Not really sure where to post this as I was hoping for some help. I have a planted tank but decided to grow a Lotus plant 11 months ago. No equipment of any sort. Just the lotus plant in some really stinky soil in a large pot. I would say that the pot size is around 25" in diameter and is 3/4 filled with soil and topped up with around 6 inches of water. 5 Guppies were thrown in from day one and they have since multiplied/died. At any one time, I do see at least 8-12 guppies around even though I have not fed them any single thing. The lotus is doing very well with new leaves sprouting almost every single week and has flowered 3 times so far in the 11 months. I do put in some ferts stick into the soil every month or so. There are some pond snails that grows and I have added in some duck weed to provide additional cover for the water but would say they are flourishing but only cover at most 20% of the water as I do clear them every once in a while when I add in water. Water added in are from the tap dosed with prime.
Now everything is fine except that thread algae just seem to grow. Every week, I have to fish out what I can get with my hands or it would quickly overrun the whole pot. The pot gets around 3-4 hours of direct sun everyday and indirect sun the rest of the 6-8hours. I am not sure what else to do. I tried introducing a SAE, but could not see it alive after one week. Introduced another last night and it seem ok swimming around slowly. But when I checked another hour later, it had jumped out and died on the balcony floor. So algae eaters might not survive due to lack of maybe lack oxygen or high temp. I believe the water temp is around 24 degrees centigrade to around 31? on a hot day all year round with the average of 28. I was thinking of introducing some amano shrimp but they might not survive I guess.
Does anyone know what else I could try that does not make this too labour intensive? I like to really leave it to the elements and the guppies I have to ensure that I do not need to feed them yet, they ensure no mosquito larvae breeds. I only had to top up water every 10 - 14 days or so. So I like to keep it maintenance free if possible.
Now everything is fine except that thread algae just seem to grow. Every week, I have to fish out what I can get with my hands or it would quickly overrun the whole pot. The pot gets around 3-4 hours of direct sun everyday and indirect sun the rest of the 6-8hours. I am not sure what else to do. I tried introducing a SAE, but could not see it alive after one week. Introduced another last night and it seem ok swimming around slowly. But when I checked another hour later, it had jumped out and died on the balcony floor. So algae eaters might not survive due to lack of maybe lack oxygen or high temp. I believe the water temp is around 24 degrees centigrade to around 31? on a hot day all year round with the average of 28. I was thinking of introducing some amano shrimp but they might not survive I guess.
Does anyone know what else I could try that does not make this too labour intensive? I like to really leave it to the elements and the guppies I have to ensure that I do not need to feed them yet, they ensure no mosquito larvae breeds. I only had to top up water every 10 - 14 days or so. So I like to keep it maintenance free if possible.