Pearling=Happy Plants?

[shawmutt]

If plants are pearling, can I assume they are in good shape? Everything except my wisteria is pearling.

 

[Talon242]

Yup, pearling is a good thing.

 

[marcus russo]

Agreed, I have never seen my wistera pearl so don't feel left out

 

[TankGirl]

If you have pearling, true pearling and not streaming, then you have happy plants, no bout a doubt it.

 

[shawmutt]

wait...what's streaming?

 

[TankGirl]

Streaming is when a steady "stream" of bubbles comes off the plant leaf or stem, from a minor injury or where they were pruned. In my tanks the ones in lower light without CO2 and nutrients won't even stream, so it is not necessarily a let-down if they are doing that, LOL!

True pearling involves a bubble of air that sits on the leaf - sometimes I will see a shower like in a champagne glass when a fish brushes past the leaves.

 

[shawmutt]

OK, both are happening, and the wisteria started pearling as well (sorry marcus). The Bronze crypt is streaming off of a few leaves--should I just prune those leaves?

 

[TankGirl]

You can prune them if they are obviously damaged and decaying, or unsightly, but I would not prune them just because they are streaming.

Congrats!

 

[Guest]

True pearling is the best, but at least streaming indicates a very high rate of photosynthesis. So, it's not a bad thing, just not as good as pearling.
Very happy for ya shawmutt, I know you've put a lot into this tank, glad you are seeing some rewards.

 

[Robert H]

Except that even normal pearling can be "streaming". And even if it is from a broken leaf or something, it still means that plant is taking in C02 and releasing oxygen. Just because you see bubbles coming from plants does not automaticaly mean everything is "perfect" either. The ideal C02 level for a tank is 20 to 30 ppm, whether you have pearling already or not. Figure out how much C02 is in your water and then decide if you want to increase it.

Robert
www.aquabotanic.com