Anyone else have trouble with hygrophila?

[echoofformless]

Yes, the entire genus doesn't like my tanks.

At best it just sits there and doesn't really grow. At worst it loses leaf after leaf until it dies. And all this while every other plant does just great. Even supposedly more difficult species like blyxa spp, rotala, and cyperus helferi all thrive in my tanks whereas hygrophila never seems totally happy.

I'm not a beginner as many of you know. So I am aware of light, ferts, etc. The water conditions are all quite conducive to what is said hygrophila likes. The stuff should be growing like a weed.

Anyone have similar trouble?

[bkw1982]

That genus has some of the easiest plants to grow.

I have Wisteria and polysperma Ceylon and havent had any trouble. Neither plant seems picky, both hav been grown in reg gravel and Eco.


It did take the wisteria awhile before it started to spread out and grow in. how long hav u had them in ur tank.?Maybe they just need to get acclimated

[feemia]

Wisteria does well in all my tanks. Polysperma, however, grows little holes in the leaves and looks sickly.

[tinkerman]

I have wistiria and rosy hygro, not sure of the scientific name. The rosy hygro has to be trimmed weekly where my wistiria might grow an inch a mo. The wisteria used to grow faster where I'd have to prune 2-3 weeks.

[Sploke]

i have the polysperma, the only trouble is that i can't prune it fast enough.

[Quartermain]

Poly 'Sunset' was the fastest growing plant I have ever owned. I would pull, trim and replant the stems. It would start back up slowly and get up to around an inch a day when the roots were reestablished. I couldn't keep up.

I got rid if it when I setup my 40gal but have kept Difformis, Corymbosa and Poly Ceylon, all of which do great under 1.5 WPG in my 125gal.

I have no idea what could be preventing hygro from growing in your tank.

[pinkertd]

I have the wisteria, the giant and the willow leaf. All grow like dandelions in all of my tanks. In my pleco breeding tank I let it get to the surface and cut it all in half. It's all planted in regular gravel, low light, temp varies from 80-86F in tanks, ph 7.6, hard municipal tap water with dechlor. Rarely add ferts. Can't imagine why it wouldn't grow for you.

[midiamin]

What are your water parameters?

[vampie]

Could be ferts. Certain plants are sensitive to certain ferts.

[kr0nic]

My only problem with them is finding enough space in the bin to throw the clippings out each week.

[echoofformless]

Yeah, I was expecting a lot of you to report weed like growth. That is what I was expecting.

My fert regimen is weekly Flourish with each water change, root tabs are in place, and I use Excel in tanks where there are no vals or anacharis.

In the main tank where I am trying to grow the stuff my pH is 6.6, GH is low but KH is moderate. Light is about 5 wpg with CO2.

[Sploke]

Mine was growing in a 55 under about 130w of PC lights, moderately stocked tank, no ferts or CO2. Its living in a bucket right now until I get get the other tank set up where it will eventually end up.

[cubequeen]

I have hygrophila polysperma and it does well even with little fertilization or CO2. This idea is a long shot, but could it be some sort of allelopathy? :huh:

[echoofformless]

I have hygrophila polysperma and it does well even with little fertilization or CO2. This idea is a long shot, but could it be some sort of allelopathy? :huh:

I would consider that possibility, but I have kept it in several different tanks with many different species of other plants and the result is always the same.


Right now I have some new corymbosa which has been staying alive, and even added a couple of new leaves over the past two weeks. But it hasn't needed the slightest bit of pruning or attention.


And it's funny - I asked Charlie (lowcoaster on aquabid.com) if he could get me some more corymbosa and he told me that hygrophila doesn't do well in his tanks! I mean anyone who buys from him knows that he always has amazing plants and really knows his stuff, yet he can't keep hygro alive for too long either. Really odd.

[happybob59]

man every time i get that plant it always dies ALWAYS!!! im not going to try it again until i get more lights

[echoofformless]

man every time i get that plant it always dies ALWAYS!!! im not going to try it again until i get more lights

What have you kept successfully in the same tank?

[SpongeEva]

Uhh, I can sympathise with you echoofformless! It does grow in my tank, but the growth is nowhere NEAR as lush as my other plants. The leaves look brown and unhealthy, thats why I kept pulling them up because I thought they were just dying. I am going to try substrate fertilization next as I only have gravel.
My real problem plant is Ambulia, that one always has bottom leaves falling off, turning red etc. And people say its a really easy plant! I suspect the others are out-competing it for nutrients or something.. could be the case with you? But if you have good fertilization, especially substrate, it should do well for you..

[danbryans]

I've previously kept h. corymbosa, h. difformis & h. polysperma (sunset) never really had problems growing them. At that time i was only dosing plantgro, diy co2 and just plain ole gravel. I had plenty more when I switched to dry ferts on EI and eventually just pulled them all out due to a rescape.

[IceH2O]

Yeah, I was expecting a lot of you to report weed like growth. That is what I was expecting.

My fert regimen is weekly Flourish with each water change, root tabs are in place, and I use Excel in tanks where there are no vals or anacharis.

In the main tank where I am trying to grow the stuff my pH is 6.6, GH is low but KH is moderate. Light is about 5 wpg with CO2.

Hygros pull tons of nitrates. Its possible that you aren't dosing enough with that amount of light and the Hygros are starving. Your other plants don't use as much as quickly so the deficiency doesn't affect them.

The flourish doesn't add any macros, I'm assuming you're talking about the Flourish comprehensive for traces. The Hygros are water pullers so the root tabs do nothing for them.