Caring for anarcharis and java moss?

[Rava]

I'm rehabilitating a (now) 5 gallon tank and have added a small bunch of anarcharis. Planning on putting some java moss in there, as well. The anarcharis is just floating because I only have a few glass marbles spread thinly over the bottom. So how do I take care of these plants? Do I prune the anarcharis from the bottom? How much and how often?

What about lighting? I have no idea about my light except it is flourescent and in the hood of the tank. Do the plants need a set amount of light each day?

All help would be great! Thanks! :)

[Marinemom]

I cannot keep anacaharis alive if my life depened on it. It always gets yellow and just melts on me and makes a big mess. From what I understand it is more of a coldwater plant and is very sensitive to Florish Excel. Java moss on the other hand is very simple and will grow anywhere even in the dark. Believe me I had the tank lights off for six months on one of my aquariums and the java moss was still alive and well and growing in spite of there being no light. I tied my java moss to some driftwood and it took off like wildfire.

Marinemom

[fishcatch22]

yeah, like MM said, ancharis can be tricky, but i you get it right, it will grow like mad. java moss IMO woud have been a better choice. I don;t think you should do both, as they both have such rapid growth rates they could grow your betta right out of the tank!

[Ulan]

I have the feeling that Anacharis grows like a weed with the standard hood lighting and no further care. At least mine does :).

[Aussie_hippie_2]

I love my anacharis, it grows like a weed.

[plah831]

now that MarineMom mentions it, I have noticed that anacharis does better in my unheated, unfertilized snail breeding tanks than in my main tanks.

[Ms.Bubbles]

Anacharis needs a bit of light, and grows rather spindly under low lighting conditions. You'll need about 2 watts-per-gallon of light to grow it well (thats about 10 watts of light for a 5 gallon tank). Under good lighting, it grows a LOT and fast! Prune the new growth part at the top of the plant and toss the old lower part when it starts to look bad. It will continue to grow from any part of the stem. You can root these plants in the marbles if your lighting is good, but if your lighting is low you'll have to float it near the light.

Java moss doesn't require much light, and can be floated or attached to a rock/driftwood.

Plants need about 10-12 hours of lighting each day.

[echoofformless]

Anacharis has been hit and miss for me.

But then, so are many other supposedly hardy plants. I have had no luck at all with wisteria, moneywort, and even vals. And I'm talking about having these plants in very serious systems where even more delicate plants like rotala are thriving. It just makes no sense sometimes.

[TommyR]

I love java moss but mine never seems to grow. I even use fertilzer. Gets plenty of light. It's not in a fish tank currently, I keep it in a quart size clear food container in a west window. Could it be it need air, like an airstone?

Tom

[lucky777ca]

I have been keeping Anacharis (Egeria densa and Egeria najas) with goldfishes, but they kept eating it... So, I put the Anacharis into another tank, and they started to sprout out from the stem (which doesn't have any leaves)... Just yesterday, I have planted some groups of the elodeas... They sort of only form a small forest right now, but hopefully, in the future, I'll be able to put them into all the tanks :P

Anyways, I keep them in a 20G Tall/High, with 15W BioPlant bulb (which I'll be replacing in a few more months for a CoraLife 15W Flora-Glo, I think)

Java Moss, on the other hand, I haven't been able to see it grow yet, although I'm still trying to keep it, in order to make a carpet on the driftwood, when I get the driftwood.

[Ulan]

It's sometimes funny. The plant that fares best in my 10 gallon hex high with stock lighting is a Bacopa. It's even not completely bare near the bottom.

As far as the Anacharis is concerned, it grows nicely in my 20L with stock lighting. It's not as dense as in high light, but this concerns mostly the stem. It's still looking very attractive.

[Rava]

Thanks everyone! The plant looks ok so far (but knock on wood, it's only been a few days! lol), and I'm trying to get ahold of some java moss.