Cute-cute-cute! (was: Submergent/emergent)

[Naomi Mizumoto <naomizu at pacbell_net>]

>Here's a dumb one. I know that plants grow "emersed" when they are out of
>the water; "submersed" when they are underwater. But what about when they
>grow out the top of the water?

I think the emergent form develops from the point where it breaks the 
water's surface. I'm not sure what happens with the submersed portion, 
though - whether it proceeds to rot away or stays good...

>I bought my husband a cute little Azoo aquarium which is 15 cm in every
>dimension - a cube, in other words. It has the cutest little 7W PCF light.
>We have put cute little fish in it, and cute little plants. Some of the
>plants - an unidentified chain sword that grows about 12" tall, H.
>polysperma, Aponogeton crispus - are obviously going to grow up above the
>water line. Will the parts above the water be different from the parts below
>the water? Will the leaves below the water die off when the leaves above the
>water develop? We've never had an open-top tank before.

I saw this very set-up yesterday (without those plants, of course) at my 
LFS, only it also had the cutest little teeny-tiny power filter!!! An 
ACTUAL power filter that hung off the rim! And it even had adjustable flow! 
Oh, my gosh, it was SO cute, but I would have had to buy a whole set-up and 
I didn't really care for the 1/2-gallon "tank." I guess it would have been 
worth it for the CF light and power filter. I was amazed that the filter 
flow was so perfect - nothing was "blowing around" in the little cube. Even 
at high flow rate, it wasn't absurdly turbulent. I'm sure I'll break down 
and buy the whole thing at some point in the near future. Cute-cute-CUTE!!!

Why not try some teeny-tiny plants for your teeny-tiny tank? Or at least 
some slow-growers? Right now, I'm growing Lysimachia nummularia 'aurea' in 
my 2.5-gallon tank. I know Tropica says it's a fast-grower, but I'm finding 
the contrary to be true... But it's hardy and has beautiful golden color. 
I've got dwarf hairgrass growing very slowly but steadily for me. I bought 
something yesterday called Rotala sp. 'Nanjenshan," which has the fluffy, 
needle-y look of a Myriophyllum. From what I've read, the only real 
"demand" it has is strong lighting, which your 7-watt CF should provide, 
and it's supposed to be a good choice for small tanks. Bacopa monnieri is 
okay, but may grow quite rapidly under those conditions. Finally, if you 
can get your hands on an Anubias nana 'petite', that would be SO perfect 
for a teeny-tiny tank. I'd also suggest pearl grass and baby tears, but for 
the life of me, I can't get the former to grow, and the latter grows too 
fast.  All of the plants you mention are ones that I'd think would quickly 
outgrow a 10-gallon... Just the tuber of the A. crispus would practically 
make the water overflow in a palm aquarium ;-). But I guess the cube would 
make a good nursery, if you intend to move the plants to a larger tank, soon.

Happy teeny-tiny-cute planting!!! :-)

-Naomi