Sagittaria Subulata

[AlexT]

Hi All,

Anyone had experience or can advise? I've not purchased them yet. One site has them down as needing "medium" CO2 amounts, but most other sites have them rated as easy to grow in basic conditions, like mine below.

Substrate - Sand
Light - 21 W of LED (6500k)
Tank - 32" x 14" x 18" (high) - 110 L (25 G)
Co2 - No
Ferts - Undecided, none yet
pH - 7.6 to 8.0 (would like to get it lower)
Hardness - 250 to 275 ppm (would like to get it softer)
Temp - 76 to 78 F
Stocking (fishless cycle at moment) - Small Corydoras x12, Small BN Plec x2, the rest undecided, maybe Characins

 

[Colin_T]

A little bit of aquarium plant fertiliser and some light should get them going. You don't need to use CO2 for them.

 

[connorlindeman]

Dwarf hair grass is a fairly simple plant to keep.
I have it in 3 of my tanks.
Its undemanding nutrient-wise and will grow in just plain sand.
One thing you should take into consideration is the size.
Here you can see my 10g that has a dwarf sag carpet.
Its not that tall.

Here is a picture of my 40g.
Some of the dwarf sag are nearly 10 inches tall.

I guess it may have to do with how much light it gets, but in my experience, some of the plants just grow extremely tall.

 

[AlexT]

Dwarf hair grass is a fairly simple plant to keep.
I have it in 3 of my tanks.
Its undemanding nutrient-wise and will grow in just plain sand.
One thing you should take into consideration is the size.
Here you can see my 10g that has a dwarf sag carpet.
Its not that tall.

Here is a picture of my 40g.
Some of the dwarf sag are nearly 10 inches tall.

I guess it may have to do with how much light it gets, but in my experience, some of the plants just grow extremely tall.

Thanks for sharing. Your tanks look awesome!

 

[Byron]

In appearance, Sagittaria subulata bears a close resemblance to the narrow-leaf form of another plant in the same family, the pygmy chain sword (Helanthium tenellum), and in the aquarium the two can easily be confused. The growth habits of both can be influenced by conditions in the aquarium such as light, nutrients, and in the case of Sagittaria in particular the density of the planting. In the writer's (Byron) aquarium containing both species, they appear identical with the only difference being the greater height of S. subulata.

The common name "Dwarf" may be somewhat misleading. The plant will normally attain 10-15cm (4-6 inches) in height; planted very close together, the leaves will be much taller, up to 60cm (24 inches) according to Kasselmann (2003) and others, some of whom also mention age and light as factors affecting the plant's height. The writer (Byron) has this plant easily attaining 12-15 inches when thickly planted under moderate light.

Moderate light is sufficient, but the plant does require good nutrients, especially iron but this must be balanced with the other nutrients either in the substrate or added to the water. A small-grain substrate (sand or fine gravel) is best, and this plant once settled will rapidly spread via runners in the same manner as the dwarf chain swords and Vallisneria species. It may send an inflorescence to the surface and flower, but flowering is more likely to occur with emersed growth.

[Above is from my online profile of this species.] CO2 is not necessary beyond that naturally occurring from the biological system. Given the striking similarity to Helanthium tenellum and H. bolivianum, it may be one of the latter one acquires as S. subulatum. Long-term, I had much better and frankly incredible results from the Helanthium plants than the Sagittaria.

 

[AlexT]

Thanks Byron, would you say Helanthium tenellum and H. bolivianum are just as hardy and straightforward in set up like mine as Sagittaria? If so, I might try and get some. Do I need root fertiliser for these types, as my ideal fert will be a liquid I think.

Btw, I have not decided on a fertiliser yet if you have opinion based on my above specs and parameters? My desired plants for this set up are Vallis, Moss Balls (obv not officially a plant), Crinum thaianum (I know my tank is not very tall, but I have a lot of experience with these plants), and also the "throw away" ones I added to my cycling tank (just for a small bit of green) are Elodea densa (doing well and staying very green, might keep them), Fontinalis (Willow Moss, looks real nice actually, not sure if it will last in 76 to 78 F).

 

[Byron]

My Sagittaria did not last all that long. I remember reading somewhere that when in the same tank as Helanthium both do not grow equally well, may be a case of alleopathy. I just stayed with the two Helanthium because they grew like weeds for years. My original plants were acquired in the 1990's from the local fish club. I used Flourish Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium and no substrate tabs for these. play Sand. You are in the UK so look for TNC Lite, it is identical and no phosphorus or nitrogen which should never be added if it can be prevented, the fish provide all of both.

For large substrate-rooted plants I would use Flourish Tabs. TNC probably has something similar.

Moss balls are a species of algae.

 

[AlexT]

My Sagittaria did not last all that long. I remember reading somewhere that when in the same tank as Helanthium both do not grow equally well, may be a case of alleopathy. I just stayed with the two Helanthium because they grew like weeds for years. My original plants were acquired in the 1990's from the local fish club. I used Flourish Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium and no substrate tabs for these. play Sand. You are in the UK so look for TNC Lite, it is identical and no phosphorus or nitrogen which should never be added if it can be prevented, the fish provide all of both.

For large substrate-rooted plants I would use Flourish Tabs. TNC probably has something similar.

Moss balls are a species of algae.

I have nitrate straight out the tap in London. 20 ppm to 40 ppm

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