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soils and C. affinis



Subject: soils and C. affinis
 
Neil Frank wrote, Sat, March 30:

> >BTW my latest affinis tank with the cm-soil is doing great. I h
> >any CO2 (yet).  Better than all my others with affinis, but too
> >any conclusions. (like you say, maybe because of composting??) 
> >from the same source as yours (most likely the 'large variety' 
> >New leaf growth after a few weeks, but different shape leaf, la
> >wavy edges, but on shorter stem (so far). Upper leaf surface is
> >shiny. I have also noticed other color variations in other affi
> >In another tank under the same lights, a different batch of aff
> >very dark color - perhaps reddish (I am red-green color blind)
> >Has anyone noticed similar variations in affinis, either due to
> >the plant; lighting, or mix of nutrients.

I've seen these types of variations in a number of species.  The 
two most variable that I've worked with have been affinis and 
wendtii.  I have a variety of wendtii that I've grown for years 
under a number of conditions.  If I didn't _know_ that they were 
all offsets from the same original group, I would not believe they 
were the same plant.

Paul Krombholz wrote:

> Glad to hear about that!.  Only a few of the leaves of my plant 
> edges.  They are somewhat bullate, and with the level of light t
> getting, are somewhat brown-green on top and a red-tan color und
> have seen a much more intense violet-red color on the underside 
> variety of affinis, which I used to have.  I am pretty sure, tha
> light, the green in the upper sides of the leaves would be less 
> and the leaves would appear brown.  It is still a pretty plant, 
> muted shades of green and reddish-tan.  It looks nice next to th
> green of the large Anubias nana (barteri, var. nana?) that occup
> other half of my 15 gallon.  In lower light, I have seen affinis
> not the same variety as we have now) with bright green, almost b
> topsides and green undersides with some violet-brown shading nea
> petiole.

My C. affinis was bright wine red beneath and dark forest green 
above with lighter veins when I got it.  When I tried to grow it 
in a gravel/laterite substrate, both with and without supplemental 
CO2 it didn't do well.  It put out very few runners, and the color 
turned to a washed out olive green.

Then I took what was left of the stand and moved it to my 
paludarium with peat plates and laterite under the #1 gravel.  
This tank has neither supplemental CO2 nor strong lighting (2 40W 
bulbs over a 55G tank, but the water level is a good 10" below the 
bulbs) Within weeks of moving to this set up, they had deepened to 
a bright green on the top side, but the undersides have not 
returned to their former brilliance... just pink toward the 
petiole.  This seems to be a small variety.  The leaves are 
slightly bullate, and only a few have slightly wavy edges.  It 
hasn't gotten large under any of the conditions it's been grown 
under.  Over the peat plates it has spread rapidly and now covers 
a fair amount of the bottom of the tank.

> On another subject, totally:  Interesting article on crypts in t
> TFH.  There is a goof, however in the picture that is supposed t
> pontederiifolia.  The plant shown is some other species.

Which issue was this?  I couldn't find it.

Karen Randall
Aquatic Gardeners Assoc.
Boston, MA