Re: aquatic spathiphyllum

From: "Julius Boos" ju-bo at msn.com> on 2002.05.24 at 04:10:09(8865) Hi Petra and Friends, I was appaled when I saw this 'gimic' being sold at stores around here and complained to management about them, they soon stopped selling these silly things.. The plant AND the fish soon die, Betas are carnivores and only live as long as their body fat will carry them, they can not and do NOT eat roots. If there is no acess to the surface they also would drown (!) , as they MUST breathe air every few minutes. The Spath does live for some time, but it too will pretty soon expire in the clear water. One more silly 'gimic' to get your $$ at the poor fish`s expense (and the plant too!). Spath. cannifolium does grow in the rich silt/compost on the side of clear-water streams in Trinidad, VERY wet 'feet'. Good growing all! Julius +More >>Hey Ron...there was a craze here in the USA, well, maybe just the Midwest, with spathiphyllum plants being grown in huge glass jars...the kits were sold by Walmart and included colored marbles for the jar, a beta fish and a spathiphyllum...the roots of the spath grew down into the jar, kept the fish fed and happy and the plant happy...these "arrangements" were seen in dental offices, doctor's offices, bank lobbies, restaurants, and anywhere else you could imagine; those who had one, loved them... I have seen spaths offered in the water garden areas in garden centers/nurseries and have seen them growing pretty much as emergent aquatics. Petra

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