cabomba furcata

[mellowvision]

ok, so I have about 5 stems of cabomba furcata in the back of my new tank. on average, they have grown about 3" in the last 5 days. the tallest is nearing the surface. several have two reddish nodes forming near the top, at the joint of one of the branches, that look like pom poms a bit. I've read that you clip the tops and stick them in the substrate, and that the lower portion remaining will thin out...

at this rate I will have a tank full of this stuff, and half of it will be thinned bits of what they once were...

what are the nodes?
will they continue to grow once they reach the surface?
if so, will the emerge or will they fall over?

how do you deal with yours, if you have them?

1 other question, a few of the fronds have a silvery color to them... the tops are reddish, but this is lower on the plant. what is that all about?

[discusman54]

I have the green version of Cambomba, wanted try the red (furcata) but I thought it was a cooler water plant. My tank is 82f +. Sounds like yours grows like mine though, an inch a day if things are well. The plant will continue to grow and lay over on the surface, sometimes can flower. I just cut the stem a few inches below the surface and start the cutting anew. Mother plant will usually branch off with new shoots or I pull it out. It's a continuous process, over and over.
Not sure about nodes, they will send out roots along the stem, which can look unsightly if they are in mass. Color is dependent on light, I would think the tops would be more red, closer to the light. Nutrients can also affect color, more iron, more red.
Furcata is a quick easy way to get color in a tank, green can kinda boring at times.

[phanmc]

Furcata will grow in warm water, my tank is typically in the high 80s in the summer and I don't have a problem growing it.

[discusman54]

Furcata will grow in warm water, my tank is typically in the high 80s in the summer and I don't have a problem growing it.
Thanks, I may get some.

[mellowvision]

my tank is pretty warm too... thanks for the info. what happens to your mother plant when you trim it?? does it form a new red top, or ?

I like the color, but don't like the idea of plants that need that much maintenance... trimming is one thing, but I was hoping not to have to disturb the substrate so often.

[Nolapete]

Nodes are the place on the stem where the leaves branch out from.

You can wait to trim them all at once, then send them to me. :D

[mellowvision]

they're really healthy looking plants, I may very well start selling clippings...

so these nodes, will they each produce a red crown? should I be waiting until nodes sprout to cut?

[mellowvision]

any ideas about the silvery fronds? they aren't roots, they are branches

[mellowvision]

so, an update and call for more opinions/info...

these plants of mine are growing like wild fire, each stalk is growing almost an inch a day. it does seem however, that some branches are getting soft spots and that more of them are starting to turn a whitish color, very slowly. these are not the roots sprouting, I can see those as well, this is the actual plant whitening from the tips in. any idea what I can do to combat this?

[midiamin]

Do us a favor and post a picture of your cabomba, if ya can?

[Tophat665]

THe white color is a nutrient deficiency. I get it on my (green) Cabomba and Bacopa when I forget to fertilize. I think (think, mind you) that it's a potassium deficiency, but it could be phosphate.

[mellowvision]

wish I could tell. most everything else is doing ok, but these are just wilting away. i've been fertilizing with Kent's Freshwater Plant solution.