[Capt.]

I received an aponogeton ulvaceus plant in the mail about a month ago. Many of the leaves were brown and I had to clip them off. I didn't do anything to the roots or anything before planting.

The plant seems to be in a dormant stage now. I can't get it to grow. Here are all the tank parameters that I know currently. I do have ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, KH, GH, and PH test kits that I can get results for.

72 gallon tank
80 watts NO and 55 watt PC
Substrate mix of Profile and Flourite
Temp 76 degrees
Good supply of Jobes for Ferns sticks under the apon

Is there anything I can do to get this thing growing?

 

[Error]

It is possible that your plant is dormant.

Perhaps you could ask the person you got it from if it was beginning to lose leaves prior to you receiving it.

Do you know the condition of the bulb? It might be dead, but it's hard to tell sometimes.

I suggest you leave it where it is and see. If indeed it is dormant, tradually increasing the temperature of your aquarium may help it to sprout again, though I don't know exactly how long A. ulvaceus usually remains dormant.

 

[Capt.]

Thanks for the info. I was doing some reading in an old but very good book of mine. It said that aponogeton ulvaceus should have a spiky top on the bulb. Mine was round at the top. It might not be a true ulvaceus I suppose.

You can see a bit of the leaves in the bottom right of this pic. They are light green and twisting corkscrews.

Much bigger and detailed pic here:
http://pna.pricenetwork.ca/gallery/albums/userpics/13267/IMG_6491.JPG

The person I got it from said that it was browning and losing leaves before I got it. He also said the bulb was stinking (rotting I guess?). Not sure what that means. This is my first bulb plant.

 

[trenac]

If the bulb is in good shape/healthy and not dying/rotting then it should recover. It could be in a dormant state or shock from being moved & mailed, sometimes it takes a few months to come out of the dormont state or to recover from being moved.

 

[GmoAndres]

Hello!
i have a madagascaricensis (one year old) and crispus (five years old) bulbs ....the periods of dormain in my case are not constant; 1 or 3 months...; if you put the bulb in the more iluminated zone of the acuarium, ON the substrate (not "in" the substrate) can stimulate the growth...
(los bulbos NO deben enterrarse en el sustrato, al brotar y enraizar se "enterrarán" por sí mismos)

Saludos desde Chile! 8)