Bolbitis heudelotii

[angelminx]

Back in August I won a Bolbitis heudelotii on AquaBid.  I received it on September 3rd.  It arrived in good condition with only a couple of  the tips needing to be trimmed (it's kind of hard to see because it is blending in with the water sprite on the right):


On the 7th I noticed that the leaves looked a "transparent" brown.  On the 10th they looked kind of ragged, and the next day I noticed a Chocolate Rabbit Snail on it for quite a while (?)nibbling at it.  When I checked it on the 13th there was only a ragged leaf here and there on the "couple" of stems that were left.  I looked at it closely (with 2 pair of reading glasses on) the next day one small "branch" was left, but there was a new shoot starting to unfurl, so I left it alone for another few days.  On the 26th I pruned back the rhizome and all but one dead "shoot", which still had some ragged (?)dead leaves on it, and 2 shoots with "green" leaves on them.  Then I repositioned it on the piece of rock and placed it back into the aquarium.  On Oct. 4th it was still green and had what looked like a new shoot starting--it was a small "bump" that looked new and green.  On the 31st there were 4 fronds.  The longest looked ~3", and there were 3 or 4 new shoots.

Nov 21, there are eight fronds,with the longest still ~3".  These 2 pics were taken about a week or so apart:

  

 

[angelminx]

This is a close-up of one of the 2 most recent pictures I've taken of it:



Today there are ~10 fronds and 3 new shoots.  The longest looks 4-5".  I took a couple more pics today, but I need to take a few more pics (of other things) before I download them (or my file will only have 3 things in it).

[angelminx]

Here are the new pics I promised.  The 1st is a repeat of one of the Nov. shots, the other 2 were taken a few days ago:

     

[devonjohnsgard]

That will be a nice thick plant Great the new shoots are growing.

[angelminx]

Hi, Dev,

 I don't know what caused /is causing it, but the plant is dying off again (I moved it to the front of the tank after I noticed it):

The one frond is still green in this pic:
   

But in this one, it is turning brown, and collapsing:
  

This is a close-up of the (?)rhizome--and I don't see any new growth:


I'd pick up another one from the store, but only B. heteroclita is available around here (remember, I got this one from a dealer in Malaysia) and they are supposed to be less suitable--much more terrestrial.

[Carl]

I would trim off any dying areas of the plant.

Consider a plant dip using Flourish Excel
Reference:
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumPlants.html#other

Carl

[parker002]

Is it root-bound at the bottom or do feeder roots sprout from the central stem?

It looks to me like they are nutrient-deficient.

[parker002]

Also, to elaborate on what Carl said, aquatic plants will use an inordinate amount of nutrients to try and repair damaged tissue. Trimming off the dying parts should be the first thing you do, that keeps the plant focused on healthy growth versus trying to "fix" all the dying tissue.

If you can provide more info about the roots structures and how you have them planted (in the substrate or attached to rock/drift wood) that would help.

[angelminx]

The plants grow epiphitically, like java fern, so I attached it to the rock with a rubber band, as seen in the earlier pics. After the rubber band came apart, the plant was holding itself in place with the roots you see. They have even latched on to a few pieces of gravel, as seen most clearly in the middle pic of the last 3. I have done some trimming of the dead parts, now I just need to see if the poor thing will recover.

[devonjohnsgard]

Jan 23, 2015 18:44:16 GMT -5 angelminx said:

The plants grow epiphitically, like java fern, so I attached it to the rock with a rubber band, as seen in the earlier pics. After the rubber band came apart, the plant was holding itself in place with the roots you see. They have even latched on to a few pieces of gravel, as seen most clearly in the middle pic of the last 3. I have done some trimming of the dead parts, now I just need to see if the poor thing will recover.

Looks like time on this one. I've had plants almost completely die off when I put them in my tank, then regrow back. I wondered if it had something to do with a change in water parameters from the two tanks.

[angelminx]

The Bolbitis is starting to come back--it has 2 fronds (maybe an inch or so long), and a new shoot (maybe 2).