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Re: Bladderwort



Bonnie Bouwer is asking for people's experience with Bladderwort
(Utricularia).

Funny you should ask that just now Bonnie, because I'm trying to get some
which was sent to me by Madran Subramanian in India, to grow.

I used to keep Utricularia in my aquariums years ago (kind of hard to find
any sources of aquarium plants in Nova Scotia 30 years ago). I used to
collect it wild from local ponds. It grew, but didn't like higher
temperatures (not surprising, considering where it was found naturally. I
know that it is "carniverous" in that it has those little bladders to trap
microscopic (and macroscopic) prey, but I don't know how important that
source of nutrition is. I used to find it in ponds surrounded by peat bogs
and the acidity could somtimes dip pretty low - a lot of microorganisms
might not have liked it. But I also used to put stuff from regular ponds
into my tank, so I'm sure that there was pleanty of microscopic life in my
aquarium if the Utricularia needed it.

The species I've got now, as I said, came from India, so tropical
temperatures shouldn't be a problem. Madran also gave me all of the
necessary water parameters, so I have been able to duplicate (as closely as
I can) the kind of water it was growing in. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The plants did get shocked being in the mail for several days, and there was
a lot of dieback, but there was still a lot of bright green growth. I have
noticed however, that it is continuing to loose leaves and is getting
"skinnier" every day. This afternoon, I took several stems and placed them
in separate containers (2 - liter pop bottles, filled half-way) and am
trying a number of different things - one of which is a goodly portion of
water out of my daphnia culture which started life as a bucket full of swamp
water. It is chock FULL of microscopic and just barely visible life. If the
Utricularia needs some "red meat" in its diet, this stuff should be able to
provide it.

I'll let you know how it goes.

James Purchase
Toronto