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Post by parker002 on Jan 3, 2012 10:26:57 GMT -5
I've pretty much settled in on my planted tank setup. The left side is filled with Red Ludwigia, the center with two large Amazon Swords, and the right with Hygrophilia Difformis (water wisteria).
The Red Ludwigia is by far my favorite plant - doesn't grow slow, doesn't grow fast, easy to propagate, looks nice, etc.
The Hygro has all of the same qualities except one:
It grows so fast I can't handle it. I cut it's height by 4" and in a week it's back at the surface. It's trapping debris and restricting water flow in the tank.
Any recommendations on replacing it?
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Post by Carl on Jan 3, 2012 10:47:01 GMT -5
Are you asking about replacing hygro with water wisteria? What about Cryptocoryne lutea? I have had this plant grown in a variety of conditions, although in poor lighting, they tend to "do nothing" Carl
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Post by parker002 on Jan 3, 2012 11:15:10 GMT -5
I thought Hygrophilia Difformis and water wisteria were one and the same? It's this stuff: I have several crypts, they don't really fit the bill. I'm looking for a stalk plant that would "cover" that background, similar to my Ludwigia, which now occupies a patch 12" wide and 20" tall. The hygro just grows TOO fast.
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Post by Carl on Jan 3, 2012 16:54:37 GMT -5
I have always known traditional "Hygro" (Hygrophila Polysperma) as this plant: . This has always been marketed to me as Hygro while wisteria was marketed as simply "water wisteria" (My Bad for not checking the scientific names) Carl
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Post by parker002 on Jan 3, 2012 18:00:28 GMT -5
How does that particular type compare?
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Post by Carl on Jan 4, 2012 10:05:28 GMT -5
I have found these (Hygrophila Polysperma) to be fast growers, given the right conditions. These were very popular, one of the best sellers we had.
I still personally like Cryptocoryne lutea as a moderate difficulty plant that might be a perfect fit since your conditions are very good.
Carl
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Post by parker002 on Jan 4, 2012 13:51:31 GMT -5
For right now, I'm just going to prune aggressively. My wife normally takes little to no interest in my fish tank obsession and she told me today to keep them, they're her favorite ("the prettiest") plant in the tank.
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Post by babygeige on Jan 5, 2012 22:54:16 GMT -5
I have crypt lutea in some of my tanks. I've always used it as a mid-ground to foreground plant. Does it grow significantly taller under higher light? The one in my 10 gallon grows like crazy. I've split it several times, and it's got little plants growing all over the place in there, but none are more than 6 inches tall or so.
parker002, I know you said that you're going to stick with the water wisteria for now, but have you tried Vallisneria yet? They can grow tall and full. One variety gets a lovely twist in its leaves as it grows.
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Post by Suzie Q (Lori) on Jan 6, 2012 10:54:04 GMT -5
Hygrophila Polysperma, Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig'-Common Name: Sunset Hygrophila is "illegal now to sale/ship. It is not illegal to own or give away as long as it is not put into the mail. I have this plant and it is the prettiest I have, but it does grow aggressively. I have a pix of it on my face book, and at www.facebook.com/groups/181187708614862/?notif_t=group_activity (Lone Star Bettas face book page). I also have Water Wisteria, which IS Hygrophilia Difformis. The common name is Water Wisteria. Mine grows straight up and down, so I may be misunderstanding...you want to get rid of the Wisteria?
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Post by parker002 on Jan 6, 2012 11:54:00 GMT -5
I have crypt lutea in some of my tanks. I've always used it as a mid-ground to foreground plant. Does it grow significantly taller under higher light? The one in my 10 gallon grows like crazy. I've split it several times, and it's got little plants growing all over the place in there, but none are more than 6 inches tall or so. I have always seen them as midground plants too. I haven't ever seen them get much bigger than the Wendtii crypts. parker002, I know you said that you're going to stick with the water wisteria for now, but have you tried Vallisneria yet? They can grow tall and full. One variety gets a lovely twist in its leaves as it grows. I have had corkscrew Vals in the past - they don't really provide the "bushiness" I'm looking for. My smaller fish use the wisteria for cover.
