I received Hydrocotyle leucocephala from aquariumplants.com yesterday. So it took a week to arrive. Not bad.
The three bunches were all much larger than I expected. That's perfectly fine. They're healthy. I introduced the plants to a 20 gallon tank from which I had recently uprooted three large Amazon swords.
The picture in this article shows some of the new Hydrocotyle leucocephala planted in my 35 gallon tall aquarium. It makes a nice centerpiece as it stands almost 1.5 feet tall. Click picture for a larger view.
Roots appear on every node. Perhaps this plants prefers to creep along the bottom, but there isn't enough room for this at the moment.
The leucocephala is different in that the leaf stems are not as long as those found on pictures of Hydrocotyle verticillata. If you look closely at the leaf structure in the photograph, notice that the leaf stem between the leaf and the branch is very short. Compare this to verticillata.
In every photo, verticillata grows similar leaf structures but on longer stems. The branches are usually covered in the substrate, leaving interesting umbrella-like shapes floating on to of small stems. I'm not going to get that effect with leaucocephala at the moment, but I can't wait to see how the plant develops in my aquariums.
I'm interested in trying Hydrocotyle verticillata AKA Marsh Pennywort or AKA Whorled Pennywort. I googled about tonight and couldn't find online stores that have it in stock. If you have this plant in your aquarium and could spare a few, please write me a note.
For now, I settled on Hydrocotyle leucocephala AKA Brazilian Pennywort. I found it in stock on AquariumPlants.com. This would be my first purchase from this aquarium plant store.
Leucocephala looks just as nice as verticillata from the few pictures I found on the net.
It's supposed to be a tough, fast-growing plant. It should contrast nicely with the other types of plants I already have in my aquaria.
Notes from the plant dealer advise to not shade with taller
plants. It is apparently also very difficult to find or is substituted with undesirables.
I'm absolutely thrilled with Java Moss. Well, that's an exaggeration but yes, I do like this plant quite a bit. I acquired a few samples of it online and from a local pet store.
The plant usually comes rooted to bog wood or rocks. The online purchased specimen wasn't attached to anything. It looked like a large puff of green hair. I ripped it into several bunches.
The plant is doing very well in all my aquariums. Pictured here, it is shown growing on the water intake of a large Whisper filter. Click image to enlarge.
Several months ago, I wrapped the Java Moss on the Whisper's intake tube. Now, it has started to attach itself somehow, and grow out of the aquarium, up along the filter's tube itself. The plant remains wet because there's plenty of absorption from the water outlet of the filter.
I've attached my Java Moss to plastic tubes using string and affixed it to aquarium walls in some cases, using suction cups. It seems to do very well this way.
My aquariums are doused with very bright light. I use 100% RO water. My PH is always acidic and KH is at a minimum. The plant grows well under these conditions. I'll soon have to start pruning the current specimens. Fish (Platy mostly) love to graze the plant. They don't bring any visible harm to it, except perhaps keeping its growth under control.
The Java Moss is shown here towering up a large Whisper filter intake tube. The plant is growing lovely at the deeper end as well. However, the plant is more prolific at the water surface, where light penetration is at its best. Since this aquarium remains clean, I have not had to remove the intake tube. The plant has not obstructed water from flowing into the filter.
I've also noticed that Java Moss will grow off the bottom of the aquarium. Over time, snippets from the attached specimens have fallen to the bottom and have continued to grow down there. The only problem with this is that the moss might overtake other bottom plants such as Four Leaf Clover and small grasses. I will keep an eye on it in that respect.
Here is a list of plants that are currently growing in my aquariums. I've been wanting to inventory my entire plant stock for some time. So here it is...The list also includes plants I've been able to grow but no longer have in my possession.
All these are currently in my three aquariums, except for the Riccia,
which was cramped out by Java moss, and the Baby Tears. The Baby Tears
died off when I dismantled my 10 gallon tank. They did not survive the new tank setup.
With each plant, I also list the current growth status. That is, whether or not it's doing well in my tanks.
Picture on left shows Water Lettuce covering the entire water surface. It's shown here infesting an otherwise lifeless tank on the basement floor. The tank contained aged aquarium water and a bit of dirt and gravel for substrate. Nothing else. I left them fester in there for almost two months before I decided to clean the tank and put it back to good use.
