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This weekend I got a couple bunches of stem plants for my 10-gallon "misfit" tank (currently growing out some guppy fry), only I'm not really sure what they are. They've been floating at the top of the tank since I got them.

So have at it. The first has a pinkish tinge around the tops with lots of small elongated leaves. The second is very light green all over with fine pointy leaves. And I took pictures!

Picture 1

Picture 2

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Hi,

I would guess that the pinkish plant is sunset hygro and the green one is elodea.

Cheers,

The green one's definitely not elodea. The leaves are much narrower, and the color is very pale. It also has what look like flower buds, but might be buds of new branches coming off the stems.

I just looked up sunset hygro and it looks nothing like my plant. It might be rotala indica.

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Hi,
I believe you are correct Sup. When I had it in my tank
I was using two 96 watt compact fluorescent bulbs in the
8800K range. One light was on for 10 hours and the second
bulb came on for four hours starting at 10am and going off
at 2. I also was using a bottled gas CO2 injection system.
The leaves at the top were a beautiful pink and
further down the stem they were pink underneath.

It grows fast and soon blocks the light to the lower
sections. When that happens, the lower leaves fall off
leaving the bare stalk which soon turns "woody." It
required constant trimming and spreading out of the plants
to keep them all getting the right amount of light and
looking good.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Thanks Frank,

Any insight into what the green one is?

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Hi,
Gosh, today I made our weekly trip to the post office,
and the January, 2009 issue of TFH was there. Tonight
I opened it up and guess what plant is featured in
THE PLANTED TANK? You guessed it.. the Genus Rotala!
Grab the issue and check it out. It shows the plants
that you pictured and discusses the various types!
Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Cool, I haven't gotten that one yet but probably will soon

I already have a couple stems of Rotala rotundifolia. They've been doing ok, but not thriving, because they get covered in BGA. I am working on maintaining the water quality better so I can prevent that.

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I believe there is some confusion between rotala indica and rotala rotundifolia. From what I have read, most of the rotala floating around in the hobby is rotudifolia. My understanding of the way to tell the difference is that rotudifolia will have round leaves when grown emerged.

The rotala in my tank was sold to me as indica but as I found out from my container pond was that the emerged leaves are round so I guess that means it is rotudifolia.

I am not sure what the plant on the right might be as it is hard to get a good look at it from the picture. Maybe another type of rotala?

Edit: my entry above is taken partially from the TFH mentioned by Frank.

Side note: Why do we get January's TFH in November?

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

I just edited the post above. I said the rotala I already had was magenta, but I think it's rotundifolia.

The LFS where I get my plants has a very diverse selection of unmarked plants (although usually the potted ones they carry are labelled). I've found quite a few good deals on plants there. For example with this purchase I got three bunches of plants for only $12 (the sell them $5 each or 3 for $12). The other one (not pictured) is Alternanthera reineckii. I've previously gotten great plugs of crypts, loose crypts, and other potted plants from them. Just because one is more common doesn't really rule out the other one being the one they have.

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Alright, more pics!

I planted the rotala this weekend, and the other plant today. I noticed some tiny flowers (?) on the un-ID'd plant, you can see one branch with them sticking up above the rotala. I was starting to think it was some sort of naiad until I saw those. Now I'm really stumped.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/superlion/temp/Pictures12-08007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/superlion/temp/Pictures12-08009.jpg

Yes, the plant really is that white. The stems are quite woody and turn brown as they age.

You can see my other Rotala in the left side of both pictures. One of these days I'll take a full-tank shot. It's looking fairly nice. The blurs near the top of the second photo are week and a half-old guppy fry.

EDIT: I'm starting to think that the pale green plant is Mayaca fluviatilis. Which makes me wonder what the plant in my other tank sold to me as Mayaca is...

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Just remember that plants can look quite different depending on growing conditions.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric