Keeping elephant ear (taro) plants in aquariums?

[FF_Member146894]

I have some elephant ear plants (or otherwise called taro plants I think) growing (in the ground) in my backyard where there hasn't been any weedkillers or chemicals near it
I wonder if it's safe to add it to my tank and if so, how should it be grown, with only the roots (no bulb) immersed or the bulb planted in the substrate?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

My best guess would be to plant the tubers/bulbs in a few inches of substrate. How does it grow in your yard? All I know is that the leaves have to be above water.

 

[Colin_T]

roots in water, rest of plant out of water otherwise they rot

 

[itiwhetu]

Any terrestrial plant with a bulb will rot in an aquarium if the bulb is submerged.

 

[FF_Member146894]

alright one bulb is in one of my tanks now
I'll see how it does and if it does well, I'll add some to all of my tanks

I asked how to plant it because I saw a bunch of people online trying to grow bulbs underwater with the leaves out of water

 

[WhistlingBadger]

It gets pretty big, right? I know they grow it in flooded paddies in SE Asia, so it must do OK growing emergent.

 

[FF_Member146894]

It gets pretty big, right? I know they grow it in flooded paddies in SE Asia, so it must do OK growing emergent.

some of the ones in my yard have grown to be close to 4 feet in length, this was one of the smallest ones
they can probably grow to be even bigger though

that leads me to another question - how do I trim them back if they get too big for the tank?

 

[OliveFish05]

We have some purple taro growing in our pond. It is a pond plant I know, though there may be some difference in water hardiness between varieties.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

some of the ones in my yard have grown to be close to 4 feet in length, this was one of the smallest ones
they can probably grow to be even bigger though

Well, it's probably a big "no" for my nano tank, then. ha ha I've been thinking about putting in a calla lily plant to simulate it, though. They are very cool looking plants. If it were me, I'd check with the local garden center for trimming and such.

 

[FF_Member146894]

update:

the one leaf that was on the plant turned yellow and died, but the plant is producing a new leaf now - as expected since the roots were still growing

I don't know if it will do better or worse without a grow light, I think I recall reading somewhere that they prefer shaded areas, but should I turn the light off, make it minimally bright or something?

 

[Sgooosh]

my taro i bought from a store are still bulbs why are they not growing?

 

[Colin_T]

my taro I bought from a store are still bulbs why are they not growing?

Lack or warmth. They need warm weather to start the growing cycle so you need to put them in a warm area (high 20s - low 30Cs).

 

[Sgooosh]

Lack or warmth. They need warm weather to start the growing cycle so you need to put them in a warm area (high 20s - low 30Cs).

ah alright they will probably just stay like that until summer then

 

[FF_Member146894]

look at this section of the root system
this is from one bulb, some of the roots have even penetrated the substrate (they are about 2 feet in length)
it makes regular floating plant roots look like a joke

also the bulb now has two stems and leaves and they are both over 2 feet high

if I had a couple of elephant ears in a tank mixed with regular floating plants and added top-dwelling fish, they would love it

 

[Sgooosh]

View attachment 150705
look at this section of the root system
this is from one bulb, some of the roots have even penetrated the substrate (they are about 2 feet in length)
it makes regular floating plant roots look like a joke

also the bulb now has two stems and leaves and they are both over 2 feet high

if I had a couple of elephant ears in a tank mixed with regular floating plants and added top-dwelling fish, they would love it

hmm i kind of want to add one to my tank
my water lettuce roots have a record of 2 feet too! it was wonderful but then i trimmed it bc it was gonna rot