Root Feeding Plants

[Misskiwi67]

Hey all,

I was just curious how you determine if a plant feeds via the roots or via the leaves. We won't have the ability to dose fertilizers regularly, so I was hoping to eliminate problems by selecting plants that will benefit from the plant substrate we're going to use. Is there a list, or do all stem plants feed from the water column??? Does it even matter in the long run???

Thanks,
Alinda

 

[zig]

Most Echinodorus species plants will be root feeders, we know these commonly as sword plants, but there are dozens of different types from the very smallest - E. tenellus (pygmy chain sword) to E. major which is a huge sword plant probably not even suitable for very big aquariums, so you can take it that if you have an Echinodorus species plant that it will be a root feeder.