Umbrella palm information?

[RiVerfishgirl]

Ok new pic. Not that great since I took it with my cell phone (my camera is dead and I can't find the charger ).

But as you can see the pothos looks more lush, and I actually had to spread it out some. It has gotten taller, the leaves broader, and actually formed several new leaves.

Doesn't look like much now, but considering how recently it was set up, I think I'm doing ok.
I actually chopped several of the old leaves off since they didn't look too great when I got the plant, so much of what is in the pic is new growth. Some of the new growth is hanging behind the tank so you can't see it that well.

My mangroves are also doing really well, but they don't look like too much right now since they're just propagules. But the smaller ones are starting to form roots and the taller ones have firmly rooted themselves in the substrate.

 

[fishycat]

Nice pothos! You added mangrove? Sweet. How about a full tank shot?

 

[laurenrocksth]

Wow. I really like this setup. Cool idea!

 

[RiVerfishgirl]

Thanks guys.

Finally updating again. Growth is slow so I saw no point in updating sooner.

My umbrella palms grew like crazy then just went kaput for some reason. No idea why, but they died off completely *shrug*. Maybe being pond plants they needed some more light and more nutrients in the substrate.

The pothos is still growing though, so is the lucky bamboo (verrry slowly) and my mangroves are tightly rooted and a few have gotten actual leaves on them now.

I purchased a couple of lily bulbs (red dwarf tiger lotus I guess) from walmart and one is about 6 inches tall now and rooting into the substrate, the other is just now getting a sprout. The java moss looks like crap for some reason, though it's spreading across the substrate. It's kind of reddish brown instead of mostly green. Maybe due to the light, I don't know.

I'll post pics later tonight when I get my camera up and running.

I'm actually planning on moving all this stuff to a 40 breeder or something so I can have more front to back room. 30 gallons just isn't doing it for me lol. I would actually like to move it to a 75g, but I can't figure out where to put another larger tank (I will probably figure something out though, I just can't do small tanks anymore).

 

[SubRosa]

Mangroves can be grown in fresh . The reason they can grow in salt is that they have the ability to expel the salt from their system sufficiently, unlike other plants. But they don't NEED salt. People do grow them in freshwater to lower nitrates in their tanks. They can also be planted in an unsubmerged pot for a houseplant or outdoor plant as long as they're kept fairly moist.

The only submerged plant I have currently is java moss, but I'm going to add some other easy lower light plants. I just can't get any that are healthy in town, so I'll probably need to order them.

People say that they grow mangroves for nutrient export, but mangroves grow much too slowly to be of any real value in nutrient export. They're beautiful when they get bigger, but you'll need a greenhouse to appreciate one that size. The palms are a better choice strictly for nutrient export, but if you want a beautiful low-light plant that will grow well emersed look at Caladiums, Tiarella, Heuchera, and Tiarella, all of which are common shade loving garden plants that do well with wet feet. Caladiums in particular come in every color and combintion of colors you can imagine.

 

[RiVerfishgirl]

The mangroves I'm not specifically using for nutrient export in this tank. I just wanted them because I like them .

I'll look into the plants you mentioned. I actually have some Caladium in pots and did wonder if it would grow with the roots submerged.
I have some Syngonium podophyllum (arrowhead), which looks similar, growing in a hanging basket at the top, just so the substrate stays moist and it's doing well. Not nearly as colorful though.

 

[RiVerfishgirl]

Ok, some new pics. Nothing special, but if you've been following this thread hopefully you'll see a bit of difference from when I first posted. You will notice that most of the dry roots on the pothos have fallen off (I've been taking them out like crazy), which I was told would happen, and they're growing different roots for under water.

Full tank shot. Miraculously you can see most of the fish in this one, lol.

One of the mangroves now getting leaves. Ignore the fur, I couldn't tell it was there until I took the pic. Guess that's what happens when you have an open top tank and pets

Lucky bamboo has grown quite a bit.

Lily bulb from walmart I put in a couple of weeks ago. I have another one that's just now sprouting. Also just threw some aponogeton bulbs in, but since I never know which species I'm getting they may not work in this tank. but not a problem since I can throw 'em in a taller tank anyway.

Arow plants, doing well, making shoots. Yeah I know it's really ugly, I'm currently rigging up a better hanging basket that's much nicer looking. The filter batting is due to the fact that otherwise the substrate would fall out the holes. I'd cut it back to make it look nicer, but since this is only temporary I don't see much of a reason to mess with it too much.

 

[DebbyS]

If you want to try the umbrella plant again (and I think it's also known as papyrus [as in Egypt] or "sedge"), and you find someone who has a plant, ask them to cut off a branch or three for you, from near the base of the plant, to include the "umbrella". Stick them upside down in water. The cuttings will get the idea and put out roots and a new shoot aiming upward. We have them growing in our pond (a glorified concrete box basically) at work, and it gets a lot of sun in the summer. I found some very cheap plants in half-gallon-size pots at WalMart, where they weren't selling, perhaps because they weren't being watered enough. Recently I cut off a hand full of partly brown branches, trimmed some of the "umbrella spokes" a bit, and put the trimmed branches in a jar of pond water, sitting this in full sun. Roots and new shoots appeared within a few weeks. Since it can freeze here, I'll have to bring all the plants inside, but I'll put them in the brightest window I can find. If they complain, I'll ask them if they'd rather be out in the 20F, windy, dry weather... So to me this means your Riparium will have to have a lot of light for those particular plants.

 

[RiVerfishgirl]

Thank you for the information on the umbrella palms.

I got these marked down because they weren't in great condition, so that could have a lot to do with it. They were in pots and I just planted them with the substrate from the pots and cut the dead pieces off.

Do you think they may come back at some point? I didn't remove the roots, I just pulled the rotting parts out and cut all the dead looking stuff all the way to the substrate. There should still be some roots down in the substrate.

If I try them again I'll do what you suggested, but I don't think I'll find anymore around here until summer. I got these because they were trying to get rid of all the pond plants they had in stock.

 

[fishycat]

Pretty new mangrove leaves! Yep, I have the "cat fur agae" issue all the time. I like the bamboo/mangrove forest you've got going... how about some dwarf sag in your substrate? I think it would look great. You could even plant some in the pots...