NEWS105
8
The flowers of
Restrepia trichoglossa
successfully imitate the small butterflies that ensure pollination of the
flowerswhen theyvisit–a "fraud",asvisiting the flowers isn’t rewardedwithnectar.
Dwarf orchids suchas
Haraella retrocalla
(synonym
H.odorata
) haveproved to flower very readily in the
humid spaceabove theaquarium.
required,ideallydailyduringspraying.Lookat
theundersidesof the leaves, the flowers,and
eventhe rootsaswell!Thereare lotsofplaces
wherepestscanhide.
Care isrequired,asyoudon’twanttoharmthe
fishes in thewater.Hencemanymethods of
combatingparasites have tobe ruledout as
theywouldalso kill our pets! Regular rinsing
or dunkingof theplants canhelp.The fishes
will then eat any insects left floating on the
water’ssurface.
If all else fails thenyoucan resort to systemic
spray with Lizetan as the active ingredient.
This is lethal for the insects but as a rule
harmlesstothefishesandanyfrogsandsmall
geckos livingonthe landarea.But inthiscase
you must now prevent the livestock from
eatingthepoisonedparasites!
But don’t let the problems make you lose
heart,and insteadgivethis idealcombination
of twoexcellenthobbiesatry!
Numerous interesting articles on the subject
of growing orchids and other exotic plants
can be found in the magazine Orchideen-
Zauber, published six times a year by
Orchideenzauber-Verlag, Bühlfelderweg 10,
94239Ruhmannsfelden,Germany,Tel.+49 (0)
9929903393,email:
kontakt@orchideenzauber . eu,
Manyaquaticplants suchas
Nymphaea rubra
will
flower successfully only if the aquarium lighting
isn’t sited immediately above the surface of the
water, mainly because otherwise the delicate
flowerswouldbescorched.
Nymphaea rubra
