Getting Cabomba caroliniana to root

[Yeaulman]

I bought a strand of Cabomba caroliniana that was floating in the LPS tank. I have had it in my tank for about a month and I cannot get it to root. It is doing just great, but I just cant get any roots off of it so I can get more shoots coming up.

Any help?

 

[sinistral]

Cambomba carolina requires high light...but I wonder if what you have is hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum). Hornwort resembles cabomba (and limnophila sessiflora for that matter), and does not form roots. I'll be interested to hear if this is what you actually have...

 

[Colin_BC]

When I had cabomba, it kept floating to the top and never rooted until I hit 2 watts per gallon. This isn't saying it grew well or looked good, but it rooted. I actually culled it because of it's sad appearance right before I went to overkill lighting (4-6WPG).

By the sounds of it, asides from the rooting yours is doing better than mine did. What sort of lighting do you use and what power?

Colin

 

[tstenback]

I got mine to root by putting the first bunch of leaves into the substrate to hold the stalk in place. after a couple of weeks i had roots. HTH

 

[Yeaulman]

I have a 20 gallon tank with a 15 watt lamp. I also phoned the shop where I got it from and she said that the cabomba they order doesnt root at all. So all I am doin is taking the leaves off the bottom inch or so and putting it in the gravel so it looks like it is rooted.

 

[Colin_BC]

Ummmm, I believe your light may be the culprit for why it's not rooted. You only have 0.75 Watts Per Gallon. Cabomba is recommended for 4 Watts Per Gallon. That would mean 80 Watts of fluorescent light. If it is Cabomba, it may survive for a bit under that light, but I wouldn't expect it to fluorish.

I'm a bit confused about what you were told by the LFS. I'm thinking either:
A) They have insufficient light where they are keeping the Cabomba
B ) The cabomba they receive is freshly cut, hence hasn't rooted yet, and it isn't in their tanks long enough to root/die
C) They may not entirely know what they are talking about
D) They have been misinformed when ordering/receiving from supplier
E) All of the above
F) They have it incorrectly labeled as cabomba as Sinistral mentioned

Colin

 

[sinistral]

I agree with everything Colin_BC wrote. For somebody to say that their cabomba "doesn't root" suggests that it's something other than cabomba, especially if yours is doing well under 0.75 watts per gallon. My best guess still is that it's hornwort and somebody got confused somewhere down the line. Any chance you could post a picture?