Legend:
Prolific: The plant grows very well in my tanks and needs constant trimming. Moderate: The plant is healthy but needs very little pruning. Low: Plant grows slowly or does poorly in my tanks.
Plant List (in alphabetical order):
Alternanthera reineckii: Moderate Anubias barteri: Low to moderate Anubia hastifolia: Moderate Aponogeton (Miscelaneous): Low to Moderate to Prolific due to a period of rest. Bacopa monnieri (Dwarf Bacopa): Moderate Cabomba carolinia: Prolific Cryptocoryne flaccidifolia: Low to moderate Cryptocoryne wendtii (Red Wendtii): Low to moderate Echinodorus amazonicus (Amazon sword): Prolific Echinodorus barthii & uruguayensis hybrid (Kleiner Bar Sword): Moderate Echinodorus Rubin (Red Rubin Sword): Moderate Eleocharis acicularis (Dwarf Hairgrass): Moderate Hemiantbus callitricboides (Dwarf Baby Tears): Low Hygrophila roseanerva (Pink Hygrophila polysperma): Prolific Java Moss: Moderate to Prolific Lemnaceae (Duckweed): Prolific Lilaeopsis brasiliensis (Brazilian Micro Sword): Moderate Ludwigia inclinata: Prolific Ludwigia repens (Red Ludwigia): Prolific Marlisea quadrifolia (Four Leaf Clover): Moderate Micranthemum umbrosum (Baby Tears): Prolific (No longer in my tanks) Microsorum pteropus (Java Fern): Low *Mystery plant: Moderate Nymphaea zenkeri (Red Tiger Lotus): Prolific Nymphoides aquatica (Banana Plant): Moderate Nymphoides indica: Prolific Pistia stratiotes (Water Lettuce): Prolific Proserpinaca palustris: Low Riccia fluitans: low (No longer in my tanks) Rotala Indica: Moderate
Rotala Magenta: Moderate
Sagittaria subulata (Narrow Leaf Sag): Moderate
* The mystery plant is a cutting I received from the plant exchange at the Aquarium Gardener's club. I forgot what they told me it was...As soon as it's healthy and large enough (if it survives), I'll try to identify it.
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:
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.
It appears that the Nymphoides plant I received at the club's plant exchange is a Nymphoides "indica". I compared the profiles of indica, cordata, peltata and cristata and found that the indica is the closest one in appearance.
UPDATE: A friend commented that the indica's leaves reach 20 cm in diameter. The Nymphoides in my tank are much smaller. If you believe you know the correct name for the Nymphoides pictured here, please let me know. Nevertheless, as far as I can see, this is an indica.
The plant grows long tubular stems with one flat leaf per stem. The stems grow more than two feet in my aquarium until the leaf reaches the surface and floats horizontally. The largest leaf so far is about 1.5 inches across. It's shaped in the form of a heart, thus the common name Floating Hearts. Leaves have a solid light green color. I don't see much variation from this solid color. A bit of rust color, but that's about it.
I compared the specimen in my possession to photos on the Internet.
Cordata for instance, has a light green color in the center and a darker periphery color. The indica though, has a solid color all across.
Peltata is also different in that the outer edge of the leaves is ridged. It's not smooth-like, but made up of segments from what I can see on photos. It doesn't have the distinct heart shape of the indica.
The cristata has a dark brown color throughout its floating leaves. Only the central part or edge of veines of the leaf remains light green. Plant specimens I have in my aquarium do not show this color variation. Furthermore, the leaves reach the surface and are pelted with bright light, but remain solid light green.
One week after adding Nymphoides indica in my aquarium, I can say that it is doing well. It grows new tubular stems almost daily. The first new shoots were weaker than the established leaves, but today, a recent shoot shows stamina. The stem is thicker and the leaf is larger. Perhaps the plant has started to take up nutrients from the substrate.
Photo on left shows a new shoot from the Nymphoides indica. The stem is thick and the undeveloped leaf is much larger than the leaves that came up during the transition period. To me, that's an indication that the plant might no longer be running on nutrient reserves, but might already have established itself enough to take nutrients from the aquarium. Notice from previous posts that I did wash off all the substrate media in which the plants came in. I stuck the plant's roots in the tank's substrate, which is primarily made up of EcoComplete.
