Tales from the Crypts
by Heidy Rubin

We gathered at our house in Northgate on Friday, 23rd July, 2004. There were eight people in attendance on the night, with several others sending their apologies. After some socialising and catching up on the latest since our trip to the U.S., our meeting got underway.

Alan and I started off the meeting by sharing a book with the group that we purchased while in the U.S. The book is called A Practical Guide to Choosing Your Aquarium Plants by Peter Hiscock. This is a Barron's publication. We sort of stumbled upon this while browsing a book store, and with a price of $5 USD who could resist?

Bruce also brought along some books. Aquarium Plants by Oriental Aquarium, Tropica Aquarium Plants by Tropica, A Manual of Aquarium Plants by Colin D. Roe, and Nature and Aquarium by Berti Gesting. I must get around to expanding my library. There are lots of good books out there. Bruce also brought along a CD of Aquatic Plants. It has the option to search for plants based on their characteristics, family, etc. We put it to the test on a plant brought along for identification. To our surprise it was quite an extensive CD. We are looking into trying to make this CD available for sale.

Barry brought along a photo of a golden bromeliad, which was simply stunning. A very nice plant specimen. Barry also brought along a DVD of a trip he recently took to the Dawson River. Nothing much else is happening at the moment. He hasn't had much further development on the pond which has two levels -- 8 inches at the top and 2 foot at the bottom. (I love it when they speak my language). The pond is 7 metres by 3 metres (oh well, back to metric), and holds about 5000 litres of water. There is a pump, but there is no power out at the pond. He says it might take a few years to get it set up because he wants to render it first. Good luck with that project Barry.

Michael mentioned seeing a water lily in a creek at Morayfield. He isn't sure what it is. It had large, rounded leaves (pads) and a blue flower. He will try to have another look and see if he can get any more details.

It was stated that Odinea sp.(?) and Barclaya sp. are both in the water lily family. Odinea sp. prefers water temperatures around 30C.

Peter is getting ready for the RNA show. He is busy cleaning gravel, tanks and gathering supplies.

Ken brought in a picture of a plant for identification. He was after water poppy and stumbled upon this plant. Bruce thought it might be Limnophila aromatica.

Phil was busy running the Gold Coast marathon. When asked how well he did, he said that he was passed by grandma who was waving to the crowd. (Somehow I don't believe it). He has recently acquired some Corydoras sp. and some larger catfish.

Some other interesting facts that came up at the meeting were the sexing of Apteronotus albifrons (black ghost knife fish) by the length of the nose, and that a bag of duckweed sold for $8 at the last Cichlid auction. I can't believe I throw the stuff in the rubbish bin.

We closed the meeting and then had a bit of supper.

Remember the aquatic plant study group meets every 4th Friday evening - usually at Heidy's place and all are welcome. You don't have to be a member of any club, it is very informal and all you need to bring is a plate for supper, some questions (or answers) and perhaps something for "show and tell".

The Brisbane Plant Study Group (BPSG) meetings are held on the 4th Friday of every month and begin around 8PM. If you need directions or have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email at bpsg2002@hotmail.com or via mobile on 0403 790 701. For the latest information, please visit our website at http://bpsg.frell.org