glosso--the bane of my existence

[crazycat]

ok--my first experiment with glosso was a COMPLETE disaster! of course it was entireley my fault because i didn't plant it properly--i planted clumps instead of individual stems. it was gone in just a few days.

however, unbeknownst to me, some of it survived, and is happily growing and propagating at the TOP of my tank! its perfectly happy just floating around, and now i have a few substantial networks of it--the largest is about 4" x 4".

now what????? given that i destroyed it the first time, i'd don't want to kill the rest of it, but i'd rather have it rooted and forming a nice carpet instead of a ceiling. since it's all connected, how do i separate the stems for planting (assuming it's still necessary to separate them).

any suggestions from those glosso experts out there?

 

[BrianNY]

Glosso is the bane of most who try and grow it Cat. LOL.

Cut each runner equidistant from the plant and root each one about an inch apart. It must be planted with tweezers and takes time and care. Believe me, I know what a chore this is in a 125g.

 

[malkore]

I used to have a sweet glosso planting guide URL but my bookmarks got corrupted

Brian's advice is true...you need to snip the horizontal runners into invididual 'stems' (for lack of better terminology). Then plant them in checkerboard fashion, spaced about an inch. Hopefully your runners grew roots under each plant stem...this makes it easier to plant, but you still have to use tweezers and patience.

 

[czcz]

http://nature-aquarium.com/glosso.htm -- stole this one from Travis. Anecdotal evidence says a little extra N goes a long way to a lush glosso carpet, but I've never pulled it off (only a weak and patchy glosso carpet).

 

[crazycat]

thanks you guys! cross your fingers and kiss your elbow...

i'll keep you updated...

czcz: does 'N" stand for nitrate? or nuttiness?

 

[czcz]

Nitrate/nitrogen. Good luck!