Wal-mart Bulbs

[sigmatauntaylor]

Hi all,
Just bought some of those Wal-mart bulbs and wondered if anyone else has had an experience with them. They are labled as Nymphaea and Apontengen Hybrid bulbs. When I looked around the net I noticed that they were definately more than one type of both, unfortunatly Wal-mart did not provide the scientific names. Oh well any feedback would be appreciated!

[Aquarius0015]

They are all generally hybrid varieties, which makes them fantastically hard to identify. This actually makes them pretty hardy, because they have the best traits from many species.

I have a few hybrid aponogetons. Only 3 of the 6 bulbs grew, but the ones that did grow are now huge. Since adding Flourish reg. and Excel, they have started to grow even more. The secret for more leafiness is to cut off the flowers that grow above the water line. They look like white, spikey things.

[125gJoe]

I didn't have any luck/growth from the Apontengen bulbs I got from them. Guess they may have been 'outdated'... After some time in a previous tank of mine, it looked like a couple well soaked fertilizer tabs! ...Yes, they rotted.. :eek:

[sigmatauntaylor]

Hmmm, I guess its just hit and miss, flourish excel is the name of that additive? Is it just CO2 or something?

[Timmain42]

A CO2 additive/alternative. Works great for smaller tanks where DIY/pressurized CO2 won't work or is overkill.

[sigmatauntaylor]

Cool I will try to find some next time I am out thanks!

[PumaWard]

I've bought quite a few of these bulbs, a few of them can be "identified", or at least you can see a dominant trait seen in a nother specie. For example, my brother's Aponogeton crispus's bulb came from wal-mart, along with all my aponogetons in my tanks, excluding my new one I just bought from the LFS as a bulb.

The bulbs I got over a year ago had all sprouted, I bought a pack since and not a one of them sprouted, they didn't rot for a few months, some of them are still hanging around the 75g that aren't squishy.

[Sancho Panza]

I too have bought the WalMart plants, and they grew like weeds for me. Today I saw a new type, the box just said "Lilies" and on the back said it contained "red and green nymphae" which is new. I think they used to sell a kind called "Dwarf Lily Hybrid" or something, but the picture on this packet looked like real lilies.

Interesting, and if I didn't already have a bunch of lilies in my tank I might've tried them out.

Incidentally, until today, there were always only two varieties of packets they sold, and honestly, I could never tell which was which once they started growing!

[sigmatauntaylor]

Cool. It kinda looks like they are starting to get fuzzy but I can't really tell yet they have only been in for a few days

[aquariumfishguy]

I (too) have purchased these horrible "plants" (if thats what you want to call them), only I got mine from a LFS, but they were exactly the same as what Wal-Mart has and were the same brand, everything.

...Anyway to make a long story short, only one grew and it looked pathetically thin, and ugly. I never seen such a sight in all the years of plant keeping. :sick:

I would stay away from Wal-Mart fish supplies all together. In the end, their stuff is crap. :rolleyes:

I do wish you good luck with your plants...may they actually grow!

[Jeremy S]

I’ve had some Wal-Mart plants in my tank for over 3 years now and they grow quite well. Here are some pics of mine.

http://pic7.picturetrail.com/VOL185/1888419/3646413/44800858.jpg

You can see another picture if you click here. (http://pic7.picturetrail.com/VOL185/1888419/3646413/44800841.jpg)

[sigmatauntaylor]

Well if mine end up looking like that I will be very pleased! Went to my LFS today and couldnt find the flourish excel stuff. Does anyone know where i might be able to find it online?:scratch:

[Jeremy S]

You can find it at these three sites:

www.drsfostersmith.com

www.bigalsonline.com

www.petsolutions.com

[sigmatauntaylor]

thanks a bunch :cool: