Koi Fish Information Centre

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/plants/FrancoValias_aquatic_flowers.html goes over some of the flowering plants, with pictures at the bottom, but they usually flower in the air above the water line although some will flower under water. It doesn’t usually happen unless conditions are just right.
http://faq.thekrib.com/plant-list.html - scroll down to the “Rosette” plants section… about 1/2 way down the page. You’ll also see the ferns/mosses at the bottom.
I think many people use shorter 5% bleach dip periods for Java Moss and some other plants known to be more sensitive. The articles/links in my blog, on sanitizing plants, should go over this. I haven’t read them in a while so if they don’t, I need to add more info to that blog. Let me know.
I was recently reading a forum thread on how to clean fruits, veggies, lettuce, etc. for human consumption and the concept of using two spray bottles.. one with full consumer strength hydrogen peroxide (usually a 3% solution) and one with vinegar (plain white).. and then spritzing the plants/veggies with these two. Spray one, let it sit a moment, rinse, then spray with the other, let it sit a moment and rinse. Do not mix the two at the same time. Supposedly, university experiments are being done that show this process works better than bleach at killing pathogens such as e. coli, salmonella, etc., without the chance of a chlorine aftertaste in your food… which could also cause you digestive issues. I haven’t done any Google Scholar searches for more details but the concept certainly seems viable to me. I think someone who is about to set up a new planted tank should experiment with this to see how well this might work on aquatic plants (hint, hint)… at least it should work for killing any possible bad bacteria and the HP would probably work on most, if not all, algae spores on the plants. HP is already used in aquaria and I’ve spot treated a filamentous algae using a syringe with HP in a stocked aquarium. Of course, this HP/Vinegar treatment was being used on plants/veggies that were about to be cooked or eaten fresh… not to be sanitized prior to planting in an aquarium so the treatment may not be suitable for aquarium plants if the mortality rate is higher than the procedures we currently use… but I thought it was an interesting twist on milder sanitizing/disinfecting agents that could be used on plants going into our aquariums. Alum treatment would still be needed for ridding the plant of the potential for snails/eggs.
The next time I set up a tank with newly acquired plants.. or if I ever feel the need to sanitize any of my current plants, I’ll give it a try but I don’t anticipate doing this any time soon.
Lenny Vasbinder Fish Blog - http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com (Links to any articles referenced in above reply are listed on the right side, alphabetically under Labels and also under Archives by Year, Month)

Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society