"GROW YOUR OWN" LIVE AQUARIUM PLANTS - bulbs
- Thread starter ltldrgn13
- Start date
Oh my gosh I *love* mine. They are so cool. I got two packages at PetCo, and about 3/4 of them sprouted. I would break them down into three groups based on how long they took to sprout. "Long", "Longer", and "Oh my god you can't be freekin' serious!!" 
The "Long" group took about 3 weeks before I saw little green sprouts popping out, then probably another 3 weeks before they rooted and really started to grow, then ZOOM they started growing like crazy and havn't stopped. They mostly turned out to be aponogetons, one being longplumulosus (I think), and it's now the biggest plant in the tank. The rest were smaller ones of which I do not know the variety. They all flowered - some only one flower per plant, some more than one. Some flowers had one lobe, some had two. The ones with multiple flowers all have this one kind of different leaf that grows up to the surface with the flower stem. The leaf is on a long, thin stem, is oval shaped, and floats at the surface like a lilypad. I don't know what the leaf's function is, but it's pleasingly intricate, and a nice shade of light green. Some just keep flowering and flowering non-stop. And it's funny because I can use the speed of the growth of the flower stalks as an indicator of the iron level in my tank. If I stop fertilizing, the flower stalks stop growing dead in their tracks halfway up the water column. When I start fertilizing again, they start growing again about two days later, and continue on up to the surface.
The "Longer" group took about two months before I saw green on them. Then, like the previous bunch, they sprouted and rooted slowly, then took off growing like crazy. There were a couple more aponogetons, and one big lilypad-kinda-thing with heart shaped leaves about 3-4" across. Not sure what it is but it grows like crazy, and I have to keep the lilypads trimmed or they block out the aquarium light.
And last but not least is the "Oh my god you can't be freekin' serious!!" group. I call it this because the one straggler in this group took SIX MONTHS to start growing..!! I originally had a 10-gallon tank, and in October I set up a 20 XH and moved all my tank inhabitants to that instead. I left the 10 gallon tank for dead sitting in a corner of my dining room, with about two inches of old water and gravel in it, one dead gourami, some bits of old plant matter like java fern and broken crypt roots, and the two remaining "grow your own" bulbs that never sprouted. I was puttering near the tank in January and noticed some sprigs of green. A couple of the crypt roots had sprouted small leaves, and then to my amazement, I found that one remaining bulb had sprouted! And six months after I put it in the tank! I was amazed. I plucked it out and put it in the other "live" tank where it would actually get some light and nutrients. It has slowly grown into something small and delicate; I think a "dwarf lily". It's got thin paperlike pinkish-green leaves that are sort of arrow shaped. No flowers yet, though. We'll see what happens.
So.... Have patience, young Jedi's...! Leave those little bulbs to float in your tank for a while. They will either turn to mush, or will eventually grow into something. If you don't, you might never know what you had...
The "Long" group took about 3 weeks before I saw little green sprouts popping out, then probably another 3 weeks before they rooted and really started to grow, then ZOOM they started growing like crazy and havn't stopped. They mostly turned out to be aponogetons, one being longplumulosus (I think), and it's now the biggest plant in the tank. The rest were smaller ones of which I do not know the variety. They all flowered - some only one flower per plant, some more than one. Some flowers had one lobe, some had two. The ones with multiple flowers all have this one kind of different leaf that grows up to the surface with the flower stem. The leaf is on a long, thin stem, is oval shaped, and floats at the surface like a lilypad. I don't know what the leaf's function is, but it's pleasingly intricate, and a nice shade of light green. Some just keep flowering and flowering non-stop. And it's funny because I can use the speed of the growth of the flower stalks as an indicator of the iron level in my tank. If I stop fertilizing, the flower stalks stop growing dead in their tracks halfway up the water column. When I start fertilizing again, they start growing again about two days later, and continue on up to the surface.
The "Longer" group took about two months before I saw green on them. Then, like the previous bunch, they sprouted and rooted slowly, then took off growing like crazy. There were a couple more aponogetons, and one big lilypad-kinda-thing with heart shaped leaves about 3-4" across. Not sure what it is but it grows like crazy, and I have to keep the lilypads trimmed or they block out the aquarium light.
