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Post by parker002 on Mar 6, 2011 13:59:32 GMT -5
A while back I bought some "Live Aquarium Plant" bulbs at WalMart. They were about $3 a pack and despite reading the horror stories, I figured what the heck.
First I will say that my experience wasn't much different than what I read most places on the Internet.
Out of 7 Aponogeton bulbs, 2 would not sink from the start. Upon crushing them I found that they were thoroughly rotten. Of the 5 that would sink, only 2 ever sprouted.
The Dwarf Lily bulbs sank but neither of the 2 ever sprouted. I ended up not wanting them anyway, due to their size and shape - they wouldn't have fit with the way I have things now.
The company that "makes" them, Sea-Life Inc in Sioux Falls, SD does offer a 30-day replacement guarantee but I didn't use it. People online said they sent in their receipt and the bad bulbs and got back already sprouted plants weeks or even months later. So it sounds like the company honors the warranty and possible replaces the bulbs with superior product. However, I didn't want the unpredictability of possibly receiving growing plants down the road and not having any place to put them.
All of that being said, I am happy that I tried it.
I now have 2 very beautiful Aponogetons and I paid $1.50 each for them. I haven't ever seen them for sale around here, either at LFS or at Petco/Petsmart. They run between $5 and $8 online.
So if you correctly set your expectations up front, I think these bulbs are a different way to add to your aquarium plant collection.
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Post by Carl on Mar 14, 2011 10:11:19 GMT -5
I know that Steven (who works with me) has purchased these bulbs too (I think from Walmart) and has had similar mixed results, but considering cost, he too was happy.
Carl
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Post by parker002 on Mar 14, 2011 13:24:43 GMT -5
You've seen the pics in the other thread too. Other than the "window pane" effect I'm struggling with, it truly is an impressive plant and quite unlike anything I've found at the LFS...
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Post by kagome on Mar 15, 2011 14:18:10 GMT -5
I have also recently purchased both of these selections. So far the Aponogetons have all been duds. I think the 2 lily bulbs are sprouting but I'm not completely sure. It looks like they have put out brown fuzzy roots but no leaves yet.
Carl, I thought you once mentioned that you had grown the Tiger Lotus lilies. I remember for sure that you told me that despite the name these are not true lotus but rather lilies. Have you grown the Tiger Lotus? Have you sprouted them from bulbs? Are the fuzzy brown roots normal or have I managed to culture a new deadly form of mold in my tank?
Sorry parker002 if I took over your thread. I just thought I'd tack on my questions to this discussion since it all related to these bulbs from Walmart. I'm glad your Aponogeton worked out. I really wanted some of those and I was bummed when none grew. I think I'll try them again some time since they are pretty cheap.
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Post by Carl on Mar 15, 2011 18:05:10 GMT -5
Yes I have had these particular plants, and yes these are not true lotuses which tropical pond plants. However my experience keeping these is limited, so I am far from an expert. I have been both successful and not.
These plants are quite attractive IMO when they do well, what I do know is more acidic conditions and better lighting are important.
Carl
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Post by parker002 on Mar 15, 2011 22:16:40 GMT -5
My Aponogeton has almost reached the surface of the water!
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Post by kagome on Mar 15, 2011 23:50:51 GMT -5
That's awesome! How tall is that in inches?
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Post by parker002 on Mar 16, 2011 6:14:10 GMT -5
It's about 16" tall at its tallest point right now.
Some of these plants are amazing. I split the Milfoil into 2 bunches now because it's growing so fast. Some of the fronds grow 2-3" PER DAY.
And I've got a serious problem with the floating Water Sprite. It's taking over the surface of my tank. We started with 2 viable plants (after the stalks fell off) and now I've got somewhere around 18.
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Post by goldenpuon on Mar 16, 2011 23:14:27 GMT -5
If they are taking over the tank (which is a good sign because they means they are healthy and growing fast IMO), you could clip off some excess or maybe split the plants up and sell them to your LFS or even sell them online somewhere.
Some fish also nibble at and eat plants. However, I wouldn't put any fish like that in there if there is a problem with growth unless you are sure of what you are doing. Some fish might overeat the plants or damage them.
