Cabombas

[swammy]

Ok, as a new aquarist, I don't know a whole heck of a lot. I went out and bought some plants to provide a hiding spot for platty babies and guppy babies. I looked at several varieties, and was impressed with the thickness of the cabomba plants. Is this a good investment for my tank? What will these plants do for me as far as filtration? I have heard that they help with biological filtration, but haven't heard the specifics. I don't have any special lighting for my tank, other than what came with the tank. Thanks in advance for your expertise!!

 

[Bol]

Among other things, plants require nitrogen to grow. They will use the semi-toxic nitrates in the water as a source of that nitrogen, but they actually "prefer" ammonia. So, there are two ways that plants will help, chemistry-wise. And, of course, they also produce oxygen in the presence of light.

I really like the look of cabomba, too. Unfortunately, in my experience, cabomba doesn't do very well with only "standard" lighting. It will probably not die completely, but it'll get very "leggy" (quite a bit of space between leaves, vertically), and/or you'll end up with a long, bare stalk except for the 4" or so near the top of the tank. Most likely won't stay a rich, dark green, either.

 

[tstenback]

Agreed Bol. The cabomba likes a lot of light to stay full...over 2 watts per gallon and if you have floating plants that block some of the light then 3 watts per galllon. It will grow fine in most tanks and will not drop all of its leaves if it is kept debris free (my cories do a great job of this). So if you have 2+ watts per gallon or you dont careif it gets a bit leggy thenitis a great plant for hiding babies etc. My platies use it as bunkbeds its hillarious to see them sleeping on the leaves

 

[Nina7777]

IME i've had awful luck with the cambombas. The day after I put them in my tank they lost all their leaves and caused a HUGE mess. It was awful. Then the needle like leaves got stuck in my filter and broke it.

Just My opinion though.

 

[TonyUK]

I'm not a plant expert, but I've given up on Cabombas. I find that it rots at the base and you are forever replanting it. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong , but it does not seem to do well in gravel. I posted a question about algea under the plants section and this was the recomendation given to me as a beginner

Plants like Cabomba really need 4 Watts per gallon, soft acid water no suspended matter and CO2 supplementation - leave them alone for the time being

Hope this helps.

 

[swammy]

Well one thing that I HAVE noticed is that my plants are growing super fast. Some limbs have already reached the top of my tank!! (they were only half the height of my tank when I bought them. I DO like watching my platties hide in them, it is a nice little spot they like to hide. The plants are also a lot prettier than the fake plants that you can buy in the store. Thanks for your replies so soon!!

 

[swammy]

Ok, that last post was at around 6 am this morning. Now, it is about 6 pm. The plant is now poking out of the water. These things are growing at a tremendous rate!! My question to you all:

If I cut my plant at it's midpoint, will it be possible to replant that in a different spot or will the plant just die? If not, then I suppose I will just have to resort to trimming it down once a week or something similar. I am definitely going to TRY this...hope it works. Let me know what your experience has taught you! Thanks a lot!

 

[tstenback]

Yes it will grow. cut it at the midpoint just below a node (where the leaves come out) and then cut off the remaining stem at the top of the old plant. The old plant is the one to watch sometimes they die off and other times they grow side shoots that you can cut off and plant again. I like this because it ensures a very dense planting with continuous new stock. HTH

 

[swammy]

VERY NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I like that too. So in actuality, a cheapskate like me would LOVE this type of plant, wouldn't they? Only buy once, and the rest just grows on it's own! Well, I wouldn't mind buying more anyways. They're only $1.49 a bunch. I am just amazed at how fast they grow though. I only have a 20W bulb on my 29G aquarium, and the plants seem to be doing good so far. The main problem that I see here is that it may be difficult to vacuum the gravel around the plants. I will work my way around that when the time comes, though. Thanks, tstenback, for the snipping advice. I will start right after I get home from work.

 

[EddieW]

There are two types of Cabomba normally available - Cabomba caroliniana and Cabomba furcáta. It sounds like you have the carolininana variety as you are doing well. If it is growing upwards very quickly but spreading out this could be an indication of too little light. I have put the tropica info for each species below, and also included the alternative suggested for lower light levels.

From www.tropica.com

Cabomba caroliniana

Family: Cabombaceae
Continent: South America
Height: 30-80+ cm
Width: 5-8+ cm
Light requirements: medium-very high
Temperature: 18-26 °C
Hardness tolerance: soft-hard
pH tolerance: 4-7
Growth: fast
Demands: medium

A very popular aquarium plant owing to its beautiful foliage. The least demanding of the Cabomba species, but still causes problems in poorly lit aquariums. If there is not sufficient light, try Limnophila sessiliflora, which requires less light. Most decorative when planted in groups. Eaten locally as a vegetable.

Cabomba furcáta

Family: Cabombaceae
Continent: South America
Height: 30-80+ cm
Width: 5-8+ cm
Light requirements: high-very high
Temperature: 22-33 °C
Hardness tolerance: very soft-medium
pH tolerance: 3-7
Growth: fast
Demands: very difficult

A very beautiful but also difficult plant because it requires more light than most aquariums can provide. Soft water and CO2 addition are also necessary for optimum growth. Death of lower leaves indicates insufficient light. In good conditions Cabomba furcáta develops small, long floating leaves and often forms beautiful purple flowers. Should be planted in groups, but not too close because the light has to reach the lower leaves. Used to be called Cabomba piauhyensis.

Limnophila sessiliflora

Family: Scrophulariaceae
Continent: Asia
Height: 15-40 cm
Width: 4-7 cm
Light requirements: medium-very high
Temperature: 22-28 °C
Hardness tolerance: soft-hard
pH tolerance: 5.5-8
Growth: fast
Demands: medium

Limnophila sessiliflora is a good and undemanding plant which is a good alternative to Cabomba, which demands a lot of light. The plant often grows leggy in poor light, but this can be counteracted to some extent by stimulating growth by CO2 addition. Most beautiful when planted in groups. In good growing conditions it sends out runners and spreads across the bottom. L. sessiliflora used to be called ''Ambulia''.


HTH, Eddie