Many saw bright green lumps of plants of various sizes in aquariums. This is riccia. Often this algae is called water moss. Riccia in the aquarium is used for decorative purposes, as well as a shelter for fish. Aquarists like it because it is multifunctional and unpretentious. But, like all vegetation, it will require special care.
Riccia in the aquarium
A photo of this plant shows that it is very original. These floating lumps of moss fell in love with many aquarists. Riccia is a small plate intertwined. This plant has no leaves or roots. Richia in the aquarium looks like moss islets of bright green color. They can float at the surface or they can be fixed at the bottom. This algae grows quickly and can decorate any aquarium in a short time.
Riccia never grows to the subject to which it is attached. Newly grown leaves fall away from the mother stem and float to the surface of the water. In order not to make frequent plant transplants, it is sometimes necessary to refresh its lumps, cutting them off with scissors or nibbling pebbles. This will prevent the ascent.
Benefits of Riccia
Each owner has his own opinion about this alga. Some believe that this moss only clogs the aquarium, while others, on the contrary, consider this plant to be very useful for water. To figure out whether this is true, let's see what properties this alga has:
- Richia in the aquarium actively saturates water with oxygen;
- participates in the exchange of mineral and organic substances;
- It helps very well to small fish who do not like intense lighting, creating a shadow for them;
- provides a place for spawning fish;
- good shelter for fry;
- simple ciliates breed very well in moss, and this is an excellent food for small fish;
- ampullaria and turtles like to feast on riches;
- also this plant provides an opportunity to embody a variety of design fantasies of the aquarist.
Riccia in the aquarium: content
This seaweed does not require special care. This plant is unpretentious and tenacious. From a small piece a new thallus can develop. The plant can live both at a temperature of +15 and at a temperature of +30 degrees Celsius, but 22-28 degrees is considered the most suitable temperature regime. At low temperatures, riccia begins to turn into spores to wait out the cold. At first it turns brown, and its size becomes smaller and smaller, until the plant disappears altogether. But when the temperature regime becomes favorable for moss, then it will appear again, will begin to sprout from the spores that it created during withering.
Richness itself is photophilous, but incandescent lamps will not work for it, since it will result in overheating of the water, which will lead to the loss of the plant. In addition, this moss does not like a large number of dissolved particles, so up to 20% of the aquarium water needs to be replaced weekly.
Plant nutrition
Riccia in the aquarium does not require additional mineral top dressing, unlike other plants. She receives vital products from small fish, which form the organic soil for feeding. If the water is too saturated with impurities of organic matter and lime, plaque starts on the stems of the moss, which will interfere with the process of photosynthesis, preventing light from penetrating. If the fish need quarantine, if there is a need to add salt or medicine, then it is better to temporarily transfer the fish to another aquarium, then nothing will happen with riccia. After all, she does not tolerate the presence of salts in water.
How to breed this plant?
Riccia from tiny particles propagates, sticking to the paws of floating individuals, which transfer the plant from the reservoir to the reservoir. It has the property of rapid growth in stagnant or slowly flowing waters. The riches in the aquarium are propagated by the separation of thallus. You need to separate a small piece from the mother bush. It can be transplanted into another aquarium, where it will grow in a few weeks.
To prevent good growth of the bush can fish that love grass, or an open mechanical effect. If the thallus is disturbed, it will fall into small parts that are difficult to assemble back. Ritchia moss in the aquarium is growing rapidly, covering the entire surface of the water. As a result, it is necessary to periodically remove part of the plant.
Decorate the aquarium with riccia
With the help of this plant you can realize the most daring design decisions. Riccia can not only be on the surface of the water, it can be lowered to the bottom of the aquarium. But for this you need to come up with something in order for her to stay there. How to fix riccia in the aquarium?
- In order to make a beautiful carpet, it is necessary to lower the algae to the bottom with a support, for example, pebbles, snags or soil. The richness at the bottom of the aquarium will give the impression of being strewn with small pearls. And give the plant a thousand small bubbles that appear on it.
- In addition, you can fix the moss with a grid designed specifically for the aquarium, or with an ordinary fishing line. You can also make a net from the washcloth yourself: just remove the rope that ties the washcloth into a circle. The branches of the plant are stretched into the cells, such a carpet is placed on the bottom of the aquarium and is pressed by pebbles around the perimeter.
- If the idea is that the riccia be attached vertically or laid on a snag, then you can also hold it with a fishing line. You do not need to worry about the appearance. The plant grows rapidly, and soon the line will not be visible.
- You can also decorate the stone with moss, placing riccia on its surface and crushing it with a net. The mesh itself is reinforced with the same stone.
- A half of a ceramic pot decorated with riccia will look very beautiful. The shard is laid with a cut to the bottom, this will serve as a shelter for the fish, and on top it is decorated with a net with a plant.
