Anacharis keeps dying. Are there other fast growing plants that fill that niche?

[Salty&Onion]

Sometimes I buy it and it grows like a weed. Other times it lasts no time. Depends on type and time of year too.

Anacharis?

 

[Retired Viking]

Most of my beautiful long (3-4 feet) anacharis is now gone I have a little left but it is not much. Even in hard water it melting a little. Must be getting too old. I went to buy more but they can not get in any and there was hardly any other plants. I ordered some salvinia but the LFS owner said even that is hard to find now.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Anacharis?

Yes.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I use to love anacharis but as I’ve advanced (a little) in plant knowledge I have found so many plants that are prettier. Problem with anacharis is that everyone has it and your tank just looks like everyone else’s. Dare to be different! I’m trying to.

 

[StevenF]

I didn't understand what you meant about the roots in your post, but they are thin and and I dont imagine they can root well planted in sand.

Lets say the roots are smothered in the substrate. If that happens Anacharis willl start a new root in the water column above the substrate. That root can then access all the nutrients in the water. Anacharis doesn't need soil. What it does need is nutrients in the water. IF all 14 nutrients are in the water in sufficient amounts it will grow and grow.

I do have to nip the bottom ends occasionally when they get weak or wilted.
I don't use ferts.

When you don't use ferts you are relying on your fish and tap water supplying all the nutrients it needs. That seldom is true. Often when you don't dose one or more nutrients you are likely deficient in those nutrients. When the plant is short on just one nutrient plant growth will slow then stop and if the deficiency lasts long enough the plant will die.

Ya I have also had alot of trouble keeping anacharis alive but I just realized that when I just started my tank I had no trouble growing it but after about a month I started to use ferts and the anacharis died. But I have some hygrophila that is red but I got it from a river that was realley deep so I am wondering how it got enough light to turn that color.

In new tanks you often have nutrients in the substrate and decorations in the tank. So in many cases plants will do well to OK in new tanks. However eventually those nutrients will run out and plant growth slows and then stops. And then the plants will start to die. I think what happened in your case was what happened to me.When I first started my tank plants were doing OK but not great. added a fertilizer and things improved but eventually the plant growth eventually slowed again. And then I discovered that the shrimp safe fertilizer I was using didn't have copper. That is one of the 14 nutrients plants need. So I added a minuscule amount of copper, I saw the biggest surge in plant growth I have ever seen

We would like to believe that any fertilizer you buy will have all the 14 nutrients plants need. However the reality is that most don't have everything plants need. Most fertilizers don't have calcium, chloride, and nickel. although most do have copper, zinc, and magnesium then often have so little that plants can only grow for about a day before they run out of something. Other fertilizers only have 3 of the 14 nutrients plants need. The fertilizer manufactures are relying on your tap water having them. Bit If you have very soft tap water or RO water ( which is what I use) plant won't grow. But algae will.

As to red color in some plants the red color my not be due to the 14 nutrients. Some plants have poor color but grow well when all 14 nutrients are present while others have great color with just enough nutrients present to grow. In other cases it is not clear whey some have good color while other people cannot get good red color.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Lets say the roots are smothered in the substrate. If that happens Anacharis willl start a new root in the water column above the substrate. That root can then access all the nutrients in the water. Anacharis doesn't need soil. What it does need is nutrients in the water. IF all 14 nutrients are in the water in sufficient amounts it will grow and grow.



When you don't use ferts you are relying on your fish and tap water supplying all the nutrients it needs. That seldom is true. Often when you don't dose one or more nutrients you are likely deficient in those nutrients. When the plant is short on just one nutrient plant growth will slow then stop and if the deficiency lasts long enough the plant will die.



In new tanks you often have nutrients in the substrate and decorations in the tank. So in many cases plants will do well to OK in new tanks. However eventually those nutrients will run out and plant growth slows and then stops. And then the plants will start to die. I think what happened in your case was what happened to me.When I first started my tank plants were doing OK but not great. added a fertilizer and things improved but eventually the plant growth eventually slowed again. And then I discovered that the shrimp safe fertilizer I was using didn't have copper. That is one of the 14 nutrients plants need. So I added a minuscule amount of copper, I saw the biggest surge in plant growth I have ever seen

We would like to believe that any fertilizer you buy will have all the 14 nutrients plants need. However the reality is that most don't have everything plants need. Most fertilizers don't have calcium, chloride, and nickel. although most do have copper, zinc, and magnesium then often have so little that plants can only grow for about a day before they run out of something. Other fertilizers only have 3 of the 14 nutrients plants need. The fertilizer manufactures are relying on your tap water having them. Bit If you have very soft tap water or RO water ( which is what I use) plant won't grow. But algae will.