Compare this post's picture with the aquarium picture from the post of August 30th and see how fast the indica has grown, to reach the surface in matter of days.
At any rate, it's a beautiful addition to my aquarium.
Picture on left appears very green. This is more a problem with my camera than what may appear as an algal bloom. In fact, the aquarium is quite clear this week. I have been dosing with PPS-Pro successfully. The Water Wysteria responded with fast growth. Notice the other Hygro in the right back corner. This is the pink kind. It's been growing very fast since I started dosing PPS-Pro. I'll have more to say about these things in my next post on controlling algae.
Crystalwort was a disappointment. I purchased a healthy specimen in a Madison pet store. It was already anchored to a rock using fish line. The Riccia was also intertwined in Java Moss. Within a few days of sinking it snuggly in the forefront of the aquarium, the plant simply turned a pale shade of beige and practically vanished from view. The few dead-like pieces that remain are camouflaged under a carpet of Java moss, which incidentally, is very healthy and growing fast.
I understand this plant is a light hungry undemanding floating rootless
plant. It needs to be anchored to something otherwise it grows floating
on the surface of the water. Other species: Riccia rhenana.
So what happened to mine? I have no idea. Perhaps the intense light is too much for it? Not likely. Everything I read on this plant says it loves bright light. Was it the PH fluctuations? My PH went from 7.8 to 6.1 in one day while I was experimenting. Did that do it in? I assume the very acidic water had something to do with this. I'll try again when my parameters are stable.
This plant is also known as Four Leaf Clover or Water Shamrock. I received three very healthy potted specimens from Drs. Foster and Smith's LiveAquaria.com web site. These were in such stunning beautiful shape, that didn't bother pruning all of them. Instead, I simply removed two of the plants from their plastic pot and weighted them down in the corner of my larger aquarium as shown on picture. These measured almost a foot high on arrival. Both plants are still pearling oxygen and making new foliage. I presume they were grown immersed and will die back a bit now that they are fully submerged. Once this happens, I will prune them and stick them in the gravel firmly. They should quickly form runners, shorter stems and carpet the bottom of the aquarium.
Speaking of shorter stems, I read that this plant will grow tall in low and medium light while it may grow much shorter in intense light. This is what is happening currently in the 10 gallon aquarium where I cut, pruned and firmly planted the third specimen. I removed a large portion of the roots and cut the stems down to 1.5 inches. Within two days of planting, the Quadrifolia had already made runners, roots and grown tiny new leaves. The new leaves measure about 1.5 inches tall.
The 10 gallon aquarium has the following parameters:
Most recent measurements: August 24th PH: 6.94 (Rising from 6.8 yesterday morning) GH: 8 dkh (Stable) KH: 7 dkh (Last time tested was 6 dkh) Chelated Iron: 0.5 + mg/l Nitrate: 10 mg/l Phosphate: 0.7 mg/l (Falling from very high 4.0 mg/l two days ago) Redifield Ratio: 10 Copper: 0 mg/l Calcium: 40 mg/l (Rising from 20 mg/l) Temperature: 76F
The 35 gallon aquarium has the following parameters:
Most recent measurements: August 25th PH: 6.9 GH: 6 dkh KH: 5 dkh Chelated iron: 0.5 mg/l Phosphate: 1.5 mg/l Nitrate: 10 mg/l Redfield ratio: 5 (Chance of blue-green algae) Calcium: 20 mg/l Copper: 0 mg/l Carbon Dioxide: Between 17 and 24 mg/l according to this chart.
The Marsilea Quadrifolia is growing well in the 10 gallon water conditions under very bright light. I hope its growth will help combat algae by competing for nutrients. I'm hoping it will grow shorter submerged and form a nice carpet of greenery around taller plants. Photo left shows a small pruned tuft in the foreground already sprouting small new leaves and runners.
Minuscule white pellets seen on plants is a bit of Purigen that escaped from my filter pad upon inserting it. These will fall to the substrate and disappear eventually. Most of the Purigen stays in the filter, but a few pellets sometimes escape when first inserting it.
