Elodea

[Kerry1968]

Hello, I have a tank with two axolotls in and wondered if elodea would be suitable in there? I have no substrate and no lighting, but I was thinking of planting the elodea in a small terracotta pot that I have from purchasing a different aquatic plant. Does elodea need a lot of light? I like the look of this plant and it is very cheap (always a plus!) Thanks, Kerry.

 

[i_love_necturus]

I think elodea is great, but a lot people have trouble growing it. That trouble may be from not enough light. My elodea grows like crazy but it is well lit. I knowtice that when there is elodea that is hiddden by other elodea (for example mine grows in a big clump and the elodea on the inside doesn't get as much light as the outside plants) it browns and tends to die off pretty quickly. So I doubt you'd have much luck if you don't light the elodea very much.

 

[Mark]

Hi Kerry,
Elodea is fine as a floating plant. It doesn’t really need a pot although it will help it stay the right way up. It sends roots out from many different places and they’ll grow down into a substrate if you have one.

I would say it needs quite a bit of light to do well. It will survive in low light but has a habit it of dropping it’s leaves and turning brown without good light. It also likes it cool - warm water will kill it.

I see you’re in Bristol too – I get my elodea from Almondsbury garden centre, just off the M5, junction 16. It’s 79p a bunch. Last time I bought some there I ended up with a free newt egg to boot.

 

[blueberlin]

Hornwort

Hi Kerry,

I had the same problem with Elodea, ambient light just wasn't enough for it. Something that looks similar and with which I have had much more luck is Ceratophyllum demersum (hornwort; in German they call it "water pest" which would indicate how easy it is to grow). It is a floater, doesn't make roots as far as I know (remember, I'm new at live plants) but you can stick it into the substrate and it will grow that way, too. It takes the cold and if you have a well lighted room, that seems to be enough for it, at least as a floating plant. Should be easy to find as well.

Its leaves/needles are finer than those of Elodea, though, and they can break off easily, which is kind of a pain. I have found one seller who has one strain (no idea of its specific name) that is very thick and dark green, looks like a pine branch. Amazingly hardy. Maybe you will have the same luck?

That's all the info I can offer after my whole month of experience with live plants.

-Eva

 

[Kerry1968]

Re: Hornwort

Thanks everyone for your help and advice, as I have a solid lid on the top of my axie tank I don't think there'll be enough light for the elodea. Maybe I'll try again with the java fern, I managed to kill off the last lot (well ended up with a few little baby bits that are still alive, thanks again.

 

[firefly]

Re: Hornwort

My Elodea is floating in my nymphs container. I bought it about 4 weeks ago and you could see lots of oxygen bubbles comming off it. It nows seems to have stopped giving off bubbles - should I replace it with new stuff do you think ??

The container sits on my bedroom window sill (not in the sun) and is cool.

Thanks you in anticipation

 

[Greatwtehunter]

Re: Hornwort

As long as it is still green then it is still alive. If you pay real close attention to it you'll notice it actually varies the amount of bubbles it gives off during the day. With mine it seems the colder it is the more it puts out.

 

[firefly]

Re: Hornwort

Thank you x

 

[JM29]

Hi, everybody.

Eledea (or Egeria or Lagarosiphon) are suitable for cold freshwater aquarium with a good light. In these conditions, it grows fast and contribute to purify water
It's totally true that parts of Elodea in the shade of other parts are prone to darken,lose leaves and die, and it's less good. To avoid it, one must periodically pull out the plants in excess, and everything goes fine.

Oxygen bubbles are normaly seen when plants are cut : oxygen escapes off the tisssues as soon as it is produced. This phenomenon stops within a few days, when the plants tissues heal. But they actually don't stop growing and producing oxygen.

Sincerely,
JM