Out the top Submerged to Emersed

[fish_4_all]

I have a couple plants that I know can do this.
Ammannia Senegalensis, Rotala rotundifolia and Ludwigia repens. I think I have a couple others but these are these are the ones I want to focus on.

The question is, I know the Ammannia will loose the submerged leaves which isn't a bad thing but what about the other two? Do they keep the submerged with the emersed or do they loose the submerged leaves also? The ammannia is ok but I want the other species I grow this way to keep their submerged growth.

Also, Cabomba, I know it is a true aquatic but it will flower at the surface, or is supposed to. Will it start to loose the lower leaves because of the dedication to flowers and possible seeding?

If this topic belongs somewhere else I appologize. I think we need a submerged forum

 

[7Enigma]

I think a lot of the results will depend on how tightly your top is sealed. If you have a highly humid space above the water that will allow for the leaves to stay moist you might see some submerged leaves remain. Otherwise I would guess you would lose the majority of the submerged foliage.

 

[czcz]

Emergent L. repens "Rubin" kept submerged leaves near the surface for me, fwiw. I lost leaves near the substrate. This may not be significant since I do not have much submerged space in my emersed setup (only 4-6"). I trimmed emergent growth right below the water line.

 

[Zezmo]

I have some Ammannia sp. "Bonsai". This plant grows nice red leaves, and the stem goes straight up. At the surface, the leaves turn green and keep going straight up. The Green emerged stems can be trimmed and replanted, they begin growing red leaves again while under water. With Ammannia gracilis it will grow to the surface, then bend and grow along the surface for a couple nodes, then goes upward with the emerged growth. This emerged growth also readily converts to submersed growth after trimming. Neither of these plants loses any lower leaves in the process, unless those leaves are overly shaded.
Murdania spirata is another plant that likes to hit the surface and keep on growing. Both submersed and emerged growth are nearly identical for this plant. Hitting the surface also seems to kick the side growth up a bit. Some other plants with emergent growth are Hydrocotle sp., left to float will sent up leaves, and Echinodorus sp. that send thier runners/plantlets up.
One thing I have considered is that the atmosphere immediately above my tank is probably very CO2 enriched. It seems that the emersed growth would benefit from this as much as the submersed growth does, maybe even more.

 

[fish_4_all]

Well half the time I have no top on, the other half I put on loose tops. I only really use the tops for the mid half of the day when I lower the light to on top of the tanks. When I get serious about a dedicated out the top emersed setup I will have the lights above a acrylic top that will give about 8-12 inches for the growth to flourish. Maybe a tank over a tank with the lights set up in a semisealed hole for heat and CO2. Probably your basic 10 gallon with a powerhead for circulation and for CO2, an acrylic top sealed best I can and lots of light.

Will be an insteresting endeavor when I finally get to it.