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The price of Downoi will eventually come down as it will slowly become more available.

This plant is a very recent discovery. But Tropica and Oriental in Singapore are now growing and selling this plant. The increased availability will eventually drive prices down.

I picked it up in S'pore for US$3 per plant. Unfortunately they only had a couple of plants or I would have grabbed more. But the prices have come way down this side of the world and it's only a matter of time before that hits the west.

Other previously hard to find plants like Eriocaulon and Tonninas are readily available. I owuldn't reccomend those though as they are very wimpy hard to please plants.

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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.

Sorry to hear you had a melt on that Bernard, glad the other one is ok though.. Eeeks that's one sensitive plant.. Beautiful one though, it's still on my 'most wanted' list. Best of luck with it


The Amazon Nut...

For some it can be a very low maintenance species, for others, it'll melt, sometimes because they are moved, sometimes if something is not in their favor.. Sound familiar ?

They produce very long side shoots, one of the plants I had was sending a shoot into a place I didn't want so I trimmed it off. The main plant melted to mush in a couple of days. The side shoot I cut was fine.

Definately, from what I've seen so far, one to plant and then leave be. I don't touch them at all and just let the shoots do it's thing.

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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.

Awesome pic

Can you tell I like Downoi ?

I've done some research on that plant before and it's a very interesting one... For some it can be a very low maintenance species, for others, it'll melt, sometimes because they are moved, sometimes if something is not in their favor.. Sound familiar ? LOL... Also a very slow grower like our friends the crypts.

Field trip to Bensaf's anyone ? That would be awesome to all go plant shopping with him no ?

The Amazon Nut...

That is a nice picture of this plant.

I guess it could also serve as an indicator to evaluate your lighting conditions: leggy = medium, compact = high.

What is the tiny plant in the foreground? HC?

And look at all the algae

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Yep it's definately a stem plant, but very compact. In low light it looks far more like a stem plant as it gets quite leggy and a good bit taller.

This is not mine, but I found a pic of some Downoi that's a bit leggier. It's a plant that is very variable in appearance depending on conditions. Adaptable.

bensaf attached this image:

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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.

Postagemon helferi ...

It's a STEM PLANT????

It looks like a rosette in your picture!

Oh well ...

By the way, you can't sniff Tetra's AquaSafe - at least, not that I know of ... not that I've ever felt the urge to inhale things other than atmospheric air and nice perfumes on ladies


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Hi Bensaf !

Those are some beautiful plants you have there
The val plant you have, I found some that looked exactly like that in a lake down here, very light green, and graceful slender leaves, however because I pulled it from a coldwater lake, it didn't take well to the tank

Postagemon Helferi aka Downoi - I've been looking for this plant for at least 4 months but will have to wait until the price drops. $3.00 a plant that is crazy !

I like the narrow leaf java too.

I'd buy plants from you anytime once it warms up !!??

Edit: crap, almost late for work !

Last edited by DaFishMan at 13-Jan-2006 05:45

The Amazon Nut...

Nowher,

I can get HC, I won't depress you with the price. For some reason I went for Glosso out out curiosity. It's not really suitable for the tight foreground I have. I may try the HC next. The finicky planting put me off, but I did buy myself a nice planting tweezer at the weekend. One of those items you wonder "how did I manage without this for so long?"

Just a word of caution on the wood thing. I've seen the same done with Glosso. You can slap a pile of it on wood and tie it down, it won't attach, but it becomes raggedy fairly quickly.
It's probably easier and more natural to put a piece of rock or wood in areas in the path of the plants , they'll just grow over them naturally and you can create hills.

Cali,
You must have mis-read or being sniffing the de-chlor again!
I never said anything about the Downoi being a fern. It's definately a stem plant and needs to be planted, it won't grow on or attach to anything.


Last edited by bensaf at 12-Jan-2006 20:05

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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.

Quick question re Postagemon helferi :

You say it's a fern. Will it grow like Java Ferns, on bogwood?

Only if it will, that would make one superb centrepiece - a nice bogwood arch with several of these growing upon it!

The irony is I was about to post a new topic in this forum about finding plants that would live in a small aquarium without growing to outlandish sizes. This plant looks as if it will fit the bill wonderfully - all I need to do now is find it, and at an affordable price!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

hey Bensaf,

Since you have access to plants many of us don't, do you have any experience with a plant called Hemianthus callitrichoides "Cuba"?

Seems like a really neat plant to use for foregrounds or on DW, as you would with moss... just wanted to see if you've had access to it.

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Back in the saddle!

"Hen" awesome, Ben


The thin leaved java ferns appear with some regularity on aquabid, but otherwise, I haven't seen it offered anywhere else. I was sent a small portion some time ago for my ten gallon, but, alas, BGA claimed it as its own. That first plant must make for a really interesting aquascape, especially in large numbers.

I'm luchy enough living where I do to have access to some plants that may be hard to find in the west.

I thought I'd give you a look at some I have growing in my tank at the moment.

First a new and in the US very expensive plant if you can actually find it.
Postagemon Helferi aka Downoi.

A truly beautiful foreground plant, very unusual and pretty.

It seems to be fairly undemanding. Light is not critical but will grow taller and more leggy in poorer light. Some prefer the leggier appearance to the more compact high light growth.Will hit anywhere from 2-5 inches depending on light. Takes a while to establish so don't move it about too much. Spreads rapidly by side shoots that grow like runners along the substrate, it will produce a new plant at the internodes of these side shoots. I've seen occassional side shoots at the the base of the plant also.

bensaf attached this image:

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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.

Hey bensaf, thanks for the shots and descriptions.

