Some pictures

[jake72]

I love a pretty jungle! I'm not sure how to ask which plants I'd like IDs on...I know some...OK, what are the long red leaves front & center in your last pic? I have a guess but I think it's wrong...sigh)

I wish I could grow mad. lace for very long...do you have a "trick" for it?

Lace plants like many aponogeton will hibernate. There is mix literature that suggest they have to be removed or if they can be left in the aquarium. They seem to do better in cooler aquariums and if there is sufficient nutrients to slow bulb exhaustion. The pictured aquarium runs around 75.5 during winter but during summer it does get up to 78. This lace plant hasn't hibernated in 2 years. The one in my low-tech tank (pictured below) also has not hibernated in 2 years but is slower growing.

The red plant in front is a combination of Crypt Sprialis 'Red' and Crypt Sprialis 'tiger'. They have actually done quite well and started to spread. When i move i'll put everything into a larger aquarium but reorganize things so the tall plants are in back and short plants are in front. The other red plants in the aquarium that are visible are myriopyllum roraima (which i like a lot); rotala blood red sg (very left) and rotala ha'ra (right side) (i prefer the blood red). On the left there is a lot of pink jacaboi (crypt) but it is being shaded too much to show its lovely shade. There is also a kleiner prinz sword which is a very nice wine colour but it too is now over grown and has started to turn dark green.

 

[fishorama]

Thanks!

 

[jake72]

 

[fishorama]

Oooh, a crypt flower, good show! What is that wide leaved crypt with all the markings? I think it's the flowering 1...but I could be wrong, hard to tell in a jungle

 

[jake72]

Oooh, a crypt flower, good show! What is that wide leaved crypt with all the markings? I think it's the flowering 1...but I could be wrong, hard to tell in a jungle

The one flowering is a nuri rosen of some sort. There are some green lum. in there - but i believe green lum is just nuri rosen selectively bred to have green viens. The plants are 'oversized' - there is a female a. nijjensi that is almost always under the leaves - but as in the picture you can't see her unless she pokes her nose out or you move the leaves. I'm moving in about 3-4 months and then everything in the 40 (36x18) will be moved into a 72x30 aquarium (same plants but more room) and I'll thin them out then. Also will re-org the tank so the taller plants are in back and shorter ones in front.

 

[fishorama]

Your nurii leaves are much wider than mine & better green markings. I forget what 1 or 2 I have now, mine mostly have some pink. Maybe Pahang mutated or not?...but it always comes down to growing conditions, crypts can look so different in various tanks. I'm always on the low tech end...So many possibilities with crypts, that's part of why I love them!!

 

[jake72]

Your nurii leaves are much wider than mine & better green markings. I forget what 1 or 2 I have now, mine mostly have some pink. Maybe Pahang mutated or not?...but it always comes down to growing conditions, crypts can look so different in various tanks. I'm always on the low tech end...So many possibilities with crypts, that's part of why I love them!!

there is something called pink line nurii rosen - which is basically nurii rosen bred for pink lines. They do look radically different depending on light; nutrients and the direction of the wind. I had one that i received that look 100% different; then it melted after 3 months regrew and now looks like the one in front. Who knows - had a long discussion with the guy who sold it and he has no clue - other than he noted that his others now look different

There is a pahang mutated - i have one in my low tech aquarium - it has less vein and stronger yellow - if your look sort of like mine but pink lines it is probably nurii rosen.

 

[fishorama]

I think the person I got most of my nurii? didn't remember what it was. That's ok, I love all crypts! I grab some at club meets if it looks different than what I already have (in my low tech tanks).

My vigorous crypt (nurii? probably) has pink a midrib & some dark green "dashes" (there's probably a better botany word for those). I don't remember hearing n. "rosen" in any variety, but that might mean I just wasn't paying attention when that bag'o'plants was being passed around. But maybe it was differently named a few years ago? That how we do at my plant club (ala Forrest Gump "life is like a bag full of crypts, you never know what you'll get!" LOL). Next club meet I will ask but, well, since covid, many fewer meets & less attendees. I was hoping for a new bucie or 2, lol, or, of course, different crypts.

I remember an aponogeton bulb that didn't "wake up" from it's rest period (not sure which kind). After a while I picked it out & the "bulb" was almost hollow with just an embryo of a leaf inside. I'm not sure what happened but I appreciate your insights. I haven't tried again for 10+ years now. Maybe it's time to try again with a lace plant? Maybe better ferts?

 

[jake72]

I think the person I got most of my nurii? didn't remember what it was. That's ok, I love all crypts! I grab some at club meets if it looks different than what I already have (in my low tech tanks).

My vigorous crypt (nurii? probably) has pink a midrib & some dark green "dashes" (there's probably a better botany word for those). I don't remember hearing n. "rosen" in any variety, but that might mean I just wasn't paying attention when that bag'o'plants was being passed around. But maybe it was differently named a few years ago? That how we do at my plant club (ala Forrest Gump "life is like a bag full of crypts, you never know what you'll get!" LOL). Next club meet I will ask but, well, since covid, many fewer meets & less attendees. I was hoping for a new bucie or 2, lol, or, of course, different crypts.

I remember an aponogeton bulb that didn't "wake up" from it's rest period (not sure which kind). After a while I picked it out & the "bulb" was almost hollow with just an embryo of a leaf inside. I'm not sure what happened but I appreciate your insights. I haven't tried again for 10+ years now. Maybe it's time to try again with a lace plant? Maybe better ferts?

Aponogeton is a genus and like crypts there is a wide variance in requirements. As to not waking up - as long the bulb doesn't rot it still have a chance - and if it has a leaf - well where there is one there can be two - but of course i've had fishes nibble on bulbs and after a while there is nothing at all left of them.

I'm not a big plant expert but i do have a book where i can look up requirements. cripus has the advantage that it is not suppose to require a rest period but i've had one die on me after 3 years (no clue why - the bulb is still hard and i still have it but no leaves after a year). There are different variety of lace plants and they seem to have slightly different requirements depending on the species. THe one i have hasn't hibernated in 2 years and is still sending up new leaves but i havent' check my book what it is suppose to require. ulvaceus has a short life period before it hibernate. Being lazy i just leave it in the tank (you are suppose to remove it); and it seems to resprout every 6 to 18 months so i guess it is doing ok - i haven't formally checked the bulbs to see how they are doing but given the short period of growth i find it a pia as it is unpredictable and when it grows it can be fairly large. boivinianus is among my favorite (even more so than the nice look lace); it is supposedly going to require to hibernate but it hasn't in 3 years - in theory you can leave it in until it wants to rest and then remove it - it can over time get large - in my low tech 29 it can fill the aquarium after several years (it is a bit of a slow grower) - here is a picture:

It did die down quite a bit when i put some salt in the tnak to treat a fish - but it is now regrowing (the salt cost me about 4 months of damage to my plants):
(tap water is around kh 3 gh 7 tds 130 - temp is around 77 - soil is inert; i fertilize once every 2 or 3 weeks and toss in root tabs 2 or 3 times a year).

 

[fishorama]

My aponogetons may have been from a Walmart aquarium bulb pack from maybe 15+ years ago (lilies & aponogetons). At the time I think I blamed my clown loaches or other plant eating fish for the hollow bulb. My little darlings, they could be brats sometimes. Especially if I didn't offer them veggie foods often enough, 2 or 3 times/week. It doesn't seem like your loaches bother your plants much or are they in a different tank? I may be confused...I had U shaped holes in most leaves of all kinds without their fav romaine & zucchini (plus a few others sometimes). Swords & crypts were special "back up veggies". Vacations were hard on my poor plants!