Moss Balls, Ceratopteris And Cabomba Questions

[FishBlast]

I've seen some moss balls for sale at the pet store, but I was wondering: can they be split in half to form some kind of green hills or something? Or do they really need to stay round? Can they be half-buried in sand instead?

And about cabomba: can it live off of only nitrate / ammonia traces and whatever waste may be around? Can it be planted in sand? I won't buy any until I have set up my lights properly.

Currently I have a ceratopteris and it's sprouting, but it lives with whatever is in the water, no ferts, and daylight lighting + a small white neon next to it near the tank wall during the evening. It doesn't seem to like being kept under rocks, as it will always somehow manage to set itself free (the bottom just dissolves and it ends up hanging on some threads). Is there any way to plant it without having it uprooted or having it slip away from what keeps it down? It used to be in a basket 2 months ago, but it escaped in the same way during the second month. (the seller told me that would happen)

If I get cabomba, will they be competing for food?

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, you can cut moss balls in half, or spread the out. I wouldn't bury them; the bottom half will die.

Some varieties of Ceratopsis do prefer to grow as a floating plant; yours just might be one of those.

Cabomba should be fine; you can have quite a lot of plants without adding fertilizers.

 

[SO19Firearms]

you can have quite a lot of plants without adding fertilizers.

You just get too watch them die at varying rates....

 

[FishBlast]

Yes, you can cut moss balls in half, or spread the out. I wouldn't bury them; the bottom half will die.

Some varieties of Ceratopsis do prefer to grow as a floating plant; yours just might be one of those.

Cabomba should be fine; you can have quite a lot of plants without adding fertilizers.

They'd probably look better as hills than as balls, maybe they'd even hold some other plants underneath.

At the surface, my cera just starts to rot (although the ones in my fry cage seem to stay green and even sprout).
They seem to like the middle area of the water, as that's where the green branches always lift themselves to and all the sprouting happens. The ones that are under the rocks just go yellow. My apple snails clean those off though. Also, all the roots I've buried just rotted away and got eaten by my swordtail female. -.-

I'd cover my entire tank back in cabomba if I could, that would probably drain some nitrate between the water changes. But I hope cabomba can be held by rocks and not run away from them, as the sand just doesn't seem to hold them down, it only takes a bit of digging from my hoplo and the plants are back to the top.

you can have quite a lot of plants without adding fertilizers.

You just get too watch them die at varying rates....

How do they survive in nature though? No one's dumping ferts there, they get them from fish poop and leftovers, at least that's what I know about recycling in nature.
Just like rice and fish poop go together.

Also some kind of pink lotus plant seemed to last quite a while (almost whole year) until the winter came, and then it froze to death on my balcony.

 

[fluttermoth]

you can have quite a lot of plants without adding fertilizers.

You just get too watch them die at varying rates....

Mine do perfectly well.

 

[FishBlast]

you can have quite a lot of plants without adding fertilizers.

You just get too watch them die at varying rates....

Mine do perfectly well.

For how long have you had them and what species?

 

[fluttermoth]

Which tank? lol!

I have; Amazon swords, cryptocorynes, Java fern, vallis, and they've all been in my tanks for about 15 years, though I can't guarantee (except for some of the Java fern, but that's been split numerous times) that they're the same actual plants; they might be babies of the originals by now!

 

[FishBlast]

Which tank? lol!

I have; Amazon swords, cryptocorynes, Java fern, vallis, and they've all been in my tanks for about 15 years, though I can't guarantee (except for some of the Java fern, but that's been split numerous times) that they're the same actual plants; they might be babies of the originals by now!

Thank you for the info.

Well, not like I really want to keep the originals, as they were in VERY poor condition when bought. Almost half the plant was made of black leaves that would just tear off and float away or lie at the bottom. Now I have no black leaves, but the oldest and closest to the rocks go yellow and rot away, becoming snail food.

The new growths look pretty nice, bright-green and keep extending, some even have buds of their own.

What plants would like a 1.5-2cm high sand substrate (white sand, no idea of composition, it isn't playsand though) or would like to have rocks supporting them but not get tied to the rocks? (I don't really want elastic bands in my tank...) Would Cabomba work like that or would it just keep trying to set itself free?

 

[SO19Firearms]

Mine do perfectly well.

I don't doubt that for a second. But it is your tank. It happens to have the reasonable amounts of CO2, Nitrate, Phosphate, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Boron, etc etc in it for your given light.
A more accurate quote would be "I can have quite a lot of plants without adding fertilizers."

I don't mean to be obtuse but I read similar things and it really isn't the case for everyone.

IMO

but not get tied to the rocks? (I don't really want elastic bands in my tank...)

Superglue them. No cotton, no ties, no lacky bands

 

[FishBlast]

Mine do perfectly well.

I don't doubt that for a second. But it is your tank. It happens to have the reasonable amounts of CO2, Nitrate, Phosphate, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Boron, etc etc in it for your given light.
A more accurate quote would be "I can have quite a lot of plants without adding fertilizers."

I don't mean to be obtuse but I read similar things and it really isn't the case for everyone.

IMO

but not get tied to the rocks? (I don't really want elastic bands in my tank...)

Superglue them. No cotton, no ties, no lacky bands

Not sure we have any non-toxic superglue, as the only thing that is sold as super glue here managed to almost burn my skin and it took over a week to recover my finger from that stuff... And if the plant stem starts to rot, it will still leave the glued area and float back to the top again.

 

[fluttermoth]

Mine do perfectly well.

I don't doubt that for a second. But it is your tank. It happens to have the reasonable amounts of CO2, Nitrate, Phosphate, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Boron, etc etc in it for your given light.
A more accurate quote would be "I can have quite a lot of plants without adding fertilizers."

I don't mean to be obtuse but I read similar things and it really isn't the case for everyone.

IMO

Yes, good points there, I've just never had a problem, in any of my tanks; except for twisted vallis, which I just can't keep.

 

[FishBlast]

Mine do perfectly well.

I don't doubt that for a second. But it is your tank. It happens to have the reasonable amounts of CO2, Nitrate, Phosphate, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Boron, etc etc in it for your given light.
A more accurate quote would be "I can have quite a lot of plants without adding fertilizers."

I don't mean to be obtuse but I read similar things and it really isn't the case for everyone.

IMO

Yes, good points there, I've just never had a problem, in any of my tanks; except for twisted vallis, which I just can't keep.

Wish my water company gave more info than just nitrate, ammonia, nitrite, ph and iron amounts...
Iron: 55 mg/l
Aluminium: 30 mg/l
Hardness: 9.01 german degrees (gdH?) - said to be the result of Ca and Mg.