Super Bulb!

[TheZoo]

Will post a pic when I get a chance...
I got some bulbs, dropped em in. One of them started GROWING AND GROWING, in the 5(?) days since its been in my tank, its gotten 7 stems with swordlike leaves but skinnier (4-5 inches long) and one LOOOONG stem with a bud-like thing on top. THat long one grows at rate of 1 to 2 inches PER DAY. Its now poking out of the surface of my 20 gal. What the heck is this super plant? I thought I remembered reading another post about somethin glike this, but cant find it... The other bulbs: one has a few onion-like leaves, about 3 inches long. Dont think its an onion though. The other might be a dud, nothing yet.

[DeputyChiefJR]

Could it be some sort of lotus?

[TheZoo]

I'll do some looking online....would be pretty!

[DeputyChiefJR]

http://aquariumboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=906&highlight=lotus

[TheZoo]

Hmm, i looked at the link above, but I dont think this is my plant. Maybe its just that the leaves are so young, but they arent round, theyre more oblong-to-pointy, smooth edged, but are on teh ends of stems. The bud thing at the surface has now shed its "skin" and now has two halves, pale green/yellow, bumpy edges... looks very much like the newest little leaves of lettuce.

[TheZoo]

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rosieb.juane@sbcglobal.net/album?.dir=9b43scd&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rosieb.juane@sbcglobal.net/my_photos

Hope this link works. The first two are of the bulbs I have growing - the one in back, behind the hornwort frond, is the super bulb. THe last pic is a very blurry one of the longest stem.

[Theresa]

They look like they might be a type of Aponogeton bulb. I know that wal-mart sells small ones in a little package. My first ones went crazy when I put them in the tank.

[TheZoo]

This might be it! I found a pic of some mature ones online. They seemed to have lettuce-like wavyness on the leaf edge. Mine sort of does on the biggest leaf. The site I saw said to get rid of the flower stalk, or risk the plant dying. Is this right, to your knowledge? It does look like its gone to seed, above water.

[MrGoodbytes]

Looks like an Aponogeton to me too. I don't know much about their flowers but I think if it goes to seed it will just grow more bulbs. I had an A. crispus once that sent up a stalk and almost flowered but it didn't die afterwards. They do go through dormant periods though, from what I remember. They're root-feeders too so remember to give it access to nutrition from the substrate. It seems like it's pretty happy now though:).

[TheZoo]

I took off the long seed-stalk, and now its growing another! Already almost to the top of the 20 gallon tank. Man, this is one fast grower.... One of the leaves is going a bit clear, the others are ok. Should I take this leaf off too? I dont think any of the fish are munching it....
Oh, is this true about it propogating via the flowers? Would it do it on its own or do I need to intervene at some point?