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  Re: aquatic spathiphyllum
From: "Ron Iles" roniles at eircom.net> on 2002.05.24 at 15:14:13(8867)
Hi, Julius

Good to hear the concern from a seeming Member of the ASPCF but no offence
intended in my chuckles. Naturally I thought that when sold both fish &
plants would have full instructions for the welfare of both fish & plant but
it seems not so.

For those who may not know the species, male bettas, (brilliantly coloured),
are so aggressive towards other males they have to be reared on their own
anyway. In my fun I had assumed that as air breathers they had access to
the water surface, that the temperature was optimum & that they would be
given a diet as befits a carnivore, that the jar was big enough & the plant
roots.maintained good water quality. With room for a female the roots
might provide haven for her from his most aggressive attacks after mating.
Like the guppies which first gave me my lasting love of tropical fishes, it
seemed to me that "Betta in a Jar" might evangelise that wonder for
others.....

For my Spathiphyllum it would be wonderful to synergise plant & fish culture
& others. Please folks can you share your experiences on which I can base
further experiments? And especial thank you for the observations so far of
wild Spathiphyllum living partly or wholly in water.

Apparently one of the few health hazards of Spathiphyllum is Cylindrocladium
causing root & basal petiole rot in seemingly waterlogged substrate which
to me is a paradox. From my reading it appears to be prevalent mostly in
hybrids especially in Florida at temperatures above 85F & maybe in Holland?
I assumed that many or most Spathiphyllum would grow well with their roots
in suitably warmed aerated water. Immersing samples of common hybrids in
various lab experiments, ALL of them rotted. So how do folks suggest they
& other "willing" potted aroids can be re-established to grow emersed in
water?

I would like to keep both fishes & plants together best in an Irish Tropical
Eden please & request all the help I can get? To me ponds, streams &
waterfalls, & fauna, bring gardens even more to life. Maybe a lot of us are
subconsciously seeking to re-create our own visions of Eden?

Sincerely

Ron

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