I've been interested in Downoi for a while now, but as I mentioned in another post, it's really quite expensive to get it started here. I've seen single specimens being sold for no less than $40 USD. If it's a quick growing plant then it may be worth it, but for now I'm still up in the air on it. It really is beautiful, the comparisons to little conifers is right on

I've seen one place sell something similar to the java fern you described, floridadriftwood sells something called thin-leaf java fern, claims it's thinner than narrow leaf, leaves no thicker than .7cm - sound ssimilar, may be the same but I'm not sure.

You and tetra have frankly sold me on the blyxa, I'm looking to get a hold of some as a possible background plant when i set up the 7gal.

Must be nice to be able to walk aroudn town and find little gems like these plants, just goes to show you how much more advanced the hobby is over there.

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Back in the saddle!

Ingo we seem to be typing at the same time

One this I forgot to mention. Theres Xmas moss growing close to the fern, a lot of the rageed stuff you see in the pic is actually moss invading and trapped in the roots, rather then the fern itself.

The Crypt Spiralis looks a lot like Apon Crispus, or is that an illusion?

Yes it does a bit. There's a slight crinkling around the edge like Crispus. But the leaves are thicker and darker, more intense then Crispus and yes a much better alternative IMO.

I saw a picture of Blyxa Aubertii only the other day and I was pretty turned off by it. It didn’t look as neat as yours, more like some raggedy weed that has been neglected for quite some time. What is your maintenance regiment on this plant?

Like all Blyxas it's got very delicate brittle leaves. Handle with care. It can look raggedy when on sale. Mine certainly was pretty ragged when I got it. But it perks up really quickly if planted and left alone. The young leaves are very bright green. I do nothing for it. In time as it thickens it will split into new plants, at that stage it may need to be thinned. At the moment I do nothing. All my plants are subject to the same normal EI fert routine. I don't do anything special for a particular plant. I've only come across one plant that doesn't succeed this way.

The Ammania Gracillis looks very nice too, but your warning about malnutrition seems enough reason for me to stay away from it for a while until I have a better understanding of what I am doing. I assume trimming has to be done by cutting and replanting of the tops while disposing the bottoms, right?

Once you keep up on the routine it's easy. Trimming is as you say. It does not branch readily, hardly at all and cut bottoms don't seem to produce new shoots at all, so yes it's uproot and cut off the old bottoms. It hardly produces any roots. It can grow very well just weighted down and sitting on the top of the substrate. This makes it easy to put in awkward hard to get to spots.

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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.

Thanks Ingo.

How would you utilize the first one, Downoi? It almost seems to be the prettiest when used as a single specimen in the foreground, surrounded by less striking foreground plants (or plain substrate).

A few use it as a carpet plant where it has a foresty look (they look like miniture fir trees). This can look quite impressive with a dark substrate.
I use it as a small group betwwen wood and Cryptocorene Willissi. I've only got a small amount at the moment but it's spreading I'll see how to work it as it spreads.


The bottom of the Fern is pretty mmuch the same as other ferns , all rhizome and brown roots. It collects crap like other ferns too. But in time it grows into a bushy ball with up to 100 leaves so this becomes less visible. Where I can I use by tying to small pieces of wood, which are then hidden in bigger pieces. This way I can pull it out from time to time and rise under the tap.
It's a plant that's worth it IMO.

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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.

Bensaf,

Ups, sorry I jumped in way too early, I didn’t know you are going to publish another Christel Kasselman here at FP, forgive me.

Well, on to plant 4 and so forth:

The Crypt Spiralis looks a lot like Apon Crispus, or is that an illusion? If so then again based on your description of propagation it seems to be a nicer alternative.

I saw a picture of Blyxa Aubertii only the other day and I was pretty turned off by it. It didn’t look as neat as yours, more like some raggedy weed that has been neglected for quite some time. What is your maintenance regiment on this plant?

The Ammania Gracillis looks very nice too, but your warning about malnutrition seems enough reason for me to stay away from it for a while until I have a better understanding of what I am doing. I assume trimming has to be done by cutting and replanting of the tops while disposing the bottoms, right?

And of course the full shot of the tank is as nice as usual. To sum it up, thanks for the introduction to these plants, now I will just have to see which plants of my tank would have to go first in order to fit the new ones in.

Thanks again,

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 11-Jan-2006 08:03

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Lastly a full shot to show how these plants were utilised into the aquascape.

One important thing to note about the above plants. They are not just pretty they all have something in common. They are all remarkably easy and more importantly are more verstatile and useful then similar more common plants. In that regard I feel they are well worth the effort to seek out and pay a little bit extra if you have to. It'll be worth it long term.

bensaf attached this image:

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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.

Lastly an old favorite. Not so hard to find but not used very often which I don't understand.

Ammania Gracillis.

I've had this particular plant over a year. I love the orange rusty color which is quite unique and the leaf shape.

Probably the most of the plants I've shown here but within the reach of any one with a well run tank. Needs to have nutrients available constantly. This plant doesn't need much excuse to stunt and even a brief shortage is enough. It will recover from stunting slowly. Once the nutrients are well organised it's a very very fast growing and easy plant. Needs good light or it will appear a greeny yellow and very thin.


bensaf attached this image:

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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.

A new favorite. Blyxa Aubertii.

Again a great alternative to Vals. Much prettier and more pleasing texture. Doesn't get as tall as vals seems to max at about 18" but does get very wide and bushy , so give it some room. Unlike Blyxa Japonica it's more of a rossette plant. Grows a lot faster then Japonica and is much less demanding.Will turn red at the tips in bright light.

I really like this one.

bensaf attached this image:

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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.