Gimme
some of that green stuff for my show tank. I used to go out and
buy plants because the show rules said they were necessary. My selections
were based on color and size--many weren't even plants that grow
in water; they just survive long enough under water for one show.
I have slowly learned that some fish need live plants to survive
and many fish that can survive without plants seem to be healthier
and more comfortable with live plants in their tanks. Fish often
need plants to spawn--a tank without live plants is like a house
without furniture. In this series of articles, I will discuss some
of the plants that have been most important in a successful tank.
Java moss is probably the most utilitarian plant you can raise,
but oddly enough it doesn't seem to be readily available in our
local shops. There is a brief notation of it in The Encyclopedia
of Water Plants by Dr. Jiri Stodola, TFH Publications, 1967
Edition, Page 329. Among other things, this reference states that
Java moss will associate with other Malayan plants such as Cryptocorynes,
Nomaphila acorus, Vallisneria asiatica and Ceratopteris.
There are other equally informative statements.
In my experience, Java moss lives at extremes of water hardness/
softness of pH required by Tetras or African Rift Lake Cichlids
and temperatures from 30-90 degrees. It can live in high or low
light levels. If Java moss is dying the fish can't be far behind.
It will grow unplanted in a dense free- floating mass or it may
cling to wood, gravel or rocks like ivy. Like all plants, it utilizes
fish waste as fertilizer, but better than that, it serves almost
as well as a sponge filter, catching floating debris. When a lot
of this mulm has been collected by the Java moss, the entire mass
can be removed from the tank, gently squeezed, rinsed clean, and
returned unharmed to resume its duties. Java moss provides shelter
for all sizes of fish--from female bettas to newly hatched fry.
Many of the mop- or bush-spawning types of fish prefer to spawn
in Java moss. After the eggs are placed in the moss, they are hard
to get at to eat and the mulm that may collect offers the new fry
infusoria for their first food. Breeding pairs of certain tetras
and barbs may be placed in a ten gallon tank with enough Java moss
to cover the bottom (except where the food will be dropped). You
will often see young fish appear in the tank already grown to a
half-inch or more. This spawning technique works well with Emperor,
Rainbow, and Royal Tetras and Checker Barbs, for example.
Java moss grows fast enough to maintain itself against plant eating
fish and snails, but is easy to thin out or remove from a tank.
Its leaves are very small and grow along branching stems. It is
a pretty bright green, near perfect plant. TRY IT, YOU'LL LIKE IT!
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