I hate E tenellus

[EcoPit]

If anyone has this plant and likes how it looks please post pictures. I would like to see them.

E. tenellus is always touted as a foreground plant, but I think it should be a mid-ground. I put it in the front of my tank, and in just a month it is over 6 inches tall! This is admittedly a problem of planning and knowledge though, not an inherent defect of the plant.

Another thing I dislike about this plant is the fact that it is raised as an emergent. When you take it home and submerge it all those leaves die and new ones grow in. I did not find this out until after I had planted them (again, my fault not the plant's, but I did research the plant, I just never crossed that tidbit until too late). First, it is aesthetically not nice to have all the leaves on the plants die. Second, this can't be good for water chemistry. Third, I liked the leaves they had when I bought them; I think the submerged leaves are ugly.

Again though, there is nothing wrong with the plant--I just don't care for it and I think it is a bit mis-represented. To be more positive towards the plant let's see some pictures of it fitting well into aquascaping.

[ttan]

how much light do you have? When grown in high light, it is not supposed to grow tall, but when grown in low light it will grow tall.

[djlen]

I have a ton of E. Tenellus var. red in all my tanks and IMO it makes a nice fore-mid ground plant. It is easy to grow and only in low light has it gotten to the heights you describe, IME. Mine stays in the 3 - 3.5" area.
If you are looking for a ground-hugging fore ground plant, Tenellus is not the plant for you. You would probably be happier with Glosso or similar.

Len

[EcoPit]

I have 4 40 w flourescent bulbs on a 55 gal. A 55 is rather tall, but I am in the medium to high range.

I like glosso, so if I can get some around here I think I will start with a small patch and see how it does.

[sayembara]

When it gets THAT tall, it is time to change the light ! :)

[EcoPit]

The wattage is okay, right? So, maybe the bulbs are shot. I will have to check--I think I wrote the date they were installed on there. But, the tank has been in storage for many months, so I hope I can figure the exact usage time.

[djlen]

Actually if they are NO (normal fluorescent) they don't penetrate very well at the depth of a 55 (I know, I lit two of them with shop lights for years) and it will be difficult to grow glosso at that wattage as well.
I would change bulbs every 8 months or so if they are NO and see how the tenellus respond to the better light. You may be surprised. :)
I grew it with that wattage and it stayed in the 3 - 4" range for me.

Len

[EcoPit]

Thanks Len. I will replace the bulbs and see how the tenellus responds.

Yeah--a 55 gal is horribly shaped for a planted tank. It was a FO when I got it. I wish I could afford to upgrade.

[djlen]

Since you've got it....work with it. It's narrow, front to back, but that can be over come. I've got two and have learned to love them.......sort of......:)
Let us know how they respond to the new lighting, OK? And keep them unshaded!!

Len

[happychem]

Just a thought. On plantgeek they have two types of tenellus listed: E. tenellus and E. tenellus var. tenellus (supposedly a "dwarf" variant), seems a little redundant, but hey.

Is it possible that folks who have it growing tall have the first and those with the shorter have the second? I ask because my tenellus also grew to about 6". I've got about 4 wpg over my 33 g and doubt that lighting is an issue, glosso stays tight to the ground anyway.