RE: Newbie Questions -Reply

[Carlos Munoz <cmunoz@crystal.cirrus.com>]

>>>>> "WV" == William Vannerson <William_Vannerson@ama-assn.org> writes:

    [...]

    WV> IMHO keeping healthy plants in a tank can be as challenging
    WV> as keeping fish.  They need attention and care too.  So I
    WV> decided to concentrate on the fish first then work into plants if
    WV> I feel up to it. (Also , I have a *brown* thumb).

    [...]

    WV> Anyway, the point is do what feels comfortable for you.  There
    WV> are advantages to having live plants in a tank but they do
    WV> require some time and energy.  Don't feel compelled to take
    WV> on too much at one time if you're not comfortable with the
    WV> idea.  It's your hobby... enjoy it.

Thanks for giving us your perspective, Bill.  Its nice to hear some
"step back and re-evaluate" opinions to help keep us all looking at this
in the proper perspective.  As an aspiring aquatic gardener, I like to
encourage people to at least *look* into adding plants to their tanks
since I don't know an apisto that *wouldn't* do better with a well-planted
tank.  In my opinion, the benefits far outweight the disadvantages, and
I find that I spend less time in my tanks than the average fish-only
aquarist spends on theirs.  I think the only people who wouldn't benefit
much from plants are mass-breeders, who pack their tanks with fry and 
try to maximize fry growth with overfeeding and massive water changes.

The idea is that if you take care of the plants, the plants will take
care of the water quality and the fish.  It doesn't have to cost a lot
of money, it doesn't have to take a lot of time, and it doesn't have to
be complicated.  There's a lot of confusion and misinformation that's 
been propagated by local fish shops (LFS) and on the net about aquatic 
plants, and not enough of us to combat it.  I've by no means an expert
at this and I've never been able to keep a houseplant alive, but following 
one of many very well-documented and scientific methods I've gotten to
the point that not only do I have a majestic slice of nature in my living 
room, I finally understand what's going on in my aquarium and I most time
I spend on it is feeding my fish.  

I respect the decision of those of you who are doing just fine and don't
want something else to worry about.  Those of you who are curious or
would like to try again, please read up on the hobby from non-commercial
sources like Eric Olson's "The Krib" section on plants, the Aquatic Plants
Digest mailing list archives (and join the digest list) and particularly
notable aquatic gardeners whose names you'll run across in those readings.
Or even among those in this list.  I know some you here have fantastic tanks.
Don't try to mix-and-match styles, however, until you've got a good grasp of
what is important and what is not (and you have one sucessful tank under 
your belt)...many early failures in this hobby are due to focusing on the
wrong thing when you mix-and-match techniques.  Almost everyone in the
hobby that's had success would not mind sharing his/her style and helping
those that actually follow their advice...and there are plenty of success 
stories at all levels of expense, time-commitment, and complication.  You'll 
be surprised how wrong some of the things you hear about plants can be. 

The biggest one is that there are only either plant-centric tanks or fish-
centric tanks.  It's a continuous spectrum.  There's no reason you can't 
be an apisto-junkie and not have a beautifully-planted tank.

Some sources for reading:

   The Krib (plants) -- http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~aquaria/Krib/Plants
   APD archives      -- http://www.actwin.com/fish/aquatic-plants


- -Carlos
- --
Carlos E. Munoz             Crystal Semiconductor Products Division
cmunoz@crystal.cirrus.com   Cirrus Logic, Inc.   Work:(512)912-3126 
"Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur."