Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => Fish Tank Plant Advice => Topic started by: tandemaniac on April 16, 2015, 08:19:05 PM
-
I have a 75l long tank. It is well planted and all the plants are thriving well. Especially this Wisteria that I got to provide cover for my Endler Guppy babies. It has gotten so tall that it is growing along the surface of the water. I am thinking of making cuttings and rooting them. But what about the "parent" plant? Will it regrow one or many new branches?
-
I'm sorry, I'm not answering your query at all, but could you tell me what the other name for this plant is? I can't find it anywhere under Wisteria, but I do like the look of it for my tank.
Hope someone else can provide you with advice re cuttings.
-
To answer both your questions. (Any cheques or monetary donations gladly accepted). If you cut off a stem or stems, you will not notice where they came from within a day or so. You need to trim it anyway because, like many other hygrophilia, it grows like stink.
Information from liveaquaria.com (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=768+824&pcatid=824)
The Wisteria, also known as the Water Wisteria, is an undemanding, extremely attractive aquarium plant. The lace-like leaves vary in appearance under different conditions. If the water is colder, they will be small, and lobed in appearance, instead of pinnate. If insufficient light is provided, they will only be slightly pinnate.
The Wisteria is an excellent plant for the new aquarist or for the newly set-up aquarium. It requires a nutrient-rich substrate, with iron-rich fertilizer added regularly. Provide a moderate amount of lighting of at least 2 to 3 watts per gallon of full spectrum (5000-7000K) light. CO2 fertilization is also recommended.
For Wisteria to thrive, the water should be kept between 74°-82°F, with an alkalinity of 3 to 8 dKH and a pH of 6.5-7.5. To propagate, plant cuttings that have been removed from the healthy mature plant. Simply remove any leaves from the bottom 1" to 2" of the stem, and new root growth will form from the last node on the stem.
Please Note: As its scientific name suggests (Hygrophila difformis) the shape and form of Wisteria's leaves differ greatly depending on light and aquarium conditions. When your plant order arrives, it will appear different than its mature form.
-
I can't find it anywhere under Wisteria, but I do like the look of it for my tank.
I don't understand your difficulty in finding information on this plant. Did you google it. I entered "wisteria aquarium" in google and the answers came up at the top of page 1. I didn't need to read the articles, I didn't even need to scroll down to get the alternate names of water wisteria and hygrophilia difformis.
I had a valuable piece of advice from a friend of mine many years ago, sadly she is no longer with us. Joy was trained as a librarian and was a google wizard. She told me to never enter only one word when searching google. Always use at least two. And, if the first 2 pages don't contain any useful hits, try a different set of two or more words. It's saved me hours and hours and hours when searching.
-
Thanks SteveS,
I only tried entering Wisteria into 2 aquarium plant sites that I've used in the past and it wasn't listed. Didn't try Google -- duh!
I'm going to be changing my substrate soon and will be ditching some of my old plants, which is why I was thinking about this one. Thanks for the advice, it does look like a good candidate for my tank. :cheers:
-
Although the blurb from that plant site says it requires a good substrate, it will, in fact, grow as a floating plant! Just put the pot or whatever it comes as in your tank for a few days, then snip off a few bits of the new growth and just let them float around. I haven't tried this myself, but it is supposed to be very effective.