Has Anyone Grown Northern Milfoil (Myriophyllum sibiricum)?

[Kribensis27]

So I occasionally collect small bits of common & unrestricted aquatic plants (with the landowners' permission) from some lake shores near me when I set up a new tank. Usually people pull them out near their docks anyway, so I use small amounts of them in my tanks. It's a good free source of Vallisneria, hornwort, Elodea, Ludwigia, etc. One plant I've never collected, though, is northern water milfoil (Myriophyllum sibiricum, also called M. exalbescens). It's super common in my area. It's related, and quite similar, to the invasive and harmful Eurasian water milfoil, but northern is native and beneficial to the ecosystem. It's very pretty, and looks great for small fish & other critters to hide in.

My main question: has anyone ever grown it in a tank? It seems like a decent candidate, but I know some Myriophyllums need CO2 to do well or need a dormancy period. I currently have a small cutting of it planted in my low tech 5.5g, and it seems to be growing, but Idk if it will stay healthy for long. The tank is unheated, so I won't have to try acclimating it to tropical temperatures or anything.

If anyone has any experience or info on this plant in aquariums, please lmk!

 

[StarGirl]

Im surprised you havent.....lol
I would say to try it and see how it goes. You will know soon what it does. Im guessing it will do well being a northern climate plant.

 

[Kribensis27]

Im surprised you havent.....lol
I would say to try it and see how it goes. You will know soon what it does. Im guessing it will do well being a northern climate plant.

I am too, tbh. It still seems happy so far, so that's a good sign. I guess if it dies it can always be mystery snail food. I've also heard of some weird thing that certain Myriophyllums do where their lower leaves constantly die off, leaving just the tips looking healthy and growing well. I planted it behind some hornwort, just in case it decides to do that, so I won't be able to see the lower leaves anyway lol.

 

[Kribensis27]

Quick update: The Myriophyllum has grown about two inches in just a few days, and has now begun rooting into the substrate. I can see lots of lateral shoots coming out, and the tip of the stem appears to be reaching for the surface to start blooming. I am dealing with some algae and dieback of the older growth, but so far