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Post by parker002 on Jan 6, 2012 12:04:10 GMT -5
Hygrophila Polysperma, Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig'-Common Name: Sunset Hygrophila is "illegal now to sale/ship. It is not illegal to own or give away as long as it is not put into the mail. I have this plant and it is the prettiest I have, but it does grow aggressively. I have a pix of it on my face book, and at www.facebook.com/groups/181187708614862/?notif_t=group_activity (Lone Star Bettas face book page). I can't view your Facebook page but it's too bad there's no way for me to get any. I've seen other pics and it looks cool. However, if it grows aggressively, it will probably present the same issue that I have now. I also have Water Wisteria, which IS Hygrophilia Difformis. The common name is Water Wisteria. Mine grows straight up and down, so I may be misunderstanding...you want to get rid of the Wisteria? That's correct, Wisteria = Hygro Difformis. Under my lights, it not only grows up, it grows out. Here's what it looked like when I first added it: I don't have a good, full-view pic of it now but you can get a general sense from this pic - it grows to the surface and COMPLETELY fills roughly 1/3 of the volume of my tak.
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Post by Suzie Q (Lori) on Jan 6, 2012 12:54:30 GMT -5
The moss on the left of the wood looks like Taiwan Moss and not Java. I think Java was mentioned on a different thread.... Makes me want to re-scape my 55g here at work ...add my drift wood piece with moss attached. I will take pix of my Wisteria when I get home. It does grow out of the top of the tank...noticed that this morning .....I also "farm" lesser duckweed for my Koi, so the top of the tank is covered with the stuff Lori 10g Planted tank:
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Post by parker002 on Jan 6, 2012 14:46:07 GMT -5
Yeah, my daughter loves duckweed. She put 2 or 3 pieces of it in her 14G a couple of months ago. I threw away FIVE POUNDS of it the other day.
About the moss, could THAT be why it's not staying on my wood? Do they refer to Taiwan as Christmas moss? Because it does look like little Christmas trees...
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Post by Carl on Jan 6, 2012 16:02:34 GMT -5
Hygrophila Polysperma, Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig'-Common Name: Sunset Hygrophila is "illegal now to sale/ship. It is not illegal to own or give away as long as it is not put into the mail. Good to know, especially since I have not been in the business of selling plants for a decade now. Hygrophila Polysperma used to be what was sold simply as Hygro until 1999. Carl
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Post by Carl on Jan 6, 2012 16:06:57 GMT -5
Parker, if you do not mind a bit of commentary:
Based on your second picture, I think your tank looks great as per aquascaping. So if you have to trim your Wisteria once an while, I think this is not such a bad problem.
I know I had a customer complain about the SHO lights growing and pearling his plants "too much"; for me this is a good "problem" to have.
Carl
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Post by parker002 on Jan 6, 2012 18:10:34 GMT -5
It is a good problem to have, unless you have OCD.
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Post by Carl on Jan 6, 2012 19:17:43 GMT -5
It is a good problem to have, unless you have OCD. OK, I understand Carl
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Post by parker002 on Jan 7, 2012 15:59:01 GMT -5
I trimmed it back aggressively, throwing about 90% of the total mass away. I saved the best pieces and replanted them - it's just a tad more than what I started with.
It should take at least 3 weeks before my tank is full again. ROFL
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Post by Suzie Q (Lori) on Jan 9, 2012 10:40:57 GMT -5
Yeah, my daughter loves duckweed. She put 2 or 3 pieces of it in her 14G a couple of months ago. I threw away FIVE POUNDS of it the other day. About the moss, could THAT be why it's not staying on my wood? Do they refer to Taiwan as Christmas moss? Because it does look like little Christmas trees... Taiwan and Christmas moss are 2 totally different mosses....I had to get both to see the difference. I'll do my best to get pix of both of them up close. I didn't take the time to get a pix of my Wisteria.
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Post by parker002 on Jan 9, 2012 14:43:07 GMT -5
I acquired another interesting plant to help fill in some space around where the Wisteria is. I'm not 100% sure what it is - it appears to be either Hygrophilia Lancea sp. Sarawak or something from the Pogostemon or Potamogeton genus - long, pointed leaves with very noticeable veins and very woody stems. (You can also see my super hack job on my Wisteria in one of the pics.) Here's a closeup of the leaves. They've been in my tank for 2 days and already are developing some very sturdy roots.
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