Re: NANFA-- Return of the sea monkeys?

antilupa antilupa (antilupa_at_yahoo.com)
Fri, 5 Apr 2002 18:24:01 -0800 (PST)

--- Scott Davis <unclescott_at_prodigy.net> wrote:
> Rataj, in his book on Aquarium Plants (TFH in the
> middle 70s), spent a lot
> of time describing the various Aponogetons, their
> beauty and then how
> terrifically hard they are to maintain. A reader of
> his book could
> understandably be discouraged from ever trying to
> raise them. Then Rataj
> cheerfully pointed out that crosses of some of those
> species exhibit a
> certain hybrid vigor and make Aponogetons accessible
> to hobbyists who would
> be unable to raise them otherwise.

Indeed Karl Rataj descriptions were correct in the
seventies. At that time many Aponogeton species were
available in Europe. The so called hybrids were very
rare and mostly obtained by accident. At that time I
kept many Aponogeton species, and most of so called
"hybrids" were sterile. For me ulvaceus is the most
beautiful Aponogeton, even more splendid then the
skeletic Madagascar Lace. I kept them at a hardness
bellow 3 DGH (I don't know how much is this in ppm)
and a pH 6.0-6.2. Moderate to strong light. The plants
were shooting flowers in every tank. I may even have
some old slides somewhere in a drawer.
A. boivinaus is another splendid Aponogeton.

>
> Could it be heresy on a list where consensus very
> reasonably would condemn
> fish hybridizing to applaud using cultivars and
> hybrids of Aponogetons? If
> the crosses were not available, Aponogetons simply
> might not be available at
> all for aquaria or only available at great price.

Tissue culture techniques will produce enough plants
to swamp the market. The technique is not yet used to
produce aquatic plnats. It was promoted in Rataj's
times in the seventies in some Eastern European
countries. I may have an original article on
propagating Aponogeton by tissue culture.

The procedure is standard and is used today to mass
produce orchids. Therefore there is no need for
hybrids (just a personal opinion).

On
> the other hand, one
> could ask, is there a danger of these bulbs "getting
> loose" in the US?

Unlikely that they will make it along the Gulfcoast
states. In the natural habitat they live in slow
flowing, soft acidic waters. This kind of habitat is
not very common around here. BUT who knows they may
like better the FL swamps!

Regards
sorin damian

Is
> there a possibility that these bulbs would get back
> to Madagascar, Sri Lanka
> or South East Asia where the originals came from?
> (Wouldn't have asked these
> questions before joining this list.)
>
> At any rate, it is just as important to not release
> aquarium plants into the
> environment as it is not to release captive fishes.
>
> All the best,
>
> Scott
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Irate_Mormon" <archimed_at_netdoor.com>
> To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
> Sent: Friday, April 05, 2002 6:52 AM
> Subject: Re: NANFA-- Return of the sea monkeys?
>
>
> > At 12:16 AM 4/5/02, you wrote:
> > >According to the package, it's a hybrid
> ulvaceus...whatever that is.
> >
> >
> > Aponogeton ulvaceous are really nice in their pure
> (unhybridized) form,
> but
> > all I can ever find are the hybrids which are not
> nearly as nice.
> >
> >
> > Prost,
> >
> > Martin
> > Jackson, MS
> > -------------------
> > I can't stand cheap people. It makes me real mad
> when someone says
> > something like, "Hey, when are you going to pay me
> that $100 you owe me?"
> > or "Do you have that $50 you borrowed?" Man, quit
> being so cheap!
> >
>
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/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
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/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association
/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
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/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org