Propagating Hydrocotyle Sibthorpioides

(Hydrocotyle Sibthorpioides)

By Joy Twentyman-Crock

I’ve grown Hydrocotyle Sibthorpioides in my 2.5 gallon tank with a more success than I first realized.

The 2.5 gallon standard has a 26 Watt Power Compact shop light. I perform 50% water changes once per week. CO2 is supplemented using two 1 liter bottles to generate CO2 and a DIY inline CO2 reactor powered by a ViaAqua Powerhead 180. This provides CO2 levels above 60ppm. I dose 20ppm KNO3, 1ppm KH2PO4, 8ppm Flourish Potassium, and 1ml of Flourish Comprehensive three times per week.

Hydrocotyle Sibthorpioides can be grown floating, like a stem plant, or forced to creep. In my tank I planted it like a stem plant. Since its growth is like that of a vine plant, it wound its way into and out of my other plants slowly multiplying. Since most of it was hidden in the other bushier plants, I had no idea how well it had multiplied until I started pulling plants out to do some major reaquascaping. To trim this plant I simply cut it and remove the excess length. To start new plants each node can be separated and planted forming a new plant.

One of the best things about this plant is when it pearls. Each leaf will collect and hold a single bubble of air at its center. This plant may be one ways that pearling gets its name, as the air bubble looks very similar to a pearl sitting on an open clam.

Hydrocotyle Sibthorpioides is relatively undemanding plant that will provide an excellent highlight in any tank with good growing conditions. It will grow under lighting anywhere from low light to very high light, although in lower lighting conditions it will need to be floated to ensure it gets enough light.

Bibliography

PlantGeek.Net 2002-2006, Plant Guide [On-line] http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php, April 17, 2006

Propagating Elatine Triandra

(Elatine Triandra)

By Joy Twentyman-Crock

I’ve grown Elatine Triandra as a carpet in my 2.5 gallon tank with a fair amount of success.

The 2.5 gallon standard has a 26 Watt Power Compact shop light. I perform 50% water changes once per week. CO2 is supplemented using two 1 liter bottles to generate CO2 and a DIY inline CO2 reactor powered by a ViaAqua Powerhead 180. This provides CO2 levels above 60ppm. I dose 20ppm KNO3, 1ppm KH2PO4, 8ppm Flourish Potassium, and 1ml of Flourish Comprehensive three times per week.

Planting Elatine Triandra to form foreground carpet is very similar to planting Glosso. A pair of needle nose tweezers will make this task much easy, although you’d best have a descent chuck of time set aside for this somewhat frustrating and definitely time consuming task. The Elatine Triandra should be separated it into individual plantlets which can then be planted an inch or so apart. Over then next few weeks it will fill in to form a lush carpet.

The Elatine Triandra spreads so fast that I have to thin it at least once every month. If I let it go too long it will get too crowded and start growing up becoming more of a bush. I trim the plants by topping the stems that are getting too long and removing any plants that are starting to grow into areas where I don’t want the carpet.

Due to its fast growth, Elatine Triandra is an excellent indicator of iron deficiency. If the tank becomes too low in iron, the edges of Elatine Triandra’s leaves will turn yellow. A slight increase of the trace mix dose usually fixes this problem.

Elatine Triandra is a somewhat demanding plant that will form a very attractive carpet if provided with good growing conditions and high light. Under lower lighting, it will grow upwards and act more like a regular stem plant. It will grow under lighting anywhere from medium light to very high light.

Bibliography

Victri.Net 2004-2005, Elatine Triandra [On-line] http://www.victri.net/plants/_elatine.html, May 3, 2006

Propagating Echinodorus quadricostatus v. tenellus

by Joy Twentyman-Crock

It’s funny how once other hobbyists find out that you enjoy keeping aquatic plants you find yourself presented with the occasional surprise package. This is exactly how I came to have Echinodorus quadricostatus v. tenellus in my possession after one of the monthly Eastern Iowa Aquarium Association meetings in Cedar Rapids. Lee Van Hyfte was kind enough to give me a couple of bags containing plants that I hadn’t heard of before.

When I got home I was presented with the all to common problem of trying to figure out where I was going to fit these new plants in my already crowded tanks. At the time I was much more interested in the other plants I had received and didn’t give this little sword much thought. I found it a spot behind a piece of driftwood in my 10 gallon, recorded it’s name in my log, and promptly forgot about it.

