A Tale of Two Freshwater Planted Tanks

May 05, 2016 • 3:50 AM UTC

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Nicole

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Hello again, Nicole here, but this time I will be sharing a couple of freshwater specimens. There is great diversity between the different species both at a macroscopic and anatomical level and a microscopic level. My husband Nilo and I have a couple of planted tanks so I decided to look at some of the plants and a “pest” at the cellular level. Nilo works with microscopes ALL the time, he studies phytoplankton and was excited to help me mount the slides and explore. Unfortunately, one of our tanks recently had an unexpected and significant rise in temperature killing all of the fish 🙁 and 3 of 4 shrimp (a robust survivor!) while also promoting the rapid growth of a nasty invader, generically known as ‘Green Hair Algae.’ This unfavorable long and stringy nuisance is difficult to identify because many strains look very similar (with the naked eye, us aquarists need more foldscopes!). Green Hair Algae are also so diverse that some individuals are actually more closely related to fungi and animals than plants. CRAZY!!! Here are a series of photos from afar, closer and a close up of the hairy pest.

Look for the hairy green algae along the piece of wood to the right in the tank.

It looks cool once magnified, I wonder if the different individuals can be identified to species level under a foldscope lens?

Slide of Hairy Green Algae

Green Hairy Algae view with Foldscope

Subsequent view of Green Hairy Algae
So on to the healthy tank where we find numerous species, but I will only be looking at two of them: Subwassertang ( Lomariopsis lineata ) and Java Moss ( Vesticularia dubyana ).
Note : both species have contradicting scientific names, neither of which have 100% certain identities. This is ironic because they are both very common in planted tanks.

A well established and healthy planted tank containing at least 8 or 9 different freshwater plant species. The fish are hard to distinguish in this picture but there are 5 neon tetras ( Paracheirodon innesi ), a glowlight tetra ( Hemigrammus erythrozonus ) and a shrimp (just above the glow light). Can you find them? Subwassertang originated from India and quickly spread to southeast Asia and can grow in both high and low light. It looks and feels like a seaweed but is a liverwort. This plant can be placed on the bottom of the tank, in gravel or sand, or tied to driftwood or a rock and will attach and grow.

Subwassertang with neon tetra

Subwassertang slide

Subwassertang normal view with the foldscope

Subwassertang with 3.4X magnification of my phone
Java Moss is native to southeast Asia and is very common in planted aquariums. It’s long and thin with lateral protrusions and currently has brown masses along the underside (possibly spores or sori?) This plant can thrive with varying light intensities and can even survive in brackish water! If placed on solid surfaces (rocks or wood) it will easily attach, and is a great addition if attempting to maintain water quality.

A close up of the intricate and beautiful Java Moss!

Java Moss slide
A couple of different views are shown below

The terminal end of a single strand of Java Moss

Central portion of the same slide

Edge of plant showing one of the protrusions! (I think the far right cluster of cells in the field of view is the protrusion or part of a lateral blade…)

Spores? The brown area in the center of the picture reminded me of the sori from a fern, but it isn’t flat circles it is a bit more three-dimensional and hair-like. It kind of looks like an olive, yumm!
I hope you all enjoyed learning a bit about freshwater planted tanks, I had fun sharing! Until next time 🙂

A Tale of Two Freshwater Planted Tanks

Nicole

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