Utricularia Graminifolia

[zig]

Hey guys i picked up some of this plant yesterday and i have to say it is stunning looking, i do believe this will become a very "in" foreground plant in the not too distant future. The pics i have posted do not do it justice, its a very lush lime green colour and the texture of the plant is almost like a carpet it is so tightly knitted together. It creeps along the substrate rather than send out runners, the leaves also grow in a wave like pattern which make it very attractive, it also only grows about an inch in height.

Anyway this is a Tropica variety which has only become available quite recently so some of you may be able to pick some up in an lfs near you very shortly, i think this plant is still quite rare in the US although i am sure once tanks begin to eminate from Europe and the far east (where Tropica is also available) using this plant it will become very desireable.

Like i say the pics dont really do it justice better to see it in person, worth keeping an eye out for it

And a Tropica article about the plant

Tropica

I will probably use it as a single species iwagumi setup in my 15 gallon tank along with some rocks which i have yet to find..........but thats the plan for now anyway.

 

[Themuleous]

Stunning plant Zig, that would make an awesome carpet. Do you know have fast grows? I.e. how long it takes to carpet? Maybe I should move away from HC when I re-do my nano...

Sam

 

[zig]

The more i look at the plant today the more i realise the photos dont do it justice, i have the pot way too magnified, the pot in reality is small and the leaves of the plant are tiny, its really neat looking, and the colour is really quite vibrant, its easily on a par with HC looks wise in my book.

fishkiller_more, they are very interesting photo links you posted, i didnt realise it had such a beautiful flower when grown emersed, unfortunately it only flowers when grown that way, when grown submerged it forms bladders (if you look at the Tropica link they have a pic) which act as the traps underwater, but i must try and grow it emersed as well when i get it going.

Sam, it remains to be seen as to how easy it wil be to grow, but from what i understand it is not difficult at all, it would auctually be perfect for your low light setup if you are using CO2, this is how i intend to grow it mostly under lowlight with maybe a blip of higher light for a few hours just during the growout stage, i dont know its longevity if you know what i mean, i dont know what will happen when it comes to maintainence, will i be able to just clip it as i do HC, this im not sure about, but growing it under lowlight should mean the carpet will last a long time once grown out, Tropica it says its a medium grower, i have heard it compared to HC as regards its growth rate. The way i look at it is, that the slower it grows the better it is so i dont have the hassle of replanting it, the growth rate and longevity of HC is what makes it a great plant in my book, practically maintainence free except for the odd clip here and there, mine is still going strong for nearly 6 months now, so hopefully this will be similar.

cheers guys

 

[George Farmer]

Very nice zig, thanks for sharing.

 

[RadaR]

Those plants are amazing. Hope I can get hold of some for my near future aquascape.
To feed it live stuff would you have to add daphnia and brineshrimp etc to the tank?

 

[jayjay]

that plant has a lovely colour, would look good in some of my tanks.

 

[craynerd]

Nice post, not seen this before.

Chris

 

[Themuleous]

Thanks Zig. Do you mind me asking what you paid for it? and how big the pots are?

 

[-=Joel=-]

Hiya folks,

I am a grower of carnivorous plant and have to say this plant is very nice. This is not the only aquatic urtric, of which there are many. Not all look this good however.

Im not sure how well it would do in some of the tank on here due to the amount of food it would recieve. These plant have adopted to grow in less than ideal conditions which is why it needs to capture food.

If anyone is interested I might be able to give you a few sources for the plant. Just send me a pm and I will pass you a link or two.

Regards,

Joel

 

[zig]

Sam, this photo is a much better rendition of the auctual size of the pots the plant came in, the photo is within about a cm of auctual real size (yep like a nerd i had the measuring tape out ) but it gives you a much better idea of how small the leafs are (they are tiny) on this plant and how compact the growth is.

I think it was 8 euro (about £6) so nothing outrageous, i only bought 2 pots for the 15 gallon, yep cheapskating again, but its better than the one pot of HC i bought for the 40 gallon foreground

As regards feeding the plant this will be done as normal with NPK through the water column, from what i gather from reading about it, this is what the plant extracts from its prey in nature, if you read the Tropica article it explains it better than i can, also they suggest this is a more hardy veriety suitable for aquariums, i know Oliver Knott had a tank planted with this veriety from Tropica for at least 6 months and was still going strong, probably too strong, there is a detail of the tank that he grew it in shown if you click on the Tropica link.

 

[Alps]

sorry for my ignorance, but by carnivorous, what exactly does this plant eat?

 

[Jen]

The article on Tropica says its a marsh plant that eats insects.

I love that plant. I wish I could get someover there. Such a stunning colour as well.

 

[Themuleous]

Interesting Zig, thanks, Ill have to see if I can get my LFS to ship me some in, they've jsut stated to stock tropica plants.

Does look like a lovely little plant.

Sam

 

[plantbrain]

It's fast growing and fairly easy plant to grow.
I use the ADA aqua soil and high light, it grows rapidly.
It's not a picky plant at all.


Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Qays]

oooohhh!

What are the light requirments? Need CO2? Needs fert? Needs soil?