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Identify plant please and cory in pic 2

1K views 5 replies 2 participants last post by  Byron 
#1 ·
can anyone identify this plant for me? It hitched a ride on the roots of a sword I bought. Also, I think I was given the wrong species cory at the lfs, anyone know the name of the cory in the photo? Its just a muddy brown.
 

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#2 ·
The plant may be Heteranthera zosterifolia (common name Stargrass because when viewed from directly above the leaves radiate out from the stem like a star) from Brazil. Another suggestion is Didiplis diandra (common name Water Hedge) from North America. I suspect of the two that it is the former, but wouldn't swear to it. If you search these plants online and compare the photos to your plant it may tell you.

The cory looks like one of the dark varieties that appeared in the 1990's as variants of Corydoras aenus. They went under names like Peru Gold Stripe, Peru Gold-Shoulder Red, Peru Green Stripe, and then the lovely (but very rare and pricey) Black. The latter is basically dark, almost or actual black, with reddish fins and a white underside. The stripe versions are similar, not quite so dark, and with a somewhat distinctive (in life) stripe of colour running in an arc from the post-orbital region above the lateral line but below the dorsal ridge to the caudal peduncle. The photo you attach looks like the Black, but I wouldn't say for sure without seeing it.

Byron.
 
#4 ·
Thanks, I'll check them out. I swore there were some cory with goldish color on the shoulder. I guess I'll have to go back to the shop to be sure but they are supposed to be gold shouldered corys.
As i said, I think it is one of that group. There is a faint indication of that arc stripe but I just can't see clear enough from the photo. I don't know your water parameters, but if they are within the fish's preference it may brighten up once it settles in. There can also be a surprising degree of variation between fish of the same species. I have the Aqualog book of All Corydoras [as of the published date of course] and there are photos of several different fish for many of the species and some of them are quite variable, you would scarcely know it was the same species.
 
#5 ·
This may be off topic a bit from my original post. Should I post another thread? My question is that now that my time is here should I have the lights on for 8 hours, off 2, and then on 4? Just curious, algea is not a concern now so what is best for my plants?? 4 T5 lights, 2 6700k & 2 freshwater, 28 watt each for 112 total watts. 55 gallon tank. Plants

Crypts
Amazon Sword
Banana plant
Hornwort
Anubias dwarf
Java fern
Flame moss
Anacharis
Straight Vallis
and of course the original reason for the post, stargrass perhaps
 
#6 ·
This may be off topic a bit from my original post. Should I post another thread? My question is that now that my time is here should I have the lights on for 8 hours, off 2, and then on 4? Just curious, algea is not a concern now so what is best for my plants?? 4 T5 lights, 2 6700k & 2 freshwater, 28 watt each for 112 total watts. 55 gallon tank. Plants

Crypts
Amazon Sword
Banana plant
Hornwort
Anubias dwarf
Java fern
Flame moss
Anacharis
Straight Vallis
and of course the original reason for the post, stargrass perhaps
I have often read about staggered periods of light, especially as a means of combatting algae. To refresh my memory I have turned to Peter Hiscock's recent book and here (in his words since I can't say it as well) is what he says:

Most tropical regions receive roughly 12 hours of daylight, with 10 hours of strong daylight and 10 hours of complete darkness and this varies little throughout the year. It is important to make sure that plants in the aquarium receive a similar amount of light on a regular basis. ... It is important that aquarium plants receive periods of complete darkness. During this time, plants stop photosynthesizing but continue to respire, so a dark period can be considered a period of "rest" for the plants' biological functions. Plants are able to regulate the rate of photosynthesis relatively easily, and quickly respond to changes in light conditions. Algae are not so biologically advanced and need a long and relatively uninterupted period of light to function properly. it is possible to combat algae in the aquarium by controlling the intensity and period of lighting and creating a "siesta" period. This is a perid of darkness that interrupts the normal day/night light cycle. If the aquarium receives 5-6 hours of lighting followed by 2-3 hours of darkness and then another 5-6 hours of light, the plants will be relatively unaffected and receive enough light throughout the day, but algae growth rates will be significantly reduced and may even start to die back.

Elsewhere Hiscock mentions 10-14 hours per day of adequate light to satisfy the photosynthesis requirement, so this can be continuous or divided as above. I have my lights on for 13 hours, and in the past have had them on for 15 hours each day (had a different personal schedule then); with my minimal light (1 watt full spectrum per gallon), no additional CO2 and regular liquid fertilizer, this has worked for 15 years. Algae is generally within reasonable limits, although I do see periodic bursts of hair algae or brush algae [these are the worst] brought on by some factor; I think next time I will try Hiscock's siesta approach.
 
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