Bulbs (http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=105&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=20) that will be the major source of lighting in the enclosure. Are the lights too far away for the plants to photosynthesize correctly? UVB bulbs tend to wear down pretty fast the further you are from it, although I'm not sure if the plants would be utilizing the UV rays or not, and if this affects the plants at all. If needed, I could always mount some LED's a little closer to the water, but it'll be difficult, unattractive, and probably expensive (money isn't my first consideration, but I'm not exactly made of it at the same time). I'd like to use live plants as they're attractive, help to keep the water healthy, and also I just enjoy having mini-ecosystems in my enclosures and plants are at the "root" of it
Puns aside, my other concern is the dragon trampeling them by mistake, or uprooting them, or similar. They're not exactly the most graceful of animals, and I can speak from experience from this. Many years ago I had a female water dragon, pretty flight although she'd never threatened to bite. I once had her out on my shoulder while I watched me some shows, and she'd spotted a moth on the outside of the window. Well, she made a six foot jump for it, fell to the floor, and climbed up curtains that were not secured to their fixture and tore down the curtains with her. At this point, I'd gotten up from my seat only for her to attempt to jump up the windowsill (which was too smooth for her to grasp). Determined little booger, although not graceful and I could only imagine how my little male would handle once he got to be three feet of clumsy. Sorry for the story, but while these lovely animals aren't exactly grazers, they're bound to cause some damage here and there.
If anyone has some suggestions for some hardy plants or algae (planning on growing some on my rock wall), I'd appreciate it. Of course, if it would be practical to have plants in this sort of condition.