In the larger aquarium, due to less lighting, clover might not grow so short. Time will tell.
Here's a favorite of mine. I like this little lily because it's been a challenge to grow it in my aquariums. Seems like I'm not the only one. Some Internet folk claim this plant just rots in the aquarium and a lot of others say you shouldn't bury the banana-like parts of the plant in the substrate. Well, sorry but I always bury the root system including the "bananas" because that's the only way I've been able to revive these plants.
I've seen this plant commonly called Banana plant or even Dwarf Lilies or Banana Lilly.
First, when I can find them in stores, they usually have no foliage, or the leaves are so damaged that the plants look dead. To revive them, I simply stick them in the gravel and within a week or so, new leaves start sprouting up and they continue that way averaging a new leaf every week.
Currently, I have four Nymphoides aquatica in my 35 gallon deep aquarium. They only get medium light since they're in the gravel more than two feet below the water surface. They've been making new leaves now for two months or so. Leaves die out eventually but new growth is constant. They stand about 4 to 5 inches tall which is twice as high as they were when I originally purchased them. Whenever I uprooted these plants and left them to float around in the tank, they would quickly stop producing new leaves and the old ones would quickly turn dark and die. I've never had any luck without sticking them into substrate all the way down to the crown. If you can grow them out of substrate, good for you. Perhaps we can compare water and light factors and isolate the cause(s).
Photo on upper left shows a specimen that's been buried for over two months. It's slowly making new roots and the bananas, (which are apparently for nutrient storage) have turned dark brown and black. I don't mind. What I like to see is the pretty intense green lily-like foliage that adorns the front-bottom of my aquarium. I trimmed back the dead leaf and re-planted this one near the front of my tank.
Photo on lower left is my 35 gallon tank as of yesterday. It has a really bad cloudiness problem that I'm trying to fix. This happens when I dose fertilizers so I suspect organics. I introduced Purigen in the filter pad yesterday evening and the water clarity is improving. I'll take new pictures when the water has cleared up.
Anyway, the lower left photo displays four Nymphoides aquatica, two on the right and two on the left, with a nicely growing Crypt in the middle. The far right specimen is the one that I uprooted for the first picture. All have new growth sprouting out today. Mine were introduced to the tank at a time when the water was very hard, Nitrate and Phosphate levels were high and light was much lower. My water parameters are now changing as I am attempting to keep the water soft and lower the PH to slightly acidic. I have also increased lighting.
I'd like to see these survive for more than a year because I've read that these may have a limited lifespan in the aquarium. You're comments and ideas are welcome.
This plant was a bit harder to locate on the Internet. Not much info. If you have this plant and would like to comment, please do so. I'd be very interested to know how you're managing with it and in what aquarium conditions you're growing it such as temperature, PH, hardness, substrate, fertilizers etc...
Some sites have also referred to this plant as an Australian Hygro or a Mermaid Weed. I don't know if this is correct or not.
The specimen on the photo is growing in a 10 gallon aquarium. PH around 6.7, slightly soft water, usually elevated Phosphates (but trying to get this under control) with very bright light, water fertilizers and a substrate made up of soil, clay, laterite, fertilizer sticks and a top layer of epoxy-coated gravel.
The plant is not growing very fast but since I added very bright light, the upper leaves have grown reddish. Looks very nice that way. It's been in my tank for well over a month now. I'm hoping that it will establish itself and grow faster eventually.
According to what I read, this plant requires bright light and soft water. It's apparently a slow grower. It's been growing steadily in my tank and I haven't had to touch it at all.
Here's a picture that shows the size of the plant when I originally stuck it in the substrate. It also shows its size as of today.
The distinguishing feature is the saw-tooth edges on the foliage. Mine are really prickly-looking, which I find just marvelous. In other tank conditions, leaves might not have this distinction and may look greener rather than orange or red. Check out photos of this plant on other websites from links below.
I also have a specimen in a larger, deeper aquarium with less light penetration and harder water. The plant seems healthy there too, with about the same growth rate, except the leaves are green with much less of the interesting orange and red hues.
I received Hydrocotyle leucocephala from aquariumplants.com yesterday. So it took a week to arrive. Not bad. 
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