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re: Pellia endiviaefolia



>I have a lot of plant books (well a few anyway) but none of
them cover
it.

Most of us saw the first pictures of this plant in Peter
Bradley's article in TAG Sept 2002. Two nice photos of a
single tank that led to cravings for a liverwort!

I got some a couple of months ago. It had some red algae
attached so I am growing it out of the water on wet peat. I
don't think it will survive the bleach treatment necessary
to get rid of the algae, so when it has grown enough
alga-free growth I'll submerge this.

>Will it have a problem growing along side java moss
(intermixed with moss on the same rock) or will one overcome
the other?

IMO the best effect is always to have a single type of plant
on each rock. But if the rock is large enough, a mixed
arrangement might be arranged to imitate a natural setting
where mosses and liverworts are often found together.
Pruning will be necessary to keep the plants in check, even
if just one type is used.

>Is it a good looking ground cover? BTW - no wood in my
tanks but I do have a few rocks and some bare gravel

Although the TAG article suggested that it will oust Glosso
and Riccia in popularity as a carpeting plant the same
article's photos are of a tank with Glossostigma in the
foreground with the darker Pellia right behind attached to
rocks or wood!

Being a thallose liverwort it grows flat. The best effect as
shown in the article is when it grows on an inclined surface
so that its flattened structures overlap. The seefect would
be lost if the foreground is horizontal, as is usually the
case.

Also, like other liverworts it does not have true roots,
just simple rhizoids which are very short and easily
detached. Growing it on loose gravel is probably not be a
good idea.

I can still imagine a nice foreground with Pellia: First
attached to flattened rock such as slate, with thread. These
are placed overlapping each other at the immediate
foreground. Then more attached to rounded rocks behind the
slate. The Pellia will overgrow the threads and fill in the
gaps to give an inclined lawn effect. Amano does this
frequently with Riccia, but Pellia should do well in low lit
aquariums too. Pellia also does not float so maintenance is
easier.

regards

Stephan


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