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I'm in the process of getting easy to maintian plants (slow-growing, no CO2, medium-high lighting) and I have a few that I have questions about.

Ludwigia glandulosa - on land, this looks like it would be an easy to care for plant with it's dark leaves, but tropica says it's difficult. Anyone have any experience with it?

I am looking for a feathery-leaved plant, but I often don't have a lot of luck with them. I have Rotala rotundifolia growing (though I won't say growing well, as the stems are thin and the leaves very small, though they put up new shoots from the roots regularly) in some of my smaller tanks. Would this be a good plant to try again under the new fert regimen?

Any other suggested stem plants?

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

Hi,
What many consider to be the "feathery leaved" plants
(Cabomba,Myriophyllum, etc.) are probably not the best
for you in that tank. They require good lighting (around
3+wpg) and a good filter. The spaces between the leaves
is so small that they easily trap detritus as it floats
about in the tank, and can very easily become clogged
and matted by algae.

Plants such as Star Grass, Rotilla, etc would probably
give you a better chance of success.

Frank

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

I'm in the process of getting easy to maintian plants (slow-growing, no CO2, medium-high lighting)

You know that you are asking for trouble, right ?

I would assume that you will collect some algae when having high light and none of the other features that make a tank like this thrive.

If you have thought about this then I would most certainly be keen on the reasoning why you think this will work (as it sounds like a nice option - growing sensitive plants withoug all the other fuss).

Thanks in advance,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

"You know that you are asking for trouble, right?"

Well, that's just it... I don't want the trouble, but I know what you mean.

In another couple of posts, I talk about this tank (a 30 long with 120 watts lighting, DIY CO2, Fluval power filter, etc.) and I'm having problems with it because my fert regimen was... incomplete to put it mildly. After suggestions from bensaf and you, Little_Fish, I've decided to use the Seachem Flourish line to fix the fert problem (Flourish, Excel, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium if needed) and change my light schedule a bit to try to avoid algae. I'll be re-aquascaping a lot this weekend, and putting in some anubias, crypts, and vals in addition to the Amazon sword I currently have and a few java ferns, but I'd like some stem plants to fill in and add texture and maybe some color. Right now, I have some Bacopa carolina, Ludwigia repens, and Egeria najas to try because I've heard they were fairly easy.
I've tried wisteria before and it tried to take over my tank and then died when I pruned and replanted it, so I'm hesitant to try that again, and the rotala did exactly as Frank said and got clogged with algae, though I imagine that was largely a fert problem or due to the fluctuations in the DIY CO2.
I don't want overly sensitive plants, but I do want to know what my options might be. The new fert regimen has already improved the remaining plants currently in the tank, and gotten rid of a lot of the algae, so I'm fairly confident that as long as I keep it fairly simple (even though 4-5 bottles of stuff to dose weekly may not sound simple, it's only slightly more than what I've been doing already in my other tanks) I can successfully maintain a planted tank.

Last edited by illustrae at 13-Jan-2006 10:19

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

OK,

I guess I misinterpreted when you said no CO2. Although this is true, you are adding carbonates via Excel (I am too forgetful to remember decisions and their actual implementation from other threads )

The new fert regimen has already improved the remaining plants currently in the tank, and gotten rid of a lot of the algae &#8230;

Improving on your fert regiment was the first step to success. Here is your future: You are happy with your tank but you want to see more improvement in plant growth and all that light finally paying off its cost. You will add a pressurized CO2 system. --- Just a wild guess

On note of caution: Egeria (Najas and Densa) are very sensitive to Excel and will most likely not survive (or at least look bad).

Hope this clears the facts and helps a little in the process,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks for the tip on the egeria... I didn't know that. I may end up using that in my qarrantine tank instead and see how it does.

I have no doubt that one day I'll be investing in a pressurized CO2 system at the rate I'm going... but in the meantime I'm trying to create aquascapes that are easy to maintain consistently without always having my hands in the water. I've succeeded with one tank, and this is the next one to conquer!

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

Ludwigia glandulosa is a very difficult plant.I've tried it in the past with mixed results. It needs very good unshaded light just to survive. It's incredibly slow growing. Good Co2 levels would be a neccessity to get any kind of growth. Because of the slow growth but the need to be under high light it can be an algae magnet.

I found buying submersed growth plants much easier. The emmersed form takes forever to make the transition.

I got it to the stage where I could keep algae off it, but growth was always slow.

It's got such a rich dark color that it really only works as a plant to highlight others or as an accent. It should not be used in big quantities. Therefore I'd avoid it at the moment 'til you get your tank going right and have a grip on the scape then use it where appropriate.

It's a plant I'd like to try again if the right opening in the 'scape came up.

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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.