smillermom

Hey here! Well, I was at Wally World and saw these underwater bulbs. Has anyone ever used them?

Boxermom

Yes. Some sprout, some don't, its a hit and miss. When they do, they're very nice for a 20g or bigger.

smillermom

I'll keep my fingers crossed! I put them in the gravel in my 29 gallon! I would really like to replace my plastic with real! Any suggestions?

Boxermom

Don't bury them in the gravel. They should sit on top. Bulbs should never be buried.

If you have the regular stock lighting, you'll need to go with low light plants, but that's good because then you don't need to worry about fertilizers or CO2 injection. Go to www.plantgeek.net and you can search for low light and/or beginner plants (Plant Guide section). Its a great resource. Any of the anubias or crypt species would be good. Swords are iffy, some people can grow them great, some can't keep them alive at all. Anacharis (ejeria densa) is always a good choice, fast grower and helps keep nitrates down. Dwarf lilies are another bulb-type plant that's good for low light tanks. Beware of some of the ones sold at petstores and Wal-Mart, as not all of them are true aquatic plants. Plantgeek also has a list of the most commonly available non-aquatic plants. Get them and they'll die and rot in your tank, so its best to avoid them.

Isabella

I love the Undulatus variety of Aponogeton but I know it is a somewhat demanding plant. I may try to have one or two of them in my 75G tank just to see if it would do well. If yes, I'd get more. Love this plant.

chickadee

I have the Aponogeton madagascariensis in each of my tanks and the bulbs have been planted in the gravel with great results. Everyone who has seen them has fallen in love with them and wanted them. The fish love them to rest on and the girls fight to see who gets to sit on the leaves. It is a beautiful plant that only need to have the floating leaves removed once in a while so that it will continue to put out new leaves from the base of the plant.

Picture to follow.

Rose

(lace plant with Holey leaves)

Attached Images

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Isabella

I've seen this plant so many times Rose, but it's so beautiful that I thought it would require high lighting, CO2 injections, and fertilization. Now I see you growing it successfully under regular conditions, which is wonderful to hear. What sort of substrate are you using?

chickadee

Half regular aquarium gravel/Half fluorite in this particular tank but the others are just plain old aquarium gravel and I do not fertilize. My lighting is a 10 watt compact fluorescent screw-in type bulb like you buy at Walmart and it was sent to me as a bulb. I stuck it in the substrate and it took off. All I did is , like I said, pull off the floating leaves once in a while but if you want the plant to grow like 24" long you wouldn't even have to do that. It just wouldn't get as full. It is actually one of the easiest plants I have.

Rose

Isabella

That sounds great. Are the freshwater plant bulbs available online? I also think Fluorite may have contributed greatly to the growth of your plant. My amazon swords grow so slowly in my 30G tank with regular gravel and only 20W of light, that I can barely notice any growth at all. Some time ago, I have received samples of Fluorite, Fluorite Red, and Onyx Sand from Seachem. I mixed the three and placed them in one spot in my 30G tank. A small outgrowth of my amazon sword (from the parent plant) that didn't seem to grow at all, once put in that fluorite mixture spot, took off like crazy, even which such a low light. It MUST BE thanks to Fluorite.

chickadee

I got mine from the same gentleman in New York where Marty came from so I will check to see if he is still in business and get back to you. He is a nice man, but had a very small operation. I know he operates on eBay under the name of "mikeswetpets" and has had live plants and fish on before as well as new and antique fish equipment.

They also have them already in plant form at www.aquariumplants.com but that is where I got the snails from and the shipping charges are high as they will not guarantee live delivery of the plants if you do not pay for expedited shipping. I do not believe I shall order from them again.

Rose

chickadee

OH MY!!!! I just found this and realized that I never got back on here and posted to this about my information. I am dreadfully sorry and hope you all haven't thought I have lost it completely.

The gentleman sells on ebay under the name of mikeswetpets and his e-mail address is stitchfish@adelphia.net His prices are reasonable and he is decent on the shipping costs. He also will discount on the shipping of more than one item. He is also where I bought the famous and naughty MARTY

Sorry it took so long, I can only plead complete confusion the last few months.

Rose