It bears a strong resemblance to both the Echinodorus quadricostatus (Cuban Broad Leaf Chain Sword) and Echinodorus quadricostatus var. "magdalenensis", which isn’t too surprising considering their names indicate that they are all variations of the same plant. Like both of those plants I have found that this plant is extremely easy to care for.

I was soon reminded of its presence in my tank when I discovered that it had sent runners all the way to the back corner of my tank by the water pump and had made the corner heading back toward the front of the tank. Unlike some plants which send out runners which end up in the water column with roots floating everywhere, the runners of this plant hug the substrate and do an excellent job of rooting into the substrate. It would provide a very low maintenance plant for the foreground of a larger tank, since it would only need the occasional trimming to keep it confined to the part of the tank where you want to keep it.

As most of you know, my 10 gallon is a high light tank which has pressurized CO2 and a heavy fertilization routine. While this plant has grown extremely well under these conditions, I’m sure that it would do equally well in a tank with at least medium light, after all it has spent most of it’s time in my tank heavily shaded by fast growing stem plants. If given an place in a medium light tank where it wasn’t shaded by other plants, I would expect that it could outperform the growth I’ve seen in my tank.

While it may not be the most striking of plants, it’s light green leaves provide a very nice contrast with other plants. I particularly like how it looks next to some of my Cryptocoryne Wendtii. I would definitely recommend anyone that can provide it with enough light give it a try. I expect that you will be as pleasantly surprised by it as I was.

Bibliography

PlantGeek.Net 2002-2006, Plant Guide [On-line] http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php, February 10, 2007

Propagating Dwarf Sag
(Sagittaria Subulata) 

By Joy Twentyman-Crock

I’ve grown Dwarf Sag in two different setups with a great deal of success.

The first tank was a 5 Gallon Hex by AquaTech. I replaced the incandescent bulb with a 10 watt bulb, which provided the tank with medium low light. I performed 35-50% water changes once per week. CO2 was supplemented using two 1 liter bottles to generate CO2 and a Red Sea CO2 Reactor 200 to diffuse the CO2. With this setup the tank averaged 15ppm CO2. I dosed 5ml Flourish Nitrogen, 4ml Flourish Phosphorus, 4ml Flourish Potassium, 0.6ml Flourish Comprehensive, and 5ml Flourish Excel twice a week.

In this tank the Dwarf Sag would often have BBA on it, most likely due to the fluctuating levels of CO2 inherent in a DIY CO2 setup combined with overall CO2 levels below 30ppm. The Dwarf Sag would roughly triple in quantity every two months.

I recently upgraded the 5 Gallon Hex to a 5.5 Gallon standard with a 36 Watt Power Compact Fixture by Coralife. This increased the lighting to very high light allowing me to grow a greater variety of plants. I now perform 50% water changes once per week. To make sure that there was enough CO2 to keep up with the higher light level, I switched to a DIY inline CO2 reactor powered by a ViaAqua Powerhead 180. This increased CO2 levels to about 45ppm. I also increased the dosing to 20ppm KNO3, 1ppm KH2PO4, 4ml Flourish Potassium, and 2ml Flourish Comprehensive three times per week.

The amount of BBA present has decreased with the increased CO2 levels, although it has not completely disappeared yet. The quantity of Dwarf Sag is now tripling in less than a month.

To separate the plantlets from the parent plant, I wait until the plantlet is half the size of the parent plant and then cut the runner. At this point the plantlet can be left in place, relocated to another part of the tank, or removed to share with other aquarists. Since my tank is so small I usually have to remove the plantlets when they are big enough to separate from their parents. This helps to ensure that the Dwarf Sag doesn’t get too crowded, since Dwarf Sag can suffer from die off if too many plants are packed too closely together.

Dwarf Sag is a relatively undemanding plant that will reproduce rapidly if provided with reasonably good growing conditions. It will grow under lighting anywhere from low light to very high light. It can provide a very nice grassy foreground in tanks that do not have enough light for other higher light options.

