AQUATIC HORTICULTURE		BY KAREN RANDALL

Welcome to the World of Aquatic Plants

KAREN RANDALL

Reading all you can will start you down the path toward a beautiful aquatic garden like this 150-gallon tank owned by David Lass.

Welcome to my first column for Aquarium Frontiers on-line magazine, a brand new adventure for us all! By way of introduction, let me tell you a little about myself. I have been involved in aquatic gardening for about 15 years now. In my quest to further my own education in this absorbing hobby, I found out just how hard it was to find good, accurate information on the culture of aquarium plants. As I learned more, I wanted to help people enjoy their planted tanks as much as I did. I started lecturing, first at the local level, then nationally. I also started to write on planted aquaria for several of the hobby magazines. I have now had work published in five languages.

This column will be a little different than anything I've done before. I will try to bring you a number of different (and valid) approaches to aquatic horticulture. I will also bring in "guest columnists" from time to time to introduce their particular areas of expertise. Because of the interactive nature of the electronic media, you have the opportunity to truly be a part of this column, both in direction and content. Please e-mail me with your comments, questions and ideas. Photos of your beautifully planted tanks are welcome as well!

In the spirit of spreading as much information as possible, I thought we'd start off this month with a list of useful books on aquatic plants. This list is certainly not exhaustive, but was put together by actually pulling my favorites down off the shelf as I wrote. Feel free to add your favorite books to the list through e-mail! I am frequently asked to recommend a book for people who are interested in aquatic plants. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this question. While there are a number of useful books on aquatic plants available, there is no single book that stands out as the book to own.

In my opinion, for someone just getting started with plants, there is one book that does clearly lead the pack: Aquarium Plants Manual by Ines Scheurmann (Barron's). This 93-page paperback book can be found in local book stores, and, at a price of around $9, it's hard to beat. It provides a thorough explanation of how to go about setting up a planted tank, and why. It is well illustrated with beautiful photos, and many major families of aquarium plants are represented.

Although there are a couple of minor errors that I suspect were introduced during translation from the German original, the major downfall of this book is in the area of identification. As might be expected in a book of this size, it is just not possible to include a comprehensive listing of the plant species available to hobbyists for aquarium use. There is an older book by Scheurmann, Water Plants in the Aquarium, that, while a nice little book in its own right, does not come close to providing the amount of useful material packed into this newer volume. Aquarium Plants Manual is not a revision of the earlier book, but a completely new effort on the author's part.

Another good place to start is Dennerle's System for a Problem-free Aquarium. This book is actually a catalog for the Dennerle company that, unfortunately, does not market its products or plants in the United States. Still, this 128-page book is full of good solid information on aquarium plant culture. It also contains an "encyclopedia" of 225 aquarium plants, and 15 assorted planting layouts. It is available in the U.S. to members of the Aquatic Gardeners Association (see sidebar entitled "The Aquatic Gardeners Association").

For those who are at all serious about planted tanks, The Optimum Aquarium by Kaspar Horst and Horst E. Kipper (Aquadocumenta) is almost a must. At a price almost three times greater than the Scheurmann book, it is not such a bargain, but on the other hand, it does pack a lot of information into its 203 pages. The Optimum Aquarium does not even attempt to serve as an identification source for plants. The authors state right in the text that that is not their purpose. The purpose is to lay down a "blueprint" for management of the planted tank that will allow anyone to be successful as long as they follow the directions.

Herein lies my biggest objection. The authors are the founders of Dupla (for those of you who are not familiar with Dupla, it is a major manufacturer, located in Germany, of high-quality aquarium equipment), and the book stops just short of suggesting that the only way to succeed is the Dupla way. Another minor, but still annoying, problem is the difficult translation of the book. In places, the wording of the translation is such that you may have to re-read a passage several times to figure out what the authors are trying to say. Still, this book has probably done more to advance the awareness of proper aquarium plant maintenance in this country than any other, and as such deserves a spot on the shelf of any serious aquatic gardener. Unfortunately, I believe it is currently out of print in English, but there are still copies floating around in pet stores and through some of the mail-order sources.

Another good source of information on planted tanks is already sitting on the shelves of many aquarist libraries -- the Baensch Aquarium Atlas, volumes 1 through 3, by Dr. Rudiger Riehl and Hans A. Baensch (Tetra Press). On top of the excellent information on fish that these books provide, there is a 70-odd-page section on plants in volume 1, 163 pages in volume 2, and 65 pages in volume 3. These sections include good information on setup, maintenance and propagation of a variety of aquatic plants, photos to help in the identification of algae, and even a plate of "unsuitable" aquarium plants. The photos are wonderful, and the selection of plants is extensive.

