Would my fish and shrimps eat the Flourish Tabs

[ptran]

I thought the tab would desolve after 3 months?

[morpheus]

yeah i typically use a small gravel siphon tube and suck out the dissolved tab when i replace. am i supposed to do that? not sure. but i didnt think there was a reason to leave it in there

[mnemenoi]

It should dissolve completely, so if there is anything left it still has time essentially. Water parameters, temp, plant density, CO2 injection will all change the amount of time they last. They dissolve much faster in softer more acidic water, while our hard water takes longer. these are basically there to saturate the substrate with nutrients the growing plants will need. Dosing the water column can help, but its a general saturation as opposed to these which supersaturate the water in the substrate. High tech systems drive growth and lower the Ph, both will cause the tabs to not last nearly as long. Just watch your plants and check occasionally, you'll get a feel for how long they last in your set up.

[ptran]

Is this root tab good for java moss? mostly floating in the water column?

[morpheus]

Is this root tab good for java moss? mostly floating in the water column?

no, java moss has no root system and just absorbs all its nutrients from the water column. the root tabs are only beneficial to the plants that are planted in the substrate.

things like liquid flourish may help java moss, but i find it grows pretty readily even without

[mnemenoi]

Essentially if nothing else absorbs it in the substrate it will eventually move into the main water column and be absorbed by any epiphytic plants like java moss. You are just using it as a long term slow release general water column fertilizer

[EpikMuffin]

make sure to put leftover root tabs in a zip lock or air tight bags. My root tabs was kept in a container without a lid, and they absorbed moist and became mushy powder within a month.... I was like what the heck and still dumped it to my tank. Fishy went nut for a second and spitted it out immediately. Those root tabs must taste nasty

[morpheus]

they come in a ziploc type package so as long as you keep that sealed, should be fine.

but lesson learned from open air container i guess :)

[ptran]

make sure to put leftover root tabs in a zip lock or air tight bags. My root tabs was kept in a container without a lid, and they absorbed moist and became mushy powder within a month.... I was like what the heck and still dumped it to my tank. Fishy went nut for a second and spitted it out immediately. Those root tabs must taste nasty

I was thinking about that too. Thanks for the head up.