Growing Aquarium Plants

[fishlette]

my husband added a post last night and unfortunately didnt get the answers he needed so im taking the plunge and asking myself.

now we have been told that there are some aquaria plants that can be grown in moist soil outside the tank and will live inside a tank. is this true?

if not, how do you go about growing a plant from seed in a tank? any helpful comments are appreciated

 

[Invader Xan]

I don't know of any plants that can be grown in soil and transplanted to an aquarium, though there are a few aquatic plants that need to break the water surface before they can flower...
I'll admit that I have more experience with terrestrial plants than aquatic ones, but I'd recommend you take cuttings instead of growing from seeds. Indeed, there are several aquatic plants (Java ferns, for instance) that don't tend to even produce seeds.
If you go you a nearby pet shop or LFS, they very often sell cuttings (of course, they usually sell whole plants too).


If you're trying to propagate a cutting, this method has worked for me:
* Take a tall glass vase. Wash some aquarium substrate (I use a porous clay-based gravel) and place it in the bottom of the vase, filling the rest with clean water.

* Prepare the end of the stem by slicing it cleanly with a pair of scissors (diagonally works best -- I forget why). Take care to remove any dead stem tissue that may have formed near the bottom.

* Just place the plant cutting into the vase, so the stem is resting on the substrate. Add a minimal amount of aquarium fertilliser if you wish.

Within a few days, you should see little white roots starting to grow around the base of the stem. Leave it about a week for the roots to better develop, then it should be safe to (carefully) take your cutting and plant it in your aquarium substrate. I can't speak for all plants, but this method works excellently for water milfoil and elodea densa.


Hope that's some use.

 

[lljdma06]

my husband added a post last night and unfortunately didnt get the answers he needed so im taking the plunge and asking myself.

now we have been told that there are some aquaria plants that can be grown in moist soil outside the tank and will live inside a tank. is this true?

if not, how do you go about growing a plant from seed in a tank? any helpful comments are appreciated

As far as I know, there are quite a few species that can be grown in moist soil and then as aquatics. Cryptocorynes spring automatically to my mind, as they are often found in regions in SE Asia where the water column can experience fluctuations. Some species of anubias can also be grown above the water column, though they still have to be attached to woodwork and rocks rather than be rooted in a substrate. There are also non-aquatic plants (Pothos, Dracaena, Hemigraphis, Caladium, Sygonium, and others) that are often sold as aquatics though they only survive for a brief amount of time underwater. Hemigraphis is one of the toughest, and may survive up to a year submerged.

Though most aquatic plants flower readily in the aquarium, it is very difficult to propogate a plant via seeds. The seeds require excellent water conditions (circulation, fertilisation, etc), and usually more light to grow. The seed must usually be soaked in water and left free-floating for some time, among other things. That being said, I have had cryptocorynes and barclaya longifolia both propogate via seeds in my aquariums, but I do not have the conditions to successfully grow from seeds. On the other hand, many plants (lilies, aponogetons, others) that are offered to the aquarist as bulbs. These bulbs, different from seeds, sprout readily in the home aquarium and produce plants.

The easiest methods of propogation, however, are cuttings, division, runners, and side shoots. I'm not saying seed propogation cannot be done, it's just impractical for most people.

Hope this helps a bit, and sorry for the delayed response.

llj