Where to buy aquatic plants in Ottawa

[marcin]

Hello,

New to the group and in the process of starting a 100 G tank.  At present I have a 75 G hosting an amazonian biotope.  I have a problem... got snails (trumpet and ramshorn) which, even with persistent "baiting and harvesting", continue to eat my plants.  I have not used CuSO4 as a means of snail control.  The fish are healthy and eager to get a bigger home, well at least some of them.  So...

1) where in Ottawa can one buy true aquarium plants to fill a 5*2*3 tank.. snail free (is this possible?)

2) If not in Ottawa, has anyone had good experience with online dealers?

3) if I transfer only the fish (nothing else), is there a chance that snail eggs will travel into the new tank?

Comments, suggestions ?

Thank-you,

Marcin

[Greg Turner]

You can keep a planted snail free tank.  You just need to be careful about what your putting in the tank.  You can dip your plants/wood in a snail destroying solution or bleech (I've never tried any of those so research it a bit).  Or, you can use snail killing fish such as the Clown Loach, to keep them under control.  Here's more info about snail control: http://www.applesnail.net/content/various/eradication.htm

IMO, snails are good so long as they are kept in check.  The ramshorn are bad (except the Red ones), the trumpets are good (if they're the malasian trumpet snails they are carnivorous), certain Apple are good, Mystery snails...who knows.

Just as an off point, some snails are amphibious, so they theorically could just roam out of one tank and into the other.

1) where in Ottawa can one buy true aquarium plants to fill a 5*2*3 tank.. snail free (is this possible?)

All the aquarium stores sell aquatic plants to some extent.  If your looking for more rarer varieties check out the ovas mini auction, which usually has crypts and other stuff you won't find at Big Als.  However, you can always ask your LFS to special order for you.

3) if I transfer only the fish (nothing else), is there a chance that snail eggs will travel into the new tank?

No.

[marcin]

Thank-you very much for your suggestions.
I will visit the links provided.

I tried the loach approach, and only got as far as the quarantine tank since within 12hrs they developped ich.  While still alive I fed the loaches crushed snails (small)... they loved it.  It turns out that all the specimen from the same tank at the LFS had ich. Good thing for the quarantine.

Marcin

[dpatte]

Mystery snails...who knows.

There is a joke in there

BTW - i thought mystery snails where the same as apple snails.

[dpatte]

Alot of members of the club are avid plant growers. The best way to get plants (at a great price) is come to one of the club's meetings. The auctions often have wonder plants - and you can get to know the growers.

[gturner]

Yeah, some experts say mystery snail = apple snails.  I think the mystery snail trade name was invented because they didn't really know what they had.

Anyways, speaking of snails, does anyone have a red ramshorn snail for sale or trade?  or, have seen them in LFS?

[Poustic]

Has anyone here bought aquarium plants from this place called Ottawa Aquatics?  Any comments?  Or other suggestions?

http://www.ottawaaquatics.com/

Poustic

[Troy]

Poustic : No not plants, but I did buy a book from them. They were very nice to me and checked back... (phoned) me to make sure this was the book I wanted. They also wanted to make sure every thing arrived in good condition and that I was satisfied. So yes I had a good experience with Ottawa Aquatics. Hope this helps..... Troy.

[soozoom]

Hmmm, I'm having a bit of a plant dilemma in Ottawa too. I've got my first tank but I'm still doing my research, so there's no water in it yet. I've got a 29 gallon tank with 37 watts of light, so I figure I'm limited to low-light plants. My local pet store has a small selection of aquarium plants, but they're all rated for bright light. Where can I find some attractive, undemanding plants?

Question #2: I wandered down to the river yesterday and picked up a few friendly-looking rocks for my aquarium. Is there some special way of washing rocks before using them in an aquarium?

Question #3: I bought an AP water-testing kit and discovered that my tap water is weird. Straight out of the tap it has a pH of 8.6 (8.0 after 24 hours). It's also very soft - only 2 drops to make it change colour (<50ppm, I think). Is there something I can or should do to treat the water?

Question #4: Am I worrying too much about all this stuff? My friends just bought a tank, filled it with water and dumped some fish in...no problem.  I've been reading and researching for weeks about tanks, water, fish, plants, light, aquascaping, biology, and every answer leads to more questions. The more you learn about something, the more you realize how much you don't know. At this rate, I'll never get water into my tank, let alone fish!

Thanks in advance for any tips.

- susan

[inagremlin]

http://www.ottawaaquatics.com/

Yes! Ottawa Aquatics is a small operation but they offer great selection, can order just about anything you want (if you're willing to wait)... plus... they offer a 15% discount to OVAS members.. just let them know you are one by showing your card or providingthe info.

I, and my fish, recommend them highly as long as you're patient, especially when ordering "off the menu."

... Tell 'em Gina sent you...

Cheers,
Gina




PS- When is the barbeque??
:wink: