Walmart Aponogeton Bulbs

[adadkins1]

Has anybody had any experience with these things? From what I've read, they seem to be fairly hit or miss. However you can always send back the bulbs that didn't germinate and apparently you get way more bulbs than you returned. I picked up a pack (4 dormant bulbs) and I was just wanting to see what everyone else thought. These are rumored to be Aponogeton crispus, so I am fairly excited to see how well they will grow in my medium/low light 55g.

 

[Alkane]

I am also interested in this, I have seen the bulbs at walmart. Keep us updated on their progress if you can

 

[TankerJs]

I had a few in my 10g. When my fish all died I let the tank sit there and the water evaporated out. I started a new tank 2 months ago and pulled the bulbs out of my old tank.(it sat for a year) two bulbs were still hard and filled with plant matter. I put them in my tank and voila! Two plants arose from the gravel. They are cool. The only thing is you really have to watch them. If they reach the surface they will grow a small flower. Once the flower its grown and the seeds are spread the plant will wilt and return to its bulb form. I prolonged the life of these by cutting all leaves that were within about an inch of the surface each night. They do not need much light, and if over lit will cause an algae bloom...but if you have snails that can be a good thing. Mystery snails really like the algae created by them, at least mine did. Hope this is informative and helps you out!

 

[Mab2000]

I bought these over a month ago. All four where duds. They are still in my tank, I am hoping they are late bloomers lol.

 

[ocminpin]

Haha!! I just started a thread on this the other day with my Petsmart bulbs...
I grew an apantogeon bulb and here it is at about 10 days:

View attachment 79739


Today
At about 6-8wks:

View attachment 79740

My mollies have been munching on it...

 

[TankerJs]

I bought these over a month ago. All four where duds. They are still in my tank, I am hoping they are late bloomers lol.

they really may be. I had one in the 10g i mentioned for 7mo before it finally emerged from the bulb. the reason is they stay dormant for a certain amount of time when submerged...so this means that the company must plan carefully to pick the ones that will be ready to grow soon. sometimes they plan wrong as nature is sometimes hard to predict! don't worry! One way to tell if they will grow or not is to squeeze them. if they are hard all is good, but if they are soft and squish like nothing is inside of the brown encasing then there is no plant to grow, only a peanut shell and no peanut . I love these plants hopefully you will too!

 

[Crewless]

Look for my thread walmart plant bulbs for pics and information ...all my bulbs failed except a huge bulb and the plant pretty much took over my 10 g o.o

 

[ocminpin]

I bought these over a month ago. All four where duds. They are still in my tank, I am hoping they are late bloomers lol.

Took mine 3 wks to sprout their first tiny little thin sprout

 

[adadkins1]

I'm hoping they germinate quickly for me, fingers crossed. I didn't think flowering would cause the plant to die. I've heard that they will flower, but didn't hear it would cause them to go dormant.

 

[TankerJs]

They won't die, but they will return to their bulb. That's the plant's life cycle...
1. Grow
2. Germinate
3. "Hibernate"
4. Repeat to infinity

 

[Cargod78]

Those Walmart bulbs are awsome. I have had them for about 1 year and changed the tank and substraite twice and the are still going strong.

 

[adadkins1]

I know they won't die, I was just saying that most places said these plants didn't need a dormant period like other apons. Granted, they are native to small bodies of water in Sri Lanka where they get a "resting period" every dry season. I do know that if you let one flower, you can pollinate it with a feather and then germinate the seeds. Sounds like a fun little project to me.

 

[Cargod78]

Mine form little polyps that leave the parent plant, float for s day or two then settle and take root becoming a new plant. Next time one does I'll take pics

 

[Cargod78]

Oh, ANC mine have never gone dormant

 

[Alkane]

They do not need much light, and if over lit will cause an algae bloom...but if you have snails that can be a good thing. Mystery snails really like the algae created by them, at least mine did. Hope this is informative and helps you out!

You mean if you have high light and only these plants?>

 

[Mab2000]

The instructions on the package are very brief and vague. I have never used bulbs prior to this experience but I was expecting at least something in a month and a half time. Do you completely bury the bulb in the substrate?

 

[ocminpin]

The instructions on the package are very brief and vague. I have never used bulbs prior to this experience but I was expecting at least something in a month and a half time. Do you completely bury the bulb in the substrate?

I did the first time and half rotted.. I was told because they were duds or they didnt grow up.. And when they started growing they went into substrate and died/rotted. SOOOOO this time I put in a cup of water and once they sprout I will bury everything except tip... I already planted my onions.. They sprouted in one day.

 

[Cargod78]

I started them out completely burried no extra nutrients or extra lights. They just sprouted an took off. All but 1 bulb are still going strong, one died off.

 

[ocminpin]

I started them out completely burried no extra nutrients or extra lights. They just sprouted an took off. All but 1 bulb are still going strong, one died off.

Could have just been a bad batch of mine... Directions say to bury directly..

 

[adadkins1]

I've heard you are NOT supposed to bury them in the substrate at first. Just drop them in the tank, and wait for them to start sprouting and growing roots. Then you can plant them under the gravel. Apparently you don't want to bury them until you know where the crown of the bulb is; that just makes life easy on them.

About the algae thing, yes you would probably get algae in a high light tank with only one plant and no dosing schedule. If you want high light, you will also need to dose ferts and CO2. However, with medium/low light tanks (like mine), you don't have to worry too much about lack of nutrients unless you are heavily planted. Algae only occurs if there is an imbalance, whether it is too much or too little: light, nutrients, or CO2. If you are able to get everything to a happy medium, then you won't see much algae. Unfortunately, finding said happy medium is not very easy at first. I've found mine in my 55 though, and I don't see very much algae at all; just a little bit of hair algae on the glass.