Super Bulb!

T

TheZoo

Curiouser and curiouser!
Apr 12, 2006
635
0
0
melting in Houston, TX
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.
 
Could it be some sort of lotus?
 
I'll do some looking online....would be pretty!
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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:).
 
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?
 
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