growing emersed hemiantus calitrichoides

I don't think it's faster emersed, but it sure is easier. I have in both submerged and emersed and while the submerged growth is faster it sure is a little more trouble than the emersed growth which requires little to nothing from me. If you can provide it a good environment go for submerged to get bulk, but keep some emersed in case that crashes, this way you will always have a starter piece again.

Hope that helps
Giancarlo Podio

My emersed grows faster than the submersed, I use a spray bottle with a weak fertilizer solution on it every third day or so and it is going gang busters. The light is two small PC bulbs one 7 watts and the other 13 watts both 6700 K. I'm getting ready to start a larger emersed culture this week.

Those seedling plant trays are great in summer outside if it's not too cold.
You can grow most all plants very fast that way for cheap.

Regards,
Tom Barr

I can see the market price of HC is going to crash after you have all flooded it...

pineapple said:

I can see the market price of HC is going to crash after you have all flooded it...

Click to expand...

At least it will be available to all soon

Giancarlo Podio

pineapple said:

I can see the market price of HC is going to crash after you have all flooded it...

Click to expand...

The uh 32 square inches I have of HC isn't going to have much of an effect on the market.

Thats a 4 inch by 8 inch area, btw. :wink:

hey, I got a 3"x6" area started out!!! The market may indeed fall to its death

These stem runner plants are often the darlings of the month or this year and then everyone has it and then you cannot give it away.

Stick with rare Crypts and Anubias/Java ferns/Bolbitus/Moss etc if you want to make $ selling weeds.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Who said I abandoned my crypts? Besides, this stuff is actually nice to look at and does what you hope for, unlike that "Pellia" mess I watched so many people get sucked into. It doesn't overtake a tank like glosso and Hemianthus micranthemoides, it doesn't float up like riccia, it doesn't make a mess like java moss... it's a nice little plant.

What is the recommended substrate texture for HC? fine or coarse. Does a product like Flourite fit the bill? As far as I have read, lighting intensity requirements are in the mid-range, can anyone verify? Who has been growing this plant with success? (I already know of Oliver Knott's aquaria and photos).

Andrew Cribb

Mine seemed to spread better in eco-complete than it did on flourite, however hard to say for sure as conditions in the two tanks were very different, the eco-complete tank was purely for HC where as the flourite tank is my community tank. Also grew well on some xmas moss:

http://www.gpodio.com/other/hc/

You can see a little of the early progress here, I had to cover it in my community tank as I have fish that would otherwise uproot it, it eventually filled the patch of fine grained gravel but didn't go much beyond that, making me think it didn't like the flourite as much. I took it out of this tank however as the cover idea just didn't look to good. It's now growing in a glass jar under a light on a bed of moss. In the eco complete tank instead it filled in all the space that was receiving good light however I haven't been looking after this tank much so it's looking pretty sick right now. Mostly growing it emersed until I get time to look after another tank.

Giancarlo Podio

Giancarlo,

That job of tender loving care you applied to the diminutive HC sample seems to indicate it is one of the most ungrateful plants about.

Most of the Flourite I use is covered with coarse quartz sand. But I think I will go and study Oliver Knott's gallery again. He has some photos of the planting process which are helpful. In case anyone else is interested, his gallery is at the following link:

http://www.pbase.com/plantella/root&page=1

Andrew Cribb

I have been growing it now for about a month or two now. I have silica sand mixed with fluorite and it seems to grow pretty good in this mix. Another month and I should have my whole foreground covered.

HTH,
Robert. (bobo31)