The last massive epiphyte trim was nearly 10 months ago, so time to go at it again. I didn’t actually mind the overgrown appearance and the fish seemed to like hanging out under the middle layer of Anubias nana ‘Pinto’. There was considerable shading of the bottom of the Fireplace Aquarium but I didn’t notice […]
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Aquatic plants, either submersed or emersed: species notes, growth, trimming, planting, algae/plant interactions, and care.
I haven’t had much luck growing plants on the Shrimphaus river. Mostly they dry out either immediately or eventually, or sometimes they rot away. This roots and bottom bits wet all the time but leaves out in the air niche is pretty challenging. Some internet digging revealed plants that thrive in this setting are called […]
Read more →Cryptocoryne wendtii ‘flamingo’ is an (allegedly) bright pink variant of Cryptocoryne wendtii. I thought some bright colour might be nice in the lower front of the Fireplace Aquarium, so I picked up a pot from Aqua Essentials. I used my favourite cryptocoryne planting technique – cut all the emersed leaves off – which worked a […]
Read more →The Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya, just outside of Kandy in Sri Lanka, is a beautiful horticultural site and a highlight of a visit to central Sri Lanka. Emersed plant house video tour – Royal Botanic Gardens, Sri Lanka Of aquarium interest, the gardens feature an emersed-growth aquatic plants house, showcasing plants that grow with […]
Read more →Microsorum pteropus ‘Windelov’ also known as Leptochilus pteropus is one of the many varieties of Java fern. I picked up a pot from Pro Shrimp in an order that also included Alternanthera reineckii ‘Mini’. Developed by Tropica, the ‘Windelov’ version I received was grown by Aquadip. The ‘Windelov’ arrived totally overgrown and just a touch […]
Read more →After an unsuccessful go with Alternanthera reineckii (didn’t thrive) and another with Alternanthera reineckii ‘Rosanervig’ (eaten by Amano shrimp), I’m giving it try with Alternanthera reineckii ‘Mini’. This AR ‘Mini’ came from Pro Shrimp, and was grown by Tropica. I have had mixed results purchasing aquatic plant tissue culture cups before, but this AR ‘Mini’ cup […]
Read more →It’s been more than four months since the Alternanthera reineckii ‘Rosanervig’ got planted in the Fireplace Aquarium, and whilst it seemed to be doing well initially, after 11 weeks things weren’t looking so great. I thought lack of light from overgrowing Bucephalandra caterina might have been contributory, so I did a massive epiphyte trim to […]
Read more →It’s been around 18 months since the Bucephalandra caterina and Anubias nana ‘Pinto’ were planted in the Fireplace Aquarium so time for a massive trim! Ephiphytes on the mountain before and after trimming The bucephalandra and anubias have both done really well, overachieved in a some ways in fact. The caterina at the top of the […]
Read more →After repeated struggles to grow emersed plants on the Shrimphaus river using a variety of substrate set-ups, I’ve switched over to actual LECA – lightweight expanded clay aggregate. For this experiment, I’m going with two reputedly robust to low(er) humidity emersed growth anubias: Anubias coffeefolia, and Anubias gracilis. This is the second attempt with Anubias […]
Read more →I’ve been looking for a red plant to replace the Ludwigia palustris mini ‘Super Red’ which is an awesome stem plant, but which comfortably exceeds 50 cm in length and so is really too large for the Fireplace Aquarium – keeping it trimmed was just too much hassle. Previously, I had a go with Alternanthera […]
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