TAKIN' THE HEAT! PLANTS FOR DISCUS TANKS

[discuslover87]

Hm.. it seems they just gave me a clump of greenery when I ordered Ricca fluitans, and I know it is a floating plant but not sure I am doing it correctly. I plunked it in the water, but some of the little parts are coming off.. it's like all these tiny green particles lumped together.. I don't want them dying and producing too much ammonia. Suggestions?

[ronrca]

discuslover,
Not sure! Any pics?

I have kept plants in the high 80's with no problems. If in doubt, I would try it and we may be surprised at the number of plants that can be in higher temps. 8)

[Ralph]

That sounds like Riccia alright. Don't worry about the heat, mine has lived in 92 degree F and still thrives (it gets warm in Arizona). It's non-rooting and the pieces that you see floating around are individual plants. I keep mine as a floating plant but many people attach clumps of the stuff to driftwood, rocks, or mix it in with the gravel. They use fishing line, hairnets, string, etc. to keep it attached, but it requires maintenence though. Too much for me, so I let it float, and it clumps up all by itself.

[cramramdon]

Fishing line tied really well on stones works really well for submerging riccia 8) It has a tendancy to grow towards the surface due to its floating nature and the oxygen bubbles that it forms actually assist in pulling the plant to the surface. When this happens you can either trim it or place another riccia attached stone right on top of the loosened clump to weigh it down. It will all mesh together and actually form a nice looking terrain.

Heres a link with some good info on plants www.fishvet.com - Theres plant packages that you can buy specifically designed for the higher temp discus aquarium. Also theres lots of other plants with info on them

cram