can I really grow Glosso?

[TomFromStLouis]

I am diving into the live plant thing after 20 years away from the hobby and feel like I am learning everything all over. Researching groundcovers, I definitely like the look of the low growing glossostigma elatinodes, but True Aquarium Plants says right off the bat "not for beginners!" Funny, the pictures I see of it when it DOES grow look like it wants to take over everything!

I will have a 75 gallon tank with 220 watts of light (hours on negotiable), a ~50% flourite substrate, C02 injection, and 78 degrees F. I do not know my Ph or hardness yet, but I expect average values. Assuming I find some micro nutrient fertilizer, are my chances of success with glosso reasonable? What is the hard part of glosso?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Tropica says it better than I could:

"Glossostigma elatinoides is much in demand in Japanese-inspired aquariums. It is one of the smallest aquarium plants, and thus a good foreground plant. A difficult plant demanding a lot of light. Grows upwards if light is poor. Make sure larger plants do not overshadow it. When planting in the aquarium small clumps (approx. 1/8 pot) should be placed at intervals of a few centimetres to help the plants grow together more quickly. CO2 addition and soft water promote growth significantly."

Since you plan a high light, co2 added tank, you should be able to grow this plants. It is described as difficult in terms of its demands- ie light and co2.

If you want to visit the tropica site which has a wealth of plant info, go here: http://192.38.244.204/go.asp?show=products

 

[Fishiebusiness]

what kind of co2 are you using? When i was using DIY, my glosso grew like crap, as in it did not grow. When i switched to pressurized, it quickly covered the entire foreground. This is at 2wpg (110 on 55g). Its a very easy plant if co2 levels are reasonable.

 

[Shay]

I have done well with glosso in the past, but I'm not sure that you have got enough light. I don't keep high light plants anymore, because I would find myself wanting to unplug lights when guests were coming over to view the tanks. The amount of light needed for the glosso was not attractive to me.

I grew mine with diy CO2 and about the same amount of light as you are using, but I had no taller plants in the tank to cast shadows on the glosso. The tank was mostly bare except for the glosso.

-Shay