Rooting Hydrocotyle

[dskidmore]

My Hydrocotyle insists on working it's way out of the sand and returning to a floating state. Am I being unrealistic in trying to get it to root in soil, or is there a trick to it?

 

[An t-iasg]

I use the soft lead weight strips. They are easy to bend in half and break with your hand (you don't need the whole length). I break one in half and bend each part in a U shape. I put a weight on each end of the runner and push it into my substrate (Eco Complete). I'm careful not to obstruct the end of the runner so it still puts off some growth.

 

[dskidmore]

Will new growth then have to be weighted, or will it continue in the soil once started in the soil?

 

[An t-iasg]

The new growth usually needs to be weighted too. I do see that the little roots start to take hold, but a vigorous water change can uproot them again. On Eco (may be different for sand) the larger top pieces don't allow those tiny roots to get a good hold, so I adjust and re-position the weights as needed.

Those little "lily pads" are so cute that no one usually notices the bit of weight that shows through! And they are much cuter on the substrate where they are easily seen than floating and getting stuck behind some tubing!

 

[dskidmore]

Those little "lily pads" are so cute that no one usually notices the bit of weight that shows through! And they are much cuter on the substrate where they are easily seen than floating and getting stuck behind some tubing!

I agree. They'd make a good contrasting ground cover in my curent aquascape, just have to figure out how to manage them.

I'll give weights a try.

 

[rkilling1]

Have you ever thought about using Hydrocotyle verticillata instead?

 

[dskidmore]

Have you ever thought about using Hydrocotyle verticillata instead?

I think that requires more light than the variety I have. I'm running this little tank at medium light.

 

[An t-iasg]

I was going to ask you what variety you have, dskidmore. Mine are Hydrocotyle verticillata. I have medium light and pressurized CO2. They are doing very well for me - maybe they are a bit slow-growing compared to someone else's in a high-light tank, but they do fine in my small (10 gallon) tank.

 

[dskidmore]

I havn't had time to look through my records. I think it's the Hydrocotyle leucocephala

I had three varieities in there to start, two surviving now.

 

[swanandmokashi]

I got some from An t-iasg (thank you) and was able to root them in eco-complete.
how fast do they grow ?

Also where do you get these lead weights?

 

[dskidmore]

I find they propagate fairly quickly when floating on the surface.

Any place that sells aquaculture supplies will sell the weights. Just search for aquatic plants online, and look in the tools section.

 

[travis simonson]

H. leucocephala will almost always float free (with a root anchor point). It's nature is to grow upward. I have never seen it trained to grow along the substrate. Given this, you can make it do some pretty cool stuff by twining its strands around objects.

H. verticellata will grow horizontally if prompted. Bury each new growth tip in the substrate and the roots will anchor it; the new shoots will emerge from the soil like a fresh flower. It's a PITA but H. verticellata can be made to grow quite densely in patches. Don't be afraid to force the runners to do what you want them to do.