As to red color in some plants the red color my not be due to the 14 nutrients. Some plants have poor color but grow well when all 14 nutrients are present while others have great color with just enough nutrients present to grow. In other cases it is not clear whey some have good color while other people cannot get good red color.

What plants are you keeping?
Probably we can learn from you.

 

[Salty&Onion]

I use to love anacharis but as I’ve advanced (a little) in plant knowledge I have found so many plants that are prettier. Problem with anacharis is that everyone has it and your tank just looks like everyone else’s. Dare to be different! I’m trying to.

For me it grows like a weed, really good.

 

[vanalisa]

It didn't melt at 76 F water temperature of my aquarium.
It is not likely root smothering since it will send IT is often found in rivers and lakes floating on the surface
And really doesn't care about circulation.
When it was doing well in my tank it would grow about 1 foot a week.
Don't use liquid CO2 products This plant is damaged by them.

I pulled it out of my aquarium a some time ago. Since then it has been classified as an invasive species. And now when I want it I cannot get it.

Like all plants it needs nutrients to grow wll when all nutrients it needs are in the water it grows very fast. However many fertilizer are short or omit some nutrients. Calcium and copper and zinc for example. In my RO water tank In my RO water tank I have to add calcium and magnesium. Otherwise nothing grows. Because most fertilizer don't have calcium. Even Flourish comprehensive doesn't have enough calcium even though it is on the label. Flourish also list copper on the label but if you follow their dosing recomendation you get less than 0.001ppm of copper. Plants need about 0.006 to 0.10ppm of copper to do well. I stopped buying fertilizers a couple of years ago of because of all the problem I had and now make my own fertilizer. Most fertilizer have minimal to no calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, and chloride because tap water typically (but not always) has a lot. With RO water or very soft water you don't have these nutrients.

So overall in my experience it is a weed. And if you cannot grow it you likely don't have enough nutrients in the water for it.

@ StevenF
I don't understand the 2nd sentence of your post.

I don't have experience with sand.

I plant Anacharis in substrate sometimes, most times I just float it. I say "plant" but a better word would be lodge. It sends roots out into the water and starts new plant offshoots.
I don't use fertilizers because they grow fine in my tanks. Sometimes I'll get a couple of inches of wilty parts at the "bottom" end.

 

[StevenF]

What plants are you keeping?
Probably we can learn from you.

Cardinal plant (lobelia cardinals)
Telanthera Cardinalis
Dwarf hair grass (eleocharis parvoula)
Anubias nana
Staurogyne repens
Slavinia Minima

All are currently growing.

Due to my small tank my focus over the last 6 years was on plants rather than fish. I used an inert gravel substate and RO water. During most of that time I had chronic algae issues and plants often went months with little to no growth. Over time I found nutrient deficiencies caused most of my issues. During most of that time I was using flourish comprehensive fertilizer. It was no better than several other fertilizers I tried. Although the label says it has all the nutrients plants need I coudn't get plant growth without adding GH booster, nitrogen, phosphate and couple of times iron. I eventually figured out that it has so little calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper in it that it essentially doesn't have any of those nutrients. The only nutrients it is rich in is iron, potassium. The levels of sulfur, manganese , boron are Maybe OK. And the usual advice of dimming my light and reducing how long it was on and changing the kelvin rating of the bulbs didn't work.

About 2 years ago I decided to try and make my own fertilizer. did some research on how to do that, and then did more research focusing on how much of the nutrients are needed by plants. I made my own micro fertilizer, GH booster, and dosed nitrogen and phosphate. On the first try I got better plant growth than I got from any fertilizer I had purchased. And hair algae which had always been a headache in my tank suddenly disappeared. I am still making adjustments but for the most part they have been minor. In fact right now I can run my light at a high setting for more than 8 hours a day with minimal algae. For me the majority of the problems I had were nutrient deficiency related.

