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