A book for collectors of aquatic plant literature is Aquarium Plants by Dr. Karel Rataj and Thomas J. Horeman (T.F.H. Publications). While this book is 20 years out of date, and there have been numerous changes in nomenclature in the interim (many by Dr. Rataj himself), it is still a classic. It is well illustrated with a combination of black and white and color photos, although I would question the identity of some of the plants in the photos. The quality of the photos is not quite as good as that of the previously mentioned books. At a price close to $30, this is probably a book for those with a serious interest in this phase of the hobby and/or those interested in collecting aquatic literature.

There are two commonly available, reasonably priced volumes that are worthy additions to any aquatic plant library. The

THE AQUATIC GARDENERS ASSOCIATION At a membership rate of $15 per year (U.S. funds) the Aquatic Gardeners Association is hard to beat as a source of up-to-date information on planted tanks. Their bimonthly publication, The Aquatic Gardener, is one more tremendous resource available to those interested in aquatic plants. You can join by sending a check or money order in U.S. funds or Mastercard or VISA information to: Aquatic Gardeners Association, c/o Dorothy Reimer, 83 Cathcart St., London, Ontario N6C 3L9, Canada.

first is Tetra's A Fishkeeper's Guide to Aquarium Plants by Barry James. Although only 117 pages, like the rest of the books in the Tetra series, it is well done. There are only about 60 species described, but they are some of the most commonly available. The color photos of each plant are of excellent quality, making identification easy. While I don't agree with everything in the section on cultivating aquarium plants, the basics are correct enough to get someone off to a good start.

The second of these books is Windeløv's Tropica Catalogue of Aquarium Plants with text by Jiri Stodola (T.F.H. Publications). This small paperback has very little material on growing aquarium plants, but is a useful source for identification. The drawings are very well done. Although this might seem to be a disadvantage, in some cases drawings of this quality are better at showing a particular leaf structure than a photo would be. The book claims to feature "over 125 species in color." Because both of these books are available at under $10 each, they are easy on the pocketbook, while helping to expand your aquatic plant knowledge.

The Encyclopedia of Water Plants by Jiri Stodola (T.F.H. Publications) is currently out of print, but can still be found from time to time. It is worth picking up if you see it. At 368 pages, it contains quite a bit of useful information. Keep in mind, however, that, like the Rataj book, much of the nomenclature is out of date. It is nicely illustrated with paintings of many plants.

In terms of identification, there is one new book that stands above all others: Aquarienpflanzen by Christel Kasselman, published by DATZ-Atlanten. The catch? It is currently only available in German. If you are really serious about plants, don't let this dissuade you from acquiring it. Remember, scientific names are the same in any language, and the photos in this book are excellent. One important difference between this and the other "ID" type books is that this one also includes biotope photos, many photos of flowers, and photos of emersed, as well as submerged, growth. If you can read German, you will find the text is excellent and accurate, as well. There are plans in the works to publish an English edition of the book within the next year if there is enough interest.

In the area of aquascaping for the planted tank, there are two inexpensive (under $20) books offered by T.F.H. that are well worth the investment. The first is The Biotope Aquarium by Rainer Stawikowski. This book delves into the concept of the biotope tank, and gives numerous examples of biotopes that can be maintained in the home aquarium. One aspect of the book that particularly appeals to me is that there are numerous photos of the areas where different fish are collected. This is helpful in trying to visualize your end result when setting up a biotope tank.

The second book in this category is The Natural Aquarium by Satoshi Yoshino and Doshin Kobayashi. This book has a little different slant to it. While keeping the needs of the fish in mind at all times, the emphasis is on creating an aquarium that is a visual work of art, rather than trying to duplicate a bit of nature. With such enticing chapter headings as "Symphony of Water Plants" and "Mysterious Mangrove Swamps," the book leads you from one beautiful aquascape to the next. Each chapter is focused around a particular tank. Besides superb photos of the tank itself, and the fish and plants used in the tank, there are planting diagrams and species lists and specs for each tank.

But the jewels in the crown of aquascaping books are the three Nature Aquarium World volumes by Takashi Amano. The English versions of these books are published by T.F.H. The folks at T.F.H. have done a real service to the planted tank hobby by offering these outstanding books at a reasonable price, although it is unfortunate that they had to include advertising in the first volume.

The Amano books are not a source of identification or cultural information, and are not complete as "how to" manuals. What they are is an incredible source of inspiration as well as a learning tool to better aquascape your tanks. You will find page after page of beautiful planted aquaria. The tanks range in size from a hard-to-believe 1 liter to a mind boggling 4950 liters!

There are many other books available for those who want to increase the depth of their aquatic plant library. Some of these are published in other countries, and others are out of print, although still fairly easy to obtain. Keep your eye out for these books at used book stores and club auctions. Another excellent source are the dealers who specialize in used aquarium literature.