Anarchis Question

[bud29]

When I bought my amano shrimp the lfs employee broke off a branch of anarchis for it to hold on to during the trip home. When I got home I planted it. Will it grow? Also, there is a root coming out of the plant at a random spot. Should I bury that instead of the part with no roots which I did bury?

 

[blert]

IME, it will do one of two things... It will either melt or grow like crazy. You don't have to plant it at all, you can leave it to float and it will do well. If you want to plant it you can. As for the roots shooting out in random places, it's normal and a lot of plants do it. Trim it off if you don't like how it looks.

 

[BBradbury]

Anacharis

When I bought my amano shrimp the lfs employee broke off a branch of anarchis for it to hold on to during the trip home. When I got home I planted it. Will it grow? Also, there is a root coming out of the plant at a random spot. Should I bury that instead of the part with no roots which I did bury?

Hello bud...

Your LFS person is a genius. Hard to believe there's a better aquarium plant than Anacharis. It grows well planted or floated. I prefer to float it in my "Livebearer" tanks. It gets really thick when floated close to the light source and makes a great hiding area for my fry. Probably why I have a very high fry survival rate. Started with six feeder female Guppies about 7 years ago in a 30 G tank and now have around 1,500 in five large tanks.

Anyway, Anacharis will grow quickly with a little liquid fert like Tetra's "Flora Pride". A lot of plants in the tank make the fish feel comfortable, knowing there are places to hide and avoid more aggressive tankmates.

The plant is second to none in taking in extra nutrients to keep the algae growth low and puts out a lot of oxygen for the fish. I keep it in tanks with a little more than 1 watt per gallon of tank volume and under 6500 to 10,000K light bulbs. The plant is really undemanding as far as water and light conditions.

In my humble opinion, there's not a better tank plant available.

B

 

[bud29]

Thanks guys! I do have seachem flourish excel, so hopefully that will help growth. So happy I got a free plant!

 

[blert]

Thanks guys! I do have seachem flourish excel, so hopefully that will help growth. So happy I got a free plant!

Anacharis and Excel do not get along. If you are going to use Excel then start with small doses and gradually increase. Do not dose direct onto, or directly into the flow of, the Anacharis.

 

[bud29]

Hmm......OK. Why is this? Just curious.....

 

[blert]

It is just one of the plants that don't dig on the Excel. Included are also Vals and mosses. It is on SeaChem's Excel FAQ page.

 

[bud29]

Sheesh, I have moss too. Of course out of all the fertilizers in the store I have to pick the wrong one. . That bottle cost me eleven bucks!

 

[blert]

Sheesh, I have moss too. Of course out of all the fertilizers in the store I have to pick the wrong one. . That bottle cost me eleven bucks!

Excel is not a fertilizer, it's a carbon supplement. You can still use it but I suggest that you don't follow the directions on the bottle. Start with small doses (half maybe) every other day and mix it with a quart of tank water before you add it to the aquarium. Be very careful not to dose the stuff directly onto the sensitive plants. If you start to see signs that your plants are not doing well then discontinue use. It has a very short half-life (about 24 hours) so it will be all but gone in about two days. If your plants do fine with it then slowly ramp up the dosage.