Bibliography

PlantGeek.Net 2002-2006, Plant Guide [On-line] http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php, April 17, 2006

Propagating Didiplis Diandra - Flowering
(Blood Stargrass) 

by Joy Twentyman-Crock

I originally obtained Didiplis diandra in an effort to fight algae in my 2.5 gallon tank. Since most of the plants in the tank are fairly slow growing, I felt that adding an appropriately sized fast growing stem plant might help the situation. This was one of the plants that was suggested to me as a likely candidate, and after some research I decided that the overall leaf size and shape would be perfect.

Didiplis Diandra is definitely a demanding plant, especially in terms of light. With 26 watts of compact fluorescent lighting over my 2.5 gallon tank, it has been estimated as having extremely high light. After keeping Didiplis diandra in this tank for several months I’m inclined to think that the lighting is actually much less, perhaps high light or even only medium high light. When Didiplis diandra is growing well and happy, the top leaves and stem will blush shades of red and pink. While it grew like mad and had to be trimmed every one to two weeks to prevent it from taking over the tank, it always stayed a beautiful bright green. I kept Didiplis diandra in the 2.5 gallon tank for several months, and finally came to the conclusion that while its scale was perfect for the tank it grew much too fast to be practical.

After evaluating my other tanks, I decided to move it to the 10 gallon. The 10 gallon has 60 watts of daylight compact fluorescent lighting, and had also been estimated as having very high light. Within the first couple of weeks in the new tank the top leaves and stems began blushing a beautiful shade of pink. I was very surprised a week later when I found that at least part of the color was a result of tiny little flowers along the stem at the base of each leaf. A brilliant shade of purple pink, these flowers are no more than 1mm in diameter and could easily be missed. To appreciate their true beauty a magnifying glass is almost a requirement. In addition to these more obvious signs that the Didiplis diandra was happier in the 10 gallon tank, the leaves had begun growing much closer together which is a sure sign that a plant is getting more light.

This plant is very attractive even when it is just growing well but not flourishing, but it is absolutely stunning when it receives a proper amount of light. It’s ideal for smaller tanks where this delicate little plant will help give a greater sense of size to the tank. I highly recommend this plant to anyone that can provide a high light tank with CO2 and plentiful nutrients. With enough light, it should provide you with some beautiful blooms to admire.

Bibliography

PlantGeek.Net 2002-2006, Plant Guide [On-line] http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php, February 13, 2007

Tropica.Com Tropica Aquarium Plants A/S [On-line] http://www.tropica.com/default.asp, February 13, 2007

AquaticPlantCentral.com 2005, Plantfinder [On-line] http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/index.php, February 13, 2007

Christel Kasselmann, Aquarium Plants, Malabar Florida: Krieger Publishing Company, 2003.

Propagating Anubias Nana Petite
(Anubias Barteri v. Nana ‘Petite’) 

By Joy Twentyman-Crock

I’ve grown Anubias Nana Petite in a variety of setups over the years. It’s one of those hardy plants that will survive some of the worst growing conditions. It’s extremely small size makes it especially appealing. The overall plant is usually no bigger than the size of a half dollar and leaves are about 1cm in diameter.

I’m currently growing my Anubias Nana Petite in two of my tanks, the 2.5 gallon standard tank and the 5.5 gallon standard tan. For lighting in the 2.5 gallon I’m using two 13 watt work lights. For 5.5 gallon I’m using a Coralife 36 watt compact fluorescent fixture. Both are on for 12 hours a day and provide high light. I perform 50% water changes once a week using tap water treated with Prime. CO2 is injected into the tank using a DIY CO2 setup consisting of 2 x 20oz bottles on the 2.5 gallon and 2 x 1 liter on the 5.5 gallon for CO2 generation and an Inline DIY CO2 Reactor powered by an 80 GPH water pump. With this setup the CO2 averages between 45-60ppm under normal conditions. I currently dose both tanks with dry fertilizers based on a slightly modified EI method. Since there is Nitrates in the tap water, I skip the first dose of KNO3 after the water change and dose some extra K2SO4 to make up for the Potassium that would have been dosed with the KNO3. Exact amounts vary slightly as I work to find the best balance for dosing to obtain good plant growth and minimize algae.

I’ve had the best luck with Anubias Nana Petite by tying it to a piece of driftwood and allowing it to attach. This avoids the problems with accidentally burying the rhizome too deep. This usually results in the rhizome rotting which kills the plant. Rocks would work well too, but I tend to prefer using driftwood in my tanks.