 

[utahfish]

Something ive heard about anacharis is that it has something in it that helps ward off blue green algae by secreting some kind of antibiotic.. Not sure how true this is but its something i heard on the grape vine.

 

[Salty&Onion]

Something ive heard about anacharis is that it has something in it that helps ward off blue green algae by secreting some kind of antibiotic.. Not sure how true this is but its something i heard on the grape vine.

Its true I have heard about this.

 

[Aussie_Bristle]

I can grow hornwort in my main tank with the fish etc but within 24hrs in my shrimp tank it molts and I’m left with the stem I’m a huge fan of Val and ambulia. Val is hardy and grows beautifully in the right conditions. Ambulia you can grow and cut the tops once they go to high and replant. I also have narrow ludwigia and that has actually grown really well in my tank, that’s another one where you can cut and replant the cuttings. I also had wisteria and that grow so fast and healthy but I cut that up and replanted my shrimp tank with it. My substrate is riversand and I have never struggled to grow plants in it. Just my opinion that’s all

 

[seangee]

We would like to believe that any fertilizer you buy will have all the 14 nutrients plants need. However the reality is that most don't have everything plants need. Most fertilizers don't have calcium, chloride, and nickel. although most do have copper, zinc, and magnesium then often have so little that plants can only grow for about a day before they run out of something. Other fertilizers only have 3 of the 14 nutrients plants need. The fertilizer manufactures are relying on your tap water having them.

Due to my small tank my focus over the last 6 years was on plants rather than fish. I used an inert gravel substate and RO water. During most of that time I had chronic algae issues and plants often went months with little to no growth. Over time I found nutrient deficiencies caused most of my issues. During most of that time I was using flourish comprehensive fertilizer.

Both statements are true and valid. But for anyone reading this concerned about having to rush out and mix your own chemicals ...
The commercial products are formulated to work for most people, and most people do have fish and use tap water. By most people I mean fishkeepers rather than those who focus on planted tanks and probably don't use off the shelf products.

Years ago I stopped keeping aquarium gardens and my main focus has been fish. 3 of my tanks do use RO and inert sand, but between the fish, fish food and commercial fertilisers these are all doing well. I recently switched from Seachem Comprehensive to TNC Lite and the results are indistinguishable. I do use root tabs in all of these tanks and my stemmed plants let me know very quickly if I don't replace these on time. I had a problem with algae and slow growth in one of these tanks. After much experimentation it turned out the light was too bright. I probably could have compensated by increasing nutrients, but since I like an easy life the light now runs through a dimmer at 55% of its original intensity and everything is back in balance. The fish prefer dimmer light but I did consider buying a replacement light unit which would have been a needless expense.

The 4th tank has added minerals to bring the GH up to 6d and the KH to 3d. This tank (Fluval Flex) has adjustable lighting and I run these at 60% of full power. This seems to provide the best balance for allowing the plants to grow, not being overly bright for the fish and allowing me to see the fish for longer. At this intensity I have the lights on for 9 hours per day. At 100% I have to cut it back to 6 hours to avoid BBA. There is no doubt that this is my best tank for plants and the added minerals do help. But I am happy with what is going on in the other tanks and apart from water changes and filter rinsing my maintenance is close to zero.

That being said I sometimes find plants that won't grow in my tanks. Since my focus is the fish I simply throw these out and replace with something that works. I am not bothered by the fact that anacharis won't grow, water sprite and frogbit does. My hygrophila polysperma and ludwigia repens is almost totally green. I do know how to make them go red, but then it would no longer be an easy life and I don't have a problem with green plants

 

[Aussie_Bristle]

The problem with Elodia (Anacharis) is when you take the plant from a coldwater pond and put it in a warm water tank. The sudden change in water temperature causes the cell walls to rupture and the plant turns brown and falls apart.

If you get the plant during summer when the pond water is warm, it usually settles in fine and will live happily ever after in a tropical tank.

In Australia, Elodia is illegal to keep so we have Hydrilla instead. It is a better plant for tropical conditions and doesn't fall apart as readily as Elodia.

So are you saying that the pet shop are false advertising Hydrilla as Elodea?? Would not surprise me at all

 

[Colin_T]

So are you saying that the pet shop are false advertising Hydrilla as Elodea?? Would not surprise me at all

No. Shops don't sell Elodia in Australia because the fines are huge if you get caught. Hydrilla is a really dark green whereas Elodia is lighter green.