Journal 65 gallon (formerly 20 gallon) Rotala florida tank

[CincyScaper]

Good to know! is there a specific science to how you cut them or is it just however small you would like to ?

 

[Dennis Wong]

Good to know! is there a specific science to how you cut them or is it just however small you would like to ?

I try not to go below 1.5cm there abouts for Anubias white petite. I think below a certain size, the new leaves produced will be tiny and take damn long to develop. I have not tested the absolutely minimum size though

 

[MrJG]

@techman81 that looks like nurii “Rosen maiden’

 

[Dennis Wong]

Rearranged the anubias white tank, waiting for background plants to grow out.
First world problems again, now I have too many and the layout is getting affect by trying to accommodate too many of them

Planted myrio guyana in the rear left corner - thinking the deeper shade of green will contrast against the monte carlo and Syngonanthus species. Will likely switch out the Ludwigia meta, seeing if I can keep it in more dwarf form for some time.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Made the mistake oh planting Mini macrandra type 4 behind ludwigia arcuata. The contrast doesn't work at all, so I'll have to rework the midground of this tank.



This new plant is growing well, but its very weedy.



Staurogyne purple turns out to be a very low maintenance plant long term. Once the rootzone gets more crowded due to multiple trimmings, its growth slows down, make it easy to control.


Black arrow tetra getting better colors~

 

[Dennis Wong]

In my two weeks absence, office staff under fed the fish, and the Rotala florida bushes were heavily damaged. I might take the chance to do the layout with some new species as the bushes regrow now that I'm back. Thinking about removing some fish as the damage is truly eye watering. Blood vomit is also constantly bitten to half size in this tanks, and constantly get algae due to the damage.

Found this new plant Hygrophila polysperma ‘White’ that I've been growing out for a few weeks. It seems to grow well, and much more robust than other variegated stems - making it a good candidate for shaping into denser bushes.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Great, another beautiful plant I have to hunt down in the US lol

 

[BranchScape]

Dennis any more details on the growth pattern and height? If I were growing a fern heavy NA tank this would be epic as a foreground/midground if it stays low. I have a 60u and a ton of driftwood, anyone got a gameplan to sell the wife on why I need to set it up and do that?

 

[JayP]

If I were growing a fern heavy NA tank this would be epic as a foreground/midground if it stays low. I have a 60u and a ton of driftwood, anyone got a gameplan to sell the wife on why I need to set it up and do that? View attachment 16839

You explain it's part of a large group project to examine the growth patterns of this plant as it relates to different types of aquascapes. The planted tank community is counting on your contributions to move forward.

 

[BranchScape]

You explain it's part of a large group project to examine the growth patterns of this plant as it relates to different types of aquascapes. The planted tank community is counting on your contributions to move forward.

My wife would maybe buy it if I sell it as my contribution is to determine how hard it is to kill. Will try to limit this aside Dennis.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Dennis any more details on the growth pattern and height? If I were growing a fern heavy NA tank this would be epic as a foreground/midground if it stays low. I have a 60u and a ton of driftwood, anyone got a gameplan to sell the wife on why I need to set it up and do that? View attachment 16839

Hmm others that are growing it says that it gains height, while it mostly creeps in my own tanks.
I think its growth pattern is very similar to water wisteria , but its 80% of its size ? Wisteria also creeps in high light/open space, while it gains height in other instances. Similarly, it can be cut down to size if you trim frequently. I could describe it as a palm size plant, then when boxed in, will gain height like a stem plant

 

[JacksonL]

Sounds like it is perfect for garden style scapes.
Bonus is, as a cultivar of an already available plant, it should be able to be imported into Australia with our tough quarantine laws.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Xyris when left to sprout baby plants for months without uprooting - plant changes from 2D fan to 3D spikey ball.


Replacing some of the bushes in the 4ft tank with Myriophyllum guyana.

 

[Valerio]

View attachment 17197

Hi, about the white plant on the left, is it Hygrophila polysperma "White"? I ask because those leaves remind me more Bacopa spp.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Hi, about the white plant on the left, is it Hygrophila polysperma "White"? I ask because those leaves remind me more Bacopa spp.

that is Hygrophila polysperma "White", from Tropica TC, you can see more photos of it in this tank: Journal - 75L Hygrophila polysperma white display

 

[riioKen]

Estimation from the last trimming cycle is that there are around 350 stems of Rotala florida in the tank.

With so many stems, when you cut the top and replant it, discarding the bottom, you plants multiple stems at the same time or pick single stem and plant in the substrate? Planting more than 300 stems at each, will take hours

 

[Dennis Wong]

With so many stems, when you cut the top and replant it, discarding the bottom, you plants multiple stems at the same time or pick single stem and plant in the substrate? Planting more than 300 stems at each, will take hours

I plant them single stem by stem.
well, 300 stems at 10 seconds it takes around 3000 seconds, which is 50 mins, which was around the time I took.

Decided to do another layout with Anubias white petite. white plants give pretty brutal contrast.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Slow road to recovery for the Rotala floridas after replanting and fish biting episodes. Changed out some of the fish and it seems to reduce the problem a little. One of the main culprits are the Hyphessobrycon peugeoti, but they are the main fish in this aquarium and I find it hard to get rid of them.




I thought I had an interesting example to share here:
Lysimachia parvifolia: the ones on the right are not growing well, the ones on the left are growing great. Same substrate, same water parameters/CO2/light etc. The main difference is that the ones on the right have been growing for months, being just trimmed back repeatedly. The ones on the left have been uprooted, split and replanted. Age and rootzone compaction affects plant growth patterns more than folks realize. This is also not just localized substrate nutrients being exhausted - this is an EI tank, the water column is saturated with nutrients. This pattern is quite familiar to folks running farm tanks, and that is why many folks reset their tanks so often. I find full resets unnecessary, we can uproot/replant individual patches as they age.

 

[GreggZ]

I thought I had an interesting example to share here:
Lysimachia parvifolia: the ones on the right are not growing well, the ones on the left are growing great. Same substrate, same water parameters/CO2/light etc. The main difference is that the ones on the right have been growing for months, being just trimmed back repeatedly. The ones on the left have been uprooted, split and replanted. Age and rootzone compaction affects plant growth patterns more than folks realize. This is also not just localized substrate nutrients being exhausted - this is an EI tank, the water column is saturated with nutrients. This pattern is quite familiar to folks running farm tanks, and that is why many folks reset their tanks so often. I find full resets unnecessary, we can uproot/replant individual patches as they age.

View attachment 17892

A great example of something that is underdiscussed. Horticulture plays a major role in a planted tank. You've been doing a great job of delving deeper into how plants respond differently to different horticulture techniques. Keep it up they are some of my favorite posts from you.

 

[SmartAlec13]

Agreed with the above, it's great to be able to see the difference between methods in the same tank. Really shows how uprooting & replanting makes a big difference.