Renee
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Post by parker002 on Mar 17, 2011 6:20:14 GMT -5
I have a feeling that my Water Sprite is flourishing at my other plants' expense. First, the way it propagates means it has double or even triple the root system of most of the other plants, so it's probably soaking up much more of the fertilizer than the other plants. Second, the more it grows, the more it monopolizes the light since it's floating on the surface. The LFS where we bought our Killifish is just getting started and they were interested in buying live plants - I emailed them yesterday. Right now I'm just trying to keep the stuff alive and green until they reply back. My mollies pick at EVERYTHING. When the Water Sprite was planted, they wouldn't leave it alone. In fact, they're the reason I floated it - they kept pulling it out of the gravel resulting in clumps of Water Sprite strewn about my tank, usually on top of other plants. Now that it's floating, they don't really mess with it. It might be because there's a male Betta hiding in there somewhere!
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Post by parker002 on Mar 17, 2011 6:21:58 GMT -5
That's awesome! How tall is that in inches? FYI, there's a couple of pictures of the Aponogeton in my new thread over in the Tank Pictures forum...
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Post by babygeige on Mar 24, 2011 20:12:09 GMT -5
I've always looked at those bulbs at the store, but never tried them. Maybe I'll give them a shot next time I'm ready to try for a different plant. The Aponogeton looks great!
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Post by parker002 on Mar 28, 2011 13:36:14 GMT -5
It's still growing like gangbusters. It has a central stalk now and looks like it might flower. On a tangent, the small fronds of near-dead Hornwort are thriving. Two of them are over a FOOT LONG!
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Post by parker002 on May 17, 2011 12:51:45 GMT -5
So the central stalk did not flower. Instead, it started developing roots much like my Amazon Sword.
I cut it off and planted it in a different tank. I now have 3 of these plants instead of just two.
I've been cutting back the hornwort rather aggressively - some of the fronds got to over SIX FEET long!
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Post by babygeige on May 17, 2011 20:47:37 GMT -5
Six feet? Where are you growing this stuff? In a pond?
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Post by goldenpuon on May 17, 2011 23:57:52 GMT -5
Parker, you have a talent for growing plants! Great job! You have a green thumb for growing aquatic plants as well as being very good at fishkeeping!
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Post by parker002 on May 18, 2011 10:08:23 GMT -5
Six feet? Where are you growing this stuff? In a pond? In a 55G aquarium. The hornwort was floating and had gotten swept up in my filter's outflow, winding around and around itself. I painstakingly pulled the unsightly ball apart only to find that some of the fronds were TALLER THAN ME. Speaking of ponds, I put some of my out-of-control water sprite into the koi pond (even though the water is a good 40-degrees F cooler than the aquarium) and it's growing just fine...
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Post by parker002 on May 18, 2011 10:28:55 GMT -5
Parker, you have a talent for growing plants! Great job! You have a green thumb for growing aquatic plants as well as being very good at fishkeeping! I wouldn't say it's a talent. It's more just trial and error. For example, I've had such great results with hornwort and water sprite that I would almost say it's a BAD thing - they've overgrown my tank completely more than once and had to be nearly eradicated. On the flip side, I've killed more than $12 worth of anacharis, supposedly one of the easiest plants to grow. In between I've had mixed results with just about everything else. I've got alot of growth but my plants tend to be more spindly and less dense than what I see on the Internet. CO2 injection is the next place I'm going.
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Post by parker002 on May 18, 2011 10:49:41 GMT -5
I did think of one other thing.
The plants in the 55G and 14G tend to be the ones that are less dense than pictures I see on the Internet. The plants in the 2.5G betta tank that we use as a "nursery" for plant cuttings don't have the same issue.
For example, the crypts in the 2.5G tank have overly large and healthy root systems when compared to their counterparts in the other 2 tanks. The milfoil in the 2.5G has roots all up and down the stalks while I struggle to get the same development in my 55G.
The 2 big differences?
1) There's no fish in the 2.5G tank, only snails. 2) I don't FERTILIZE the 2.5G tank. I dose the 14G and 55G tanks with Flourish as a base fertilizer. I sometimes use Excel for carbon and Flourish Potassium for an additional shot in the arm but Flourish is the base fertilizer.
I wonder if I'm actually stunting the growth of my plants, specifically their roots, by adding ferts to the water column and not allowing them to establish themselves in the substrate?
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Post by Carl on May 18, 2011 17:07:21 GMT -5
This is certainly possible IMO, but another thought is your little tank also is likely open to much more natural ambient light.
Carl
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