Under these conditions the Anubias Nana Petite will put out an average of one new leaf per growth point per week. It puts out more leaves when I’ve recent trimmed several older leaves that have started looking tattered. Since it is such a slow growing plant and the leaves last for such a long time, it can be prone to algae. I find that mine usually either suffers from BBA (Black Brush Algae) or GSA (Green Spot Algae). This can be minimized by ensuring that there are other faster growing plants providing it with shade, as the shaded leaves tend to have less algae problems than the ones under direct light. I’ve also found that spot treating the leaves with Flourish Excel with kill the algae within a couple days of treatment, allowing the snails to clean them. When a leaf has become too tattered I trim it by cutting the stem as close as possible to the rhizome with a pair of sharp scissors.

Eventually the Anubias Nana Petite will grow large enough that it can be divided to form two plants. This generally takes about 2-4 months in my high light tanks. You can tell that is ready to be divided when it has a long enough rhizome that both pieces after division will be at least 1” long, have several leaves and a good root system. You will want a sharp pair of scissors to cut the rhizome as it is very dense making it hard to cut through. A sharp pair of scissors makes the task much easier and will result in a cleaner cut which is easier for the plant to recover from. It can take a few weeks for the plant to recover, after which it will start putting out new leaves again. Often the rhizome with develop one or more new branches at the point where it was divided.

Anubias Nana Petite is one of several plants that are excellent for beginners due to their durable nature and ability to survive in a variety of conditions including extremely low light. It makes a great center piece plant in Nanos and can be used as a foreground plant in larger tanks. I would recommend anyone with an interest in aquatic plants give it a try.

Bibliography

PlantGeek.Net 2002-2006, Plant Guide [On-line] http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php, Sept 10^th, 2006

Tropica.Com Tropica Aquarium Plants A/S [On-line] http://www.tropica.com/default.asp, Sept 10^th, 2006

AquaticPlantCentral.com 2005, Plant Finder [On-line] http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/index.php, Sept 10^th, 2006

Propagating Anubias Nana - Flowering
(Anubias Barteri v. ‘Nana’) 

By Joy Twentyman-Crock

 

I’ve grown Anubias Nana in a variety of setups over the years. It’s one of those hardy plants that will survive some of the worst growing conditions.

I’m currently growing my Anubias Nana in a 5.5 gallon standard tank. For lighting I’m using a Coralife 36 watt compact fluorescent fixture which is on for 12 hours a day, which provides very high light. I perform 50% water changes once a week using tap water treated with AmQuel. CO2 is injected into the tank using a DIY CO2 setup consisting of 2 x 1 liter bottles for CO2 generation and an Inline DIY CO2 Reactor powered by an 80 GPH water pump. With this setup the CO2 averages between 45-60ppm. I currently dose dry fertilizers based on a slightly modified EI method. Since there is Nitrates in the tap water, I skip the first dose of KNO3 after the water change and dose some extra K2SO4 to make up for the Potassium that would have been dosed with the KNO3. Exact amounts vary slightly as I work to find the best balance for dosing to obtain good plant growth and minimize algae.

I’ve had the best luck with Anubias Nana by tying it to a piece of driftwood and allowing it to attach. This avoids the problems with accidentally burying the rhizome too deep. This usually results in the rhizome rotting which kills the plant. Rocks would work well too, but I tend to prefer using driftwood in my tanks.

Under these conditions the Anubias Nana will put out an average of one new leaf per growth point per week. It puts out more leaves when I’ve recent trimmed several older leaves that have started looking tattered and more slowly when in bloom. Since it is such a slow growing plant and the leaves last for such a long time, it can be prone to algae. I find that mine usually either suffers from BBA (Black Brush Algae) or GSA (Green Spot Algae). This can be minimized by ensuring that there are other faster growing plants providing it with shade, as the shaded leaves tend to have less algae problems than the ones under direct light. I’ve also found that spot treating the leaves with Flourish Excel with kill the algae within a couple days of treatment, allowing the snails to clean them. When a leaf has become too tattered I trim it by cutting the stem as close as possible to the rhizome with a pair of sharp scissors.

In good growing conditions an Anubias Nana may decide to send out a flower. I’ve found that mine usually starts putting out flowers once the rhizome is between 4 to 6 inches long. At first the emerging flower will look like another new leaf but within a couple of days it’s readily apparent that you are looking at some different. The bud is sent up towards the surface of the water on a long thin stem. Usually the bud will open about a week after it is first spotted and resembles a tiny Calla Lilly bloom. It will remain in bloom for over a month before finally dying off. Apparently it is very difficult to get seeds from an Anubias unless it is being grown emersed and requires that two flowers must bloom 2-3 days apart to be able to be successfully pollinated. If the Anubias is being grown submersed the flowers may open once they’ve reached the surface or the may bloom under water. Either way, the blooms are very beautiful and fascinating to watch develop. So far my Anubias Nana has bloomed twice and is in the process of sending out its third bloom.

Anubias Nana is one of several plants that are excellent for beginners due to their durable nature and ability to survive in a variety of conditions including extremely low light. I would recommend anyone with an interest in aquatic plants give it a try.

Bibliography

PlantGeek.Net 2002-2006, Plant Guide [On-line] http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php, July 28^th, 2006

Tropica.Com Tropica Aquarium Plants A/S [On-line] http://www.tropica.com/default.asp, July 28, 2006

AquaticPlantCentral.Com, Anubias seeds?? [On-line] http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/new-to-aquarium-plants/10868-anubias-seeds.html, July 31, 2006

Propagating Anubias Nana
(Anubias Barteri v. ‘Nana’) 

by Joy Twentyman-Crock

 

I’ve grown Anubias Nana in a variety of setups over the years. It’s one of those hardy plants that will survive some of the worst growing conditions.

I’m currently growing my Anubias Nana in a 5.5 gallon standard tank. For lighting I’m using a Coralife 36 watt compact fluorescent fixture which is on for 12 hours a day, which provides very high light. I perform 50% water changes once a week using tap water treated with AmQuel. CO2 is injected into the tank using a DIY CO2 setup consisting of 2 x 1 liter bottles for CO2 generation and an Inline DIY CO2 Reactor powered by an 80 GPH water pump. With this setup the CO2 averages between 45-60ppm. I currently dose dry fertilizers based on a slightly modified EI method. Since there is Nitrates in the tap water, I skip the first dose of KNO3 after the water change and dose some extra K2SO4 to make up for the Potassium that would have been dosed with the KNO3. Exact amounts vary slightly as I work to find the best balance for dosing to obtain good plant growth and minimize algae.

I’ve had the best luck with Anubias Nana by tying it to a piece of driftwood and allowing it to attach. This avoids the problems with accidentally burying the rhizome too deep. This usually results in the rhizome rotting which kills the plant. Rocks would work well too, but I tend to prefer using driftwood in my tanks.

Under these conditions the Anubias Nana will put out an average of one new leaf per growth point per week. It puts out more leaves when I’ve recent trimmed several older leaves that have started looking tattered and more slowly when in bloom. Since it is such a slow growing plant and the leaves last for such a long time, it can be prone to algae. I find that mine usually either suffers from BBA (Black Brush Algae) or GSA (Green Spot Algae). This can be minimized by ensuring that there are other faster growing plants providing it with shade, as the shaded leaves tend to have less algae problems than the ones under direct light. I’ve also found that spot treating the leaves with Flourish Excel with kill the algae within a couple days of treatment, allowing the snails to clean them. When a leaf has become too tattered I trim it by cutting the stem as close as possible to the rhizome with a pair of sharp scissors.

Eventually the Anubias Nana will grow large enough that it can be divided to form two plants. This only took four months in my high light tanks and six months when I had the same plant in a medium light tank. You can tell that is ready to be divided when it has a long enough rhizome that both pieces after division will be at least 2-3” long, have several leaves and a good root system. You will want a sharp pair of scissors to cut the rhizome as it is very dense making it hard to cut through. A sharp pair of scissors makes the task much easier and will result in a cleaner cut which is easier for the plant to recover from. It can take a few weeks for the plant to recover, after which it will start putting out new leaves again. Often the rhizome with develop one or more new branches at the point where it was divided.

Anubias Nana is one of several plants that are excellent for beginners due to their durable nature and ability to survive in a variety of conditions including extremely low light. I would recommend anyone with an interest in aquatic plants give it a try.

Bibliography

PlantGeek.Net 2002-2006, Plant Guide [On-line] http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php, July 28^th, 2006

Tropica.Com Tropica Aquarium Plants A/S [On-line] http://www.tropica.com/default.asp, July 28, 2006