And last but not least is the "Oh my god you can't be freekin' serious!!" group. I call it this because the one straggler in this group took SIX MONTHS to start growing..!! I originally had a 10-gallon tank, and in October I set up a 20 XH and moved all my tank inhabitants to that instead. I left the 10 gallon tank for dead sitting in a corner of my dining room, with about two inches of old water and gravel in it, one dead gourami, some bits of old plant matter like java fern and broken crypt roots, and the two remaining "grow your own" bulbs that never sprouted. I was puttering near the tank in January and noticed some sprigs of green. A couple of the crypt roots had sprouted small leaves, and then to my amazement, I found that one remaining bulb had sprouted! And six months after I put it in the tank! I was amazed. I plucked it out and put it in the other "live" tank where it would actually get some light and nutrients. It has slowly grown into something small and delicate; I think a "dwarf lily". It's got thin paperlike pinkish-green leaves that are sort of arrow shaped. No flowers yet, though. We'll see what happens.
So.... Have patience, young Jedi's...! Leave those little bulbs to float in your tank for a while. They will either turn to mush, or will eventually grow into something. If you don't, you might never know what you had...
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so if they start to get white stuff on them and start making bubbles should we toss them? i pulled out 2 of these and they reeked!!! i am not touching any of the plants that dont have any weird white growths, but i am starting to wonder about the white fluffy ones!!!
Tyella,
The bulb will continue to try to grow the floaters. Just continue to nip them until you get the maximium leaf that you want. I don't know how many but I have had this plant grow alot of leaf and the leaf gets pretty big too.
The bulb will continue to try to grow the floaters. Just continue to nip them until you get the maximium leaf that you want. I don't know how many but I have had this plant grow alot of leaf and the leaf gets pretty big too.
Thanks again, Midi!
I'm quickly running out of aquarium. I'm not sure I'll get to try the lily bulbs now. I just purchased a couple of rocks from the local landscaping store and now I have less space for plants! It's ok, though, the plants needed some contrast.
My wife gave me the "no more tanks" speech before I even set this tank up last month. I haven't had fish for 6 years, but I had several aquaria before I started grad school. So she knows the "logical" progression.
Anyway, I'm trying to figure out where to put another aquarium. I think I'll try those lilies in the new tank!
I'm quickly running out of aquarium. I'm not sure I'll get to try the lily bulbs now. I just purchased a couple of rocks from the local landscaping store and now I have less space for plants! It's ok, though, the plants needed some contrast.
My wife gave me the "no more tanks" speech before I even set this tank up last month. I haven't had fish for 6 years, but I had several aquaria before I started grad school. So she knows the "logical" progression.
Anyway, I'm trying to figure out where to put another aquarium. I think I'll try those lilies in the new tank!
I just bought some more bulbs at Petco today. Some were onion plants, lilies, aponotogen, etc. They are from a different company than the others.
Of the other pack I had, only two sprouted... one is growing like crazy, sprouting a couple leaves per day and three top-runners that flowered. There are two bulbs left from that pack that didn't rot.... I might hang onto those and throw them back into my tank. The other three, which got white and fuzzy and smell really bad are going back to the company in Sioux Falls, which happens to be www.aquariumplant.com.
Of the other pack I had, only two sprouted... one is growing like crazy, sprouting a couple leaves per day and three top-runners that flowered. There are two bulbs left from that pack that didn't rot.... I might hang onto those and throw them back into my tank. The other three, which got white and fuzzy and smell really bad are going back to the company in Sioux Falls, which happens to be www.aquariumplant.com.
the bulbs will only rot if they are not viable.
if the plant goes dormant and dies away, you can pull the bulb out and dry it out, but it will only sprout again if you have very nutrient rich substrait. the bulb sucks nutrients up from the substrait to store for the next time the plant sprouts. if it doesn't have enough nutrients to jump start growing, it won't be able to.
if the plant goes dormant and dies away, you can pull the bulb out and dry it out, but it will only sprout again if you have very nutrient rich substrait. the bulb sucks nutrients up from the substrait to store for the next time the plant sprouts. if it doesn't have enough nutrients to jump start growing, it won't be able to.
some of mine got eaten a bit by my crayfish are are showing their white insides. i then put them in my newts tank. now all of them have bubbles of fuzz growing on them. is there a chance they will grow?
