i have some plants in a aquarium i would like to show here (or rather a family member im trying to convince to join)

YES! I have a fish tank w goldfish and it has so MUCH algae Someone told me that putting live plants in it would use up the nutrients so the algae would not form/grow. But I have goldfish-afraid they may eat the plants, and also fearful of putting in plants from the petstore and getting a disease/parasite introduced. I do a huge water change every 4 days to keep the algae under control.

I'd love to see your plants! How big is your tank and what do you have in it?

Yes, I think we would welcome aquarium discussion, and planted tanks especially. I know we've welcomed aquaponic discussion in the past, too.

thanks!

psa said:

Looks similar to a perch. Related at all, or no?

The family Cichlidae arose between 80 and 100 million years ago within the order Perciformes (perch-like fishes).

As Rj was saying, it's a cichlid, specifically the common blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus), which I raise for use in warm-water aquaponic systems. The picture with the cat has ~50 of them in a tank at <1".

Is that the type of tilapia I see in the store to eat?

I guess I thought they were fresh water fish, but the photos look like saltwater tank to me?

The tilapia you find in the store will vary, though imported nile (niloticus) are the most common I see around here. They've often crossed them out with mossambicus and others to try to produce whiter or redder flesh. Tastewise, blue are very similar, if you give them a cleanwater flush a week before harvest.

The last two photos, of the reef tank with the clown fish, and of the seahorse, are in saltwater. The others are fresh. I grabbed photos of various types of tanks I've kept, just to invite people doing any of the same things to contribute. I don't currently have any classic planted tanks, and I couldn't find pictures of my previous ones for some reason. Mostly I have koi and aquaponics at the moment. I'm taking a break from tilapia, though I don't normally keep anything but the breeders over winter.

I got into ponds and aquaria from love of plants, though it's turned into a regular fish-raising sideline. Even my saltwater came about because
plants->bog plants->brackish water/saltmarsh/mangroves->saltwater
though I don't do much with saltwater anymore.

I have just joined and keeping plants in aquariums has been a long time hobby of mine, since High School. One thing I don't have is artistic skill. I like to grow plants as a farmer, but for beauty, I'm a lot challenged. I enjoy the technical side: equipment, fertilizers, making substrates, mixing clay for additions to the substrates... I also enjoy the non standard growing of plants-growing for experiments.

We have an Aquatic Gardening Club here in NJ called the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club. I've been a member since Aug 2007. I was President for over 10 years. I'm not saying this to get people from here to join. In fact, we limit our membership to those that stand a chance of attending one of our meetings which take place in member homes.