Some species & growing Q's

[nikipike]

1. Would pennywort become a problem like duckweed can in a tank? Also I read the stem can reach up to 12" depending on the species, how likely is that to happen?

2. How do you get java moss/fern to attach to driftwood?

I know I can get it already growing on driftwood on the net, but since my tank is only a 10gal, i'm afraid of ending up with to large of a piece. Would rather just buy a piece from the store.

3. I loveee the looks of petite nana. Is it a tpye of plan that will spread or will I need to buy however many plants are needed to cover the size area I want them in?

Thanks,
Niki

 

[7Enigma]

1. All depends on your light level and if you are injecting CO2. It will obviously be more of a problem if all of your nutrients are in the proper amount and you have CO2 injection and high light.

2. You can rubber band it, attach it with fishing line, or in my case, put a stone on the roots to hold it in place for a couple of weeks. Whatever you decide, do NOT damage the roots by tying to tightly, just make it so it will hold it on. A rubber band is the easiest, but I don't know if chemicals will leech into the water. A rock seems easier, but is more likely to fall off if bumped. Fishing line is probably the hardest and the easiest to damage the plant but will work the best since its all but invisible and while it should be removed after the plant has attached, probably won't cause any problems.

3. Someone else will have to help you with this one...my uninformed guess would be that if you have the patience you can grow enough from the initial plant to fill in the tank (I'm doing this with wisteria), but you might be better off buying upfront what would look good in your tank. Wait for others to comment.

HTH,

justin

 

[Purrbox]

1. Given the right environment, I'm sure it will grow to it's maximum length. The nice thing, is that it will be much easier to control by trimming away any excess that you don't want. It's so easier to miss a tiny peice of duckweed and it can multiply rapidly, practically overnight.

2. You can also use cotton thread, which will eventually disintegrate on it's own if you forget to remove it after the plant has secured itself.

3. Anubias Nana Petite will spread and can be multiplied, but it will take quite a bit longer than most other plants. After 4-6 months in a medium light tank with good nutrients mine had doubled in size and I was able to divide them. So it really depends on how patient you are.

 

[Zagz]

I have pennywort and it grows very quickly. I just trim it and stick into other tanks LOL.

 

[malkore]

1. i have a species of pennywort,a nd its fine. its not nearly as invasive, or hard to remove, as duckweed, which are free floating, very tiny plants

2. staples. seriously...I staple the brown, hairy 'roots' directly into the driftwood. for rocks I wedge the plant between two rocks until it takes hold. kite string works well too

3. it spreads, slowly. you can cut the rhizome after it hits a certain size and replant the second plant. takes patience. might wanna start with a few pots of it to get a head start.

 

[nikipike]

Thanks!

1. I'm starting with low-med light & no CO2. Sounds like it work in my tank, can't wait to see my fishies swimming through it.

2. Like the cotton thread idea as i'd surely forget to remove whatever I put on it! Like the stone idea to, but the fish i'm putting the tank are like little kids, no telling what kind of trouble their gonna cause.

3. Thats good to know! Think i'm going to buy enough to put some where I definately want it, & if I really like it i'll work on spreading it.

Niki

 

[Japola44]

Wouldn't penny wort stay smaller if at lower levels its getting enough light. I thought most plants only grew really tall when there was not enough light. I am thinking about adding pennywort to my tank, but i was hopeing it would only grow a few inches tall. what species of penny wort should i get?

 

[Japola44]

after doing a little reasearch...
you want this kind of pennywort
Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides
its said to max out at 8cm in height, hopefully i can get my hands on some for my tank.

 

[nikipike]

Japola, i'm not to worried about penny wort growing "up" in my tank as i'm going to float it. Thought a floating plant would be a nice touch since i'm going to use bettas for that tank.

 

[Purrbox]

Japola44, unfortunately your information on Hydrocotyle Sibthorpioides isn't 100% accurate. I've got some in my tank that is at least twice that long and still going strong. That being said, it is still an excellant plant and I would recommend trying it.

 

[Japola44]

really? i got it off tropica.com they seem like a reliable source. I'm looking for a plant that wont get too tall and isn't too bushy so you could still see the stone wall I'm putting in the tank behind it. I really like how the hydrocotyles look.

Do you think you could trim off the taller stems to keep them from getting so tall with out completly dystroying the plant?

 

[Hoovercat]

Tropica's info on pennywort is technically correct. However, pennywort is a vine and not a stem plant. Thus, none of the pads will be more than 8" from the vine but the vine has an infinite length.

 

[Japola44]

well i think i will still give it a shot...

hehe sorry for stealing your post nikipike