Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone. Last night I noticed a clear gel like mass on the biggest earth star in my tank. I had cut a hole and just inserted it into the foam background suppoted by two tooth picks from underneath. The earth star is so big you can't even see them. Last night while looking I found the gel. It was in the inner cup and just underneath the first few small leaves on the star. I was wondering if anyone knows what it is and where it might have come from?? Do these plants produce this kind of substance? I gently removed what I could. The other earth star I have is much smaller then this one and has no gel on it.
The other questin I have is regarding the water in the tank. I am misting with disstilled water. I have been syphioning the water level in the tank about once every two or three days because the level gets too high and is almost touching the egg crate that is part of the false bottom. Is this normal? I cut the misting cycle down to three times a day. I have 5 misting nozzles in the tank that go off at 6am, 6pm and I beleive 12pm for 1 secound each time.I am going through a lot of disstilled water. Just wondering if that it normal. My tank is a 46 gallon bow front tank with a waterfall.
One last question for now. I know you said that it was a good idea to wipe the inside glass down with white vinager when the glass is dirty. I have had the tank set up about a month now and I have not had to do this at all. The glass is clear outside of the condensation that builds up on the front of it. I also have no frogs in it right now. Should I be wiping the glass anyway and how often should I be doing this if it neccessary for me to be doing this??
Thank you in advance for any help you can give me on this subjuect!

You need to wipe down the glass ONLY when debris or deposits obscure your vision. Otherwise, if it's clean, no problem.

The gel is a mystery if there are no frogs in there. Were there any kinds of spots or what might be eggs in it? Are there any snails or slugs in the tank? It might be something like that. I don't think it came from the Cryptanthus. It was probably a good idea to remove it, in any event.
-----
Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris

I am not sure but it does seem to be coming from the star itself. There is more build up of it today. I didn't remove it yet. But I did notice that it seems to have another plant growing behind it. Is this what they a call a pup?? I couldn't see it at fist but as I looked closer behind the bigger leaves there is a smaller plant that looks just like the big one. I have never grown bromilaids before so I have no clue. The gel like substance is clear to a light yellowish tint and has no odor. There are no bugs of any knind what so ever in there no slugs snails extra. There are a few gnats flying around in there but that is all.Could the gel like substance have something to do with the smaller plant growing from the bigger one?? I am a dumb dumb when it comes to plants and this is all very new to me. But I have to admit that the experinice of just watching the plants grow has been very satisfying for me. Do you know of anyone or any web sights that might know the answer to my question? I would really appreciate it a lot!

Just watch them grow, and enjoy it. I can't see that there are any problems here, although I can't explain the gel thing.
-----
Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
D. imitator
D. leucomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos
D. fantasticus
P. terribilis mint and organe
D. reticulatus
D. castaneoticus
D. azureus
P vittatus
P. lugubris

Ok! Thank you very much!