Cabomba carolinia

This post is the text of a presentation I prepared for the Madison Aquarium Gardener's Club. It was given on September 26th 2007. My knowledge and experiences growing Cabomba have already changed since I wrote the text. For example, I am currently growing Cabomba directly rooted in indoors potting soil. In the text that follows, I explain that I was previously unable to grow Cabomba rooted in rich substrate media because the plant would quickly rot from the bottom upward. This may very well still be the case under certain conditions. Understand that I am in no way trying to make dogmatic statements on how to grow this marvelous plant.

Cabomba carolinia

Note: This text is meant to share my own experience growing this plant in my aquariums. I’m definitely not saying that this is the only way to grow plants. No sweeping statements intended here. However, because of the difficulties I’ve had with growing Cabomba, I am happy to share these thoughts with the group and hope it helps others in their quest to grow lush aquarium plants.

As far as I know, the plant presented in this text is a Cabomba carolinia. The plant is also known as a

Carolina

fanwort or simply “green” Cabomba.

Cabomba carolinia is usually sold in rootless bunches. It is totally aquatic and has been reported to grow to depths of 3 meters. It has also been reported to grow as long as five meters. There are several species of Cabomba, namely C. aquatica, C. carolinia, C. furcata, C. haynesii and C. palaeformis.

Carolinia differs in coloration from Cabomba pulcherrima in that the carolinia is made up of dark green or brownish leaves hooked onto reddish or brownish stems. Pulcherrima is almost entirely red or rust-collored.

The feathery fan leaves of the Cabomba are not directly hooked onto the plant. Each leaf has a distinct stem. Each leaf hooks on opposite sides of the plant’s stem.

This is a US-native plant that has now reportedly infested waterways in parts of

Australia

through the aquarium hobby.

My Captivation

I chose to grow Cabomba carolinia in my aquariums because of its stunning appearance. My first impression of Cabomba bunches is that they would make lovely thick underwater forests in my aquariums.

Unfortunately, the plant did not remain thick and beautiful in my care. That’s why I am all the more interested in it. It presents a challenge! With time and patience, I managed to figure out ways to successfully keep and grow it.

Cabomba Tips

First, some of the frustrating problems I experienced keeping Cabomba: (These are not meant as sweeping statements but they are my own experience with the plants.)

1. Pruning stems eventually stops the root stock from making new shoots. The plant weakens from being trimmed and eventually dies.

2. Planting cuttings into rich substrate such as potting soil or EcoComplete decomposes the plant from the bottom up. Usually, the stems in the store look very healthy, but close observation usually reveals that the bottom of the stems have already started to decompose.

3. Even plant plugs and seemingly anything organic touching the bottom end of the stem rots the stem.

I've had some but limited success planting Cabomba Carolinia in large epoxy-coated gravel. The plant manages to root itself in epoxy gravel before the stem rots away. It then grows several feet long if left untrimmed but weakens quickly if trimmed back more than twice.

Currently I'm having much success growing Cabomba in an aquarium with EcoComplete, 100% RO Water, PPS-Pro fertilization, Blackwater Extract, AlgaeFix, CO2 injection, Barley straw and bright light.

 

The trick is for the plant to produce roots

before it completely rots away

from the bottom up.

 

What I did is that instead of planting the Cabomba shoots into the substrate, I weighted the shoots down with plant weights being careful not to squeeze or crush the stems. The stems grew a foot so far on top of their initial height and are still growing.

I also attached Cabomba to the filter intake tube with a garbage bag tie-wrap. I was very careful not to crush the stems at the base. The shoots do not touch the substrate. They produce long 3 inch hair-like roots and new shoots pop up from the original shoots at the leaf base.

It's really great to finally have healthy Cabomba carolinia. I have six healthy shoots and 6 baby shoots starting to grow. Perhaps I will have enough of it to share with the club in a month or so. I'd be really proud of that.

Additives, Ferts and Parameters

Here’s a list of additives, fertilizers and parameters I use in my aquariums. Some of this has made all the difference in growing Cabomba.

Substrate: Ecocomplete and red flint. I cover this with a very thin layer of a more attractive aquarium gravel.

Bright light: Cabomba loves bright like. In lower light, it will still grow but the stem will be longer and the leaves will be further apart. I use 30 watt full spectrum 6400K, 2000 lumens compact fluorescent bulbs from 1000bulbs.com. Catalog code FC30-FEIIS30W65.

Filter: Large Whisper hang-on. I find these filters to be dependable, quiet, easy to clean and a best value for performance to price.

RO Water: I use 100% RO water. I saved up and purchased my own Kent Maxxima. This produces very soft water with a conductivity near 0.00. My water’s alkalinity buffer is so low that my DIY CO2 makes the PH fluctuate quite a bit on days where I add fresh yeast. I try to keep my PH above 6 and below 7.

PPS-Pro: The two main components that have greatly improved the growth in my aquariums is RO water and PPS-Pro. Here’s the recipe I use to make and dose liquid PPS-Pro fertilizers.

Macro Solution

In 1 liter bottle:

59 grams K2SO4 (Potassium Sulfate)

65 grams KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate)

6 grams KH2PO4 (Mono Potassium Phosphate)

41 grams MgSO4 (Magnesium Sulfate)

Fill with distilled water and shake well. Let sit overnight.

Micro Solution

In 1 liter bottle:

80 grams of CSM+B or equivalent trace element mix

Fill with distilled water and shake well. Let sit overnight.

Dose 1 ml of each solution per ten gallons of tank size. Dose prior to lights turning on.

Interested hobbyists can find more information on this here:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/pps-analysis-feedback/39491-newbie-guide-pps-pro.html

Interested hobbyists can purchase the ingredients here:

http://www.aquariumfertilizer.com/

I also add the following substances upon every weekly water change: Tetra’s BlackwaterExtract, Tetra’s EasyBalance and AlgaeFix as directed.

Barley Straw: I am currently experimenting with Barley Straw and Barley Straw extracts for reducing algae. My main aquarium has significantly less algae since I started dosing the above additives, fertilizers and parameters.

 

Pictures

A few pictures of my own aquariums at the time of presentation. Click on picture to enlarge.

Here, a few strands of Cabomba carolinia are tied to the Whisper filter intake. The shorts strands are shown here after a period of growth.

The second picture shows the same puny little strands when they were first tied to the filter intake, in their original size.

As of November 2007, I have many bunches of Cabomba growing in two aquariums. They all came from the same strands. I regularly prune them and replant whenever there's room. I have also donated some to club members and hope to be able to continue to do so.

Comments

[Holly]

The tank looks so tropical. It looks amazing. Where do you purchase Cobomba Carolina?

[wholesale plants]

yes dude, where you got it from ?

[Marc]

Cabomba is usually available at a local pet shop here. I was also able to purchase it online from That Fish Place/That Pet Place.