I sort of tinker around in my head with the idea of having a small Elassoma tank and trying to set it up to be low maintenance. I think using just surface plants would be less work for these reasons:
- Won't need as much lighting, which also reduces algae growth.
- Easier to clean the bottom and move things around.
- If I can't see the fish I can move the surface plants around. That's less work because I don't have to wait as long to see them.
- Surface plants tend to be faster growing due to greater access to CO2 and this should make them better at removing nitrates, etc.
I figure I could use surface plants like water lettuce that have long roots and will provide cover throughout a small tank. Anyway, most sources of info say I will need more cover for Elassoma than this setup will provide. But then I came across something at the Sachs website that showed a breeding Elassoma in a sparse tank, here is the article and the photo:
http://www.aquacultu...okefenokee.html
http://www.aquacultu.....nokee 009.jpg
This isn't the aquatic jungle often described as necessary for this type of fish. So I really want to know these things:
- Will a tank with just surface plants be enough for Elassoma?
- Will I actually be saving my lazy butt any work by just using surface plants?
- Is there something I have overlooked which will make everything go horribly wrong?
Surface plants only for Elassoma?
Started by
Guest_boringname_*
, Apr 20 2009 11:13 PM
1 reply to this topic
#2
Michael Wolfe
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- Board of Directors
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- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 21 April 2009 - 07:54 AM
I currently have E. zonatum living and breeding in such an arrangement with no problems. In fact, I have in the past (usually in the summer, so not recently) rotated plants out of that tank and replaced them with plants from an outdoor trashcan (where I grow more water lettuce). The outside plants come with lots of small bugs and stuff on them and the Elassoma love that!
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
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