Micro-epiphite for aerial part of aquarium?

[Call_Me_Bob]

okay.

i cant seem to think of anything that small,that would thrive in that. maybe philip will have something. he is the king after all!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The only species right off the top my head that can tolerate the possibility of brackish water spraying onto it are the ones that come from those kinds of habitats.

The ones that I can think of are giants. Dendrobium discolor and Dendrobium taurinum are just a couple of the Dendrobiums in the section Spatulata that come from magrove swamps.

There are minis that come from coastal forests such as Sophronitis cernua. These require high light though.

Another one that comes from coastal forests is Psychopsiella lemminghei, but these need more than the amount of space you have to allow for them to grow. However, with this species, they are ultra slow growing, so you can get away with it for now.

I'll try to think of some others later down the line.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Tillandsia usneoides can be seen growing on branches of trees in swamps as well, but I don't know if those are brackish water swamps.

It could still work if they're hung high enough away from the water. They trail and get very large over time. These are somewhat slow growing though.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Maybe Phalaenopsis appendiculata, if I'm not mistaken I think these may be found along mangrove swamps and coastal forests. But you gotta watch the roots and make sure they don't trail into the brackish water.

Maxillaria schunkeana is found along coastal forests in the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil. Again, you gotta watch the roots going into the water.

[Maurizio]

And, forgot to answer: I'm planning some basic, sturdy plants - perhaps just mosses - to give some shelter in the water.

[Maurizio]

Thanks King Philip,
now I've got info to work on. Wow, Maxillaria schunkeana is gorgeous. Is it a micro, though? Looks big to me, from what I saw on web...

I'm very aware of the salt problem, and even though it will be low-end brackish, I'll have to be careful, indeed. Therefore small, slow-growers are perfect.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Max. schunkeana is only about 3" (7.5 cm) tall at most. They're usually a bit smaller, at about 2.5" (about 6.4 cm) tall.

This plant grows very fast. It can double in size in about 1 - 2 years.

[Yukonphal]

ok......just a newbie here....but would the Brackish(as in salty water soaking up the wood roots) not be a problem? salt gathers at the top of wooden objects as the water evaporates

[Maurizio]

Hello all,
so far I've been using Tillandsiae spp. collected in Brazil.
You can see the layout in the pictures I added in my (b)log, My aquarium, there's a post added on Nov 26 showing all the plants.

The two smallest Tillandsiae have succumbed to the high humidity, and on the others I can see tiny traces of mold. One of the orchids (unknown) lost all its flower buds once settled in, they all turned yellowish and died out. So, not good. The brackish water is not an issue at the moment. Plus, I added some artificial "mangrove" leaves where the hopefully the archerfishes will aim at.

I believe my main problem here is high humidity content and extreme vicinity to lights (6 hours/day only!). There's no room for a fan, given the small place....

I wonder if the previous suggestions given above would still be valid in such an environment, or should I rather go for something more appropriate. The strange thing is, apart fom those who indeed died, all plants don't show any sign of being too wet, on the contrary!

[DelawareJim]

Nice setup on your blog.

I think you're going to need to go with hardier aquatic plants because of the very high humidity and lack of a fan.

First thoughts are Anubias and Cryptocoryne. I grow both emersed and they grow quite well in my setups. Tropica, who I'm sure you've heard of, grows these plants emersed, so you should be good to go.

I'm assuming the mangrove roots are plastic and not real mangrove roots. If that's the case, you may have to tie them with some fishing line as the roots might not want to attach.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Cheers.
Jim