Should I keep water hyacinth in my bichir tank?

[geno]

Hi everyone,

Recently I got quite afew water hyacinth plants and added them to my 4ft tank to shield the fish from the strong light. Hopefully this makes them feel more comfortable. I read in the sticky that water hyacinth go well with bichirs, may I know who else is doing it and are there any side effects? I've heard that water hyacinth can deprive the water of oxygen yet its fibrous roots are good sites for aerobic bacterial growth, and they can absorb nutrients from the water which hopefully, with the reduced light, can keep algae in check. Please advise, thanks! =)

Regards,
Geno

 

[King-eL]

Done it and it ok. My ropefish and the rest of my upper jaw bichirs loves to hung out within the roots. Only my ornate and weeksi stays on the bottom.

 

[Vicious_Fish]

I've never had much luck keeping water hyacinth alive for more than a few weeks. I know it needs very strong lighting. Good luck!

 

[geno]

King-el: haha yes exactly! I noticed my ropefish loves swimming among the plants and just slacking away on the surface =)

Vicious_Fish: thanks for the tip, luckily my tank has some pretty strong lighting (which is why I got the hyacinth in the first place, to shade the interior somewhat). Right now the hyacinth looks abit yellow and the roots are very short, I suspect they were just cleared from some other dude's tank and sold to me very cheaply but hey if it works I don't mind.. Any other tips to make sure they grow properly? What about nutrients?

 

[Darth Scohin]

I've always thought of getting Water Lettuce for my tank all I have now is Salvinia

 

[geno]

Hey guys my water hyacinth don't seem to be growing! Leaves are still brown even though I've deliberately overfed my fish to make the water dirtier -> more nutrients for them, and kept my light on for 8hrs. Anyone can offer advice? Or anywhere else in MFK I could go to for help? Please help me out here.. Thanks =(

 

[synodontisjack]

They always die of when i add them to tanks but seem to thrive in my outdoor pond, i don't know if it has something to do with the proximity to the lights, try dropping the water level a bit.

 

[geno]

Hi synodontisjack, I thought they need alot of strong light? So why lower the water level? I suspect the plants may have been diseased to begin with cos alot of the leaves are rotting althought some are still nice and green. That's the confusing part, I can never tell whether the plants are really surviving or not! Roots have been dropping off too =(

I've been overfeeding the fishes so much that alot of uneaten food is left in the tank, yet the plants don't seem to be growing from all these excess nutrients..