odd fertilizer question

[Layman]

Are there any fertilizers available that would be adequate for a Bald Cypress bonsai, that are safe for aquarium fish? I know there must be something, but what?

[nebraska]

I would look for a fertilizer designed for aquarium plants, I would imagine that would be your best bet. Watering the bald cypress with dirty fish water will be providing food for it...hope this helps

[Layman]

I was thinking about styling the Cypress to live in a pot with a fish. Anyone heard of this being done?

[jp8127]

That seems like an ambitious task, but it would be awesome if it worked. You will have to consider how you will keep the substrate from floating around and clogging your filtration. Why not consider a terrarium with opening front, you could opt to use frogs, turtles. Bog the bottom with tree in middle.

[djlen]

The suggestion about using aquatic plant food would be the way to go. You cannot use every day plant food around a planted fish tank or you're going to get on heck of an algae bloom. It will be a mess.
The reason is that most garden variety ferts. have ammonia in them.
By using aquatic plant food made for tropicals you would be safe and the fish waste would also aid the plant's growth.

EDIT: I just realized that I should have mentioned that using any of the garden variety fertilizers with ammonia will also kill your fish very, very quickly.<br><br>Post edited by: djlen, at: 2010/03/22 23:53

[Layman]

As a test fish I tried a 27 cent goldfish to see if regular fertilizer would kill it, and it hasn't. When ready for display the Cypress will be planted with oil-dri, sand and small pebbles, I'm not worried about the medium floating around, seeing as it is heavy. Filter? Water changes when needed should do it. Ready, I plan to use a Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta Splendens). They have a labyrinth that allows them to breath air. They also thrive in stagnate water. Since posting this I've found that there are fertilizers designed for ponds that are not urea based, and a man at a garden shop said that as long as I don't over-do it with regular fertilizer it should work. I'm waiting on an air layer to take before really giving it a go. As it stands now I have the donor tree in a huge bucket of water, and the algae that is already blooming is producing the oxygen for the experimental fish. In NC the summer months are suitable for Bettas metabolism, and the standing water should bring plenty of mosquito larvae as food. This should be really cool if it works!