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Just how big to banana plant leaves get? My bananas are taking off big-time. It's been about 3-4 weeks since I added them. I have large leaves about 3.5 inches round. It's making a wonderful umbrella forest for the habrosus cories.

Will they keep shooting leaves like this year round, or do they go dormant?

I can't believe the root structure, looking under the tank with a flashlight. I can see right where to put my Flourish Plant Tabs.

The leaves are finally healthy and flawless looking. But they seem to range from a nice shade of green to a pale green. I've been adding iron a couple times a week, which seemed to help. Nitrate is finally around 5-10. At one point it was zero and I had to add bottled nitrate. I've backed off that now that it is beyond 5ppm and won't dose again unless I see it drop on it's own.

I'll try to add some pics in the coming days.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 20-Dec-2004 20:54

Last edited by Cory_Di at 28-Dec-2004 13:40

Expect the leaves to grow up to about 4" wide. The Banana Plant (Nymphoides aquatica) in the wild grows much like a waterlily, with leaves floating on the surface of the water. You can cut off leaves which reach the surface, to encourage new underwater growth, or during warm weather you could plant it in a pond for the summer, and let it do it's thing. It may even flower for you, or grow new 'bananas', allowing you new plants for the tank! Good growing to you!

I think they are cool plants. However, maybe I shouldn't have put them right in front.

I think I am about to have one of those leaves growing on the surface like a lily. I have several very big leaves and now one large spike shooting towards the surface overnight. It has a folded leave. It is now about 3 inches from the water surface of my 12 inch deep tank.

I'm so intrigued by this plant. Everything I had heard was that they went into dormant periods and were dull. This has been everything but dull.

Do these things go dormant? Can I expect leaves to fall off at one point?

I am shocked at the root structure of this thing. It is massive when I look under the glass. I'm going to try to get pics later and post.

I have three of these plants within 3 inches of each other. If I had known it would get as big as it did, I would have only bought one. I'm going to respace them to different corners of the tank. They make excellent cover for the cories.

Does anyone know if they will survive in a goldie tank or will the goldies pick them apart?

Last edited by Cory_Di at 28-Dec-2004 13:42

Di,

You will want to trim the roots when you move the banana plants. When you do, the plant may stop growing or shed its leaves but it will begin to regrow when it has re-established its root system. The reason that you should trim the roots is that it is difficult to space them in the substrate without killing the roots. Trimming spurs regrowth.

If you don't disturb the plants I wouldn't expect the plant to shift to dormancy or lose leaves unless your environmental parameters swing wildly out-of-control...

or until you add goldfish that love to rearrange landscapes and will rip your banana plants into banana cream pie!

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Ahhh - this means goldies will nip at the banana leafs???

Awww - I wanted to put one in my goldie tank. I may try it and see if they are just too dumb to try . I'm sure they'll get the last laugh when I find bananas all over the place, half eaten. I wonder if it will hurt them?

That helps me to understand that dormancy isn't necessarily part of its lifecycle. It sounds more like something that happens as the result of transplant.

Now I have a dumb question. How do you propogate these? I've got a lfs or two that would probably take them off my hands for store credit.

I'm anxiously awaiting to see what this leaf looks like that is going to the surface. I only regret planting it so close to the glass. It will need to move eventually as it is blocking the view
Last edited by Cory_Di at 28-Dec-2004 21:43

Last edited by Cory_Di at 28-Dec-2004 21:44

man you're lucky :88) , i had a couple of em but they only had 3 or 4 leaves about 1" across and they stayed about 2" from the bananas

i'm unsure of how to propogate banana lillies, but they grow so well i've never needed to - i usually cut off 3 or 4 leaves per week, the biggest of which are 6inches across and cut off all the light to my tiger lotuses, which i'm proud to say have just sent their first leaves all the way to the surface! the hatchets love the cover afforded by all of them, tho!

Ohhh - so this baby is going to keep producing large leaves?

I guess I better move it after I see what this leave at the surface does.

That has to suck nitrate from the water at the rate it is growing.

Hi Cory

Every book I've checked say they don't have a large live span in the aquarium, but mine has about 2 years and grows like crazy, they propagate by adventitious plantlets, and once they start you have to really keep up with them. since they are lilies they have the same growth rate, that means, that if you stare at them long enough you can actually see them grow

The leaves will get much bigger once they are reaching the surface, if you let them they will become floating leaves. you can keep it short by trimming these leaves. and would not represent any harm to the plant.

It is a true nitrate sucking plant, in fact it is recommended to have one specimen per tank, or your other plants will start suffering, you can tell because it will start growing more and more "bananas" where the plant stores nutrients.

Mine has never flowered, but in all the literature I checked says they do so, so if yours is thriving let's hope it does!

Last edited by Falstaf at 29-Dec-2004 12:08

So that is what depleted the nitrate in my tank . I had to buy nitrogen (Flourish brand). My plants were suffering and now the algae is dying (oh, darn ).

I put a few flourish tabs in the substrate and the root structure is all interwoven in between.

I can't imagine a plant with that kind of explosive growth not sucking up nitrate. I didn't realize it was in the lily family and you are right, it seems to grow right before your eyes.

The leaf finally reached the surface of the tank overnight. It is opening. I must say that it has been fun to watch. I only wish I had set it further back from the glass. However, at least I can watch the cories underneath it being so close.

Just watch out for the lack of nitrates, it can result in black brush algae and it's very difficult to get rid of that one, at least for me i have tried everything and it won't go away.

Ummmm - I think that's already started. I don't get it - strip nitrates and you get an algae?

Yup, i was also very dissapointed at it too, you have to mantain your nitrate levels at at least 10ppm so it's a balanced enviroment. Black beard algae is really hard to get rid of, at least i haven't been able to, and i've torn the tank twice, so now that you are in time, just keep an eye on your nitrates and it will not spread.