Killer Pothos!

[FINWIN]

I'm finally finding some success with the hornwort but only in one tank. The octopus grass I've added to another tank appears to be legit with the growth (fast) and the fish don't buzz saw it like they do the guppy grass. I've got some potted I will be adding to the 125 and some potted water sprite too.

I plan to let the hornwort grow wild in the 225 and see if it transplants to other tanks without turning to mush.

 

[jjohnwm]

Hornwort has a bad habit of shedding all its "needles" if moved from one tank to another if there is much difference in water quality/chemistry...even if it can grow just fine in either. If you vacuum out all that crap, the plant will come back to life, but it takes awhile. I have this happen every spring when I bring some outdoors to my stocktanks, and then again in the fall if I try to bring some back indoors (which I never need to do).

If you just want to move Hornwort from one tank to another, do a big water change in both tanks right beforehand. If you do an 80-90% change in both tanks, they will both be very similar right afterwards and the plant doesn't even notice the swap. Mind you, this probably wouldn't work unless you are in the habit of regular large-volume changes.

Just read up on Octopus Grass...which happens to be locally available right now. Gotta try some.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Are we all talking the same plant?
Octopus grass - in the tank ie pogostemon Stellatus
Octopus grass - outside the tank ie. Carex divulsa
If outside the tank there are more water loving versions of carex than divulsa.
If inside the tank, I think pogostemon needs a lot of light.

 

[jjohnwm]

Are we all talking the same plant?
Octopus grass - in the tank ie pogostemon Stellatus
Octopus grass - outside the tank ie. Carex divulsa
If outside the tank there are more water loving versions of carex than divulsa.
If inside the tank, I think pogostemon needs a lot of light.

I never heard that common name until FINWIN mentioned it; I assume she means the aquatic plant, which the LFS plant guy says is easy to grow in low-to-medium light, no CO2 needed, minimal fertilization.

Carex? Never heard of that either until earlier in this thread. I need to visit a greenhouse with a good selection of houseplants and pick somebody's brain before buying some.

 

[spotfin]

Does your dog have access to the fish room when you are not there? You could install a baby gate to keep him out while not attended.
I had pothos growing in my ray tank years ago. Two small dogs so no concern of them getting into it. Two cats, and I seem to remember one of them might have chewed on the plants. I'm not a cat fan...

 

[FINWIN]

For some added color I've ordered some Alternanthera reineckii var. rosanervig. Doesn't need CO2 to grow and keep its color like some other red plants. I ordered mine just in time: my favorite seller was sold out the next day!

Very pleased with the octopus grass ( pogostemon Stellatus )...showing visible growth in just days. In the 225 it started bushing out in the pot after four hours! Finally hit the jackpot.

The potted water sprite looks good too...barely in one day and already stretching up. The hrps LOVE nesting in the real plants like birds. Brutus sits in a mound of hornwort like a bushy bed.

I have both loose and potted octopus grass.

 

[jjohnwm]

Does your dog have access to the fish room when you are not there? You could install a baby gate to keep him out while not attended.

The door is kept closed, he's never in there without me. But I often spend a fair bit of time in the fishroom, and he's rarely absent when I do. He's pretty relaxed while in there, usually just lays down on his dog bed and snoozes. But...I frequently end up snoozing in my comfy beat-up old leather easy chair in the room, so I'm not exactly watching him like a hawk.

Again, trying to find a work-around to keep the dog from accessing the plants isn't on the table. I'm looking for non-toxic plants to avoid the potential problem altogether. I've gotten a couple of ideas in this thrread, will find more when I visit a greenhouse/garden-centre with a good variety.