Propagating Echinodorus quadricostatus v. tenellus

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