FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Im hoping to get a 20 or so gallon tank in the near future. Im really hoping to find a plant that will take of and fill the tank quickly. Ive heard that Hygrophilla Polysperma will do just that. Any truth to this?

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Definitely. Given adequate light and a good substrate, hygro will be happy to fill any space.

You might want to look into Sunset Hygro - with just a bit more light you can get the same filling-the-tank but the top group of leaves on every stem are quite pink!

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

How many wpg would be good for it?

Also: Some say that they propagate by runners, others by clippings; and still others say both:%)

[span class="edited"][Edited by katieb 2004-09-04 21:45][/span]

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Hygro can propagate by both cuttings and runners - however runners in Hygro are different because they are just side stems which grow along the gravel, which will then eventually root. Looking like they send out runners, but they are not actual runners that are produced asexually like valissneria does.

If you want the plant to fill in quickly I'd suggest you wait for the original stems to reach the surface, then take clippings and replant around the the plant forming a large bushy appearance.

Hygro should be okay in wide range of WPG, it can do well from about 1 WPG and up.

Polysperma is definitely the plant to fill out a tank quickly. It also reacts very well to trimming and will immediately throw out new branches where you cut.

I started out with a few stems and now have a dense jungle of the stuff completely take over the rear right hand corner section of a large tank. I now have to throw out handfuls of the stuff every week as there’s nowhere left to put it.

Just let it grow to a decent height then take a sharp scissors and cut just above a leaf node and plant the cutting anywhere.

While it will grow in 1 wpg it’s a little more tricky to get it to fill a tank as the bottom of the stems rot and weaken without some light. With 2 wpg even a dense jungle still gets just enough light to keep the bottom stems strong. Putting it in a corner where it can get some other outside light helps greatly with this.

I’ve always had a terrible time with the sunset, even in a bright tank it needs light at the bottom or it will fall apart very easily. In my jungle I’ve never been able to get enough light to the bottom for it to be happy.

---

Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

It will get quite ddense and as Bensaf mentioned it needs to get light on the bottom of the stems, so you would probably want to plant tthe stems like 3" apart from one another or even more, when it grows it will cover the spaces but they will get the light they require.

Thanks everyone! I was thinking of just planting 4 or 5 of these guys and letting take off. How do you think a jungle of them would look with a nice branch of driftwood?

[span class="edited"][Edited by katieb 2004-09-06 19:06][/span]

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.