RE: [APD] Need fast growing, low light, low

["David Nesom" <david at nesom_net>]

Regarding Hydrocotyle Leucocephala, Tsuh Yang wrote:

>how do you grow this in all sorts of conditions?  it
>never thrived for me, this in 10 and 29 gallons with
>15 watts and 20 watts respectively of light.  my
>impression was that it needed much more light and
>nutrients.

Hmmm, Maybe I'm lucky or have magic water ;-)

There are other Pennyworts (e.g. Hydrocotyle Sibthorpioides) which according
to 'The Aquarium Plant Handbook' are "more difficult to cultivate" (I have
no experience with this plant). But even according to them "H. Leucocephala
can adapt to all types of aquarium conditions" (pg 98). Is it possible we're
talking about a different plant?

To answer your question though, I currently have it in two tanks with the
following parameters:

Paludarium:
20G w/15 watts 5500k T8 Flourescent.
Substrate is Flourite red over a layer of peat
50% water change weekly
Temp is 78
GH ~2
KH ~2
PH ~7
No CO2
Dosing is TMG 15ml a week after water change
Fish load is very light (2 SAEs, 2 Small Clown loaches)

This particular tank, I do consider magical. It's heavily planted with
crypts, anubias, Sagittaria subulata, and Hydrocotyle Leucocephala. I set
this tank up a little more than 6 months ago and have only cleaned a small
amount of green spot off the glass once in that time. Other than that this
set-up has been entirely algae free. Scary, I know. The plants grow slowly
but are very healthy making this set-up very low maintenance. I pretty much
only need to prune the terrestrial plants every few weeks. The H.
Leucocephala is the fastest growing aquatic plant in this tank and I've let
it grow out onto land and up the background--after 6 months it has taken
over much of the tank (in the water and on land.)

Second Tank:
72G w/210 watts of 6500k CF lighting.
30% water change twice a week
TMG 7ml a day (on an automatic doser)
Temp 83
Substrate: Flourite
PH: 6.7
KH: ~5
GH: ~6-8
Pressurized CO2
This is a heavily planted tank with a very heavy bioload. H. Leucocephala
grows very fast in this tank both in well lit areas and in areas shaded
heavily by other plants. In this set up I have it rooted in the substrate
and floating and it seems to grow just as fast/healthy in either position.

Lastly, A while back I put a small amount in a Tupperware bowl of tank water
while I was pruning set it on the top of a cupboard to get it out of my way
and forgot about it. My wife found it a few weeks later--it was still very
healthy and had even grown a bit. Admittedly, the cupboard was getting
fairly bright but indirect light from a window about 3' away. I've also had
it in other tanks with similar success.

My experience with this plant has been that it is very easy to maintain. I
suppose YMMV. Sorry for the long reply--just trying to give the details.

Best,

Dave

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