davemonkey

Does anyone have experience with Potamogeton nodosus (American pondweed)?

I found some last week at the edge of a pond (with emerged leaves) while I was doing field checks at work. (I'm excited because it's the first truely aquatic plant I've found in this part of Texas since I moved here last October!...North Central Texas...North of Abilene.)

I was having a hard time with ID until I read this page:

http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/aqua/a.../potamog1.html
It gives the difference between Illinios and American pondweed, which are both common in Texas.

Anyway, I put one plant in my aquarium to see how it did and it produced submerged foliage within 4 days. Today I collected 9 more to see what they do. I'm curious if anyone else has used these and can tell me what to expect. Will they take over like weeds? Do the submerged translucent leaves stay that way?

-Dave

davemonkey

Photos:





These are emersed or floating leaves.

davemonkey

This is a pic of the one I put in my tank last week. The darker, more broad, leaf was 'rolled' at the time and did not melt off, but the petiole extended to about 5-6 inches. The more slender, bronzish, leaf is the 'true' submersed leaf.





Here is a pic of three of the new ones I just put in this afternoon. I bunched them to see how a 'clump' would look together. It will likely be a week or two before I see significant submerged growth. My expectations are that the bronze color is only on new growth and will eventually turn green, but we'll see.


Let me know what you think.

-Dave

Tex Gal

That's a pretty plant.

It's so funny, since I went high tech I never look at another river or pond the way I used to. My mind quickly says, "I wonder what plants I might find in there?"

davemonkey

Yes, it's alot of fun just experimenting with the local flora. I've even had my brother collect stuff for me from East Texas. Hmmm....now that I think of it, I bet I could get that Juncus to grow now that I've got CO2 going. Oh well, there's no room anyway.
I need another aquarium!! (My wife would strangle me if I told her I wanted another one.)

Tex Gal

Unfortunately the tank collecting is terminal! I have found no cure!! I have 4, my daughter has 2! My husband says NO MORE! BUT.... I have more plants that need a home......

jmontee

dmonkey, I can empathize with you man. I've got one 47 gallon with my wife's goldfish, my 55 gallon high tech and I wnat to start a nano high tech. My wife has threatened divorce. It is crazy how addicting this hobby is!! Anyway, I think I'll be able to talk her into in a couple of months.

Oh yeah, if you can propagate the plant let me know. It looks like it would be really cool to add texture in the tank, kinda like tree trunks.

davemonkey

Haha! At least your wife has goldfish, mine has very little interest in aquariums or fish. She says she likes to look at it as she's walking by it, but she doesn't give a hoot what fish or what plants are in there. (That's her yawning, not singing...) In a way that's good because I can make the scape to suit me.

Anyway, sure. If I get it growing and it looks promising I'll post more pics and see if you're still interested. I know for sure there are two clumps (3 rhizomes each) I won't want to keep (since I don't have the room) after I've seen what they do. I just wanted to experiment. Look for an update in the next week or so. They seem to be setting new leaves quickly.

-Dave

Cavan Allen

A bunch of native Potamogetons are well worth keeping. I had one that looked like P. gayi but smaller and a beautiful golden color and another that was larger but all green. Both were very pretty.

I wish more people would experiment with local stuff.

aquabillpers

In the Northeast USA some aquatic plants have short growing seasons and die back to their rhizomes in September. Potamogeton crispus and Myriophyllum spicatum are two of those.

I don't know if those two plants would adapt to a tropical aquarium. I have tried to keep both without success (but I could say that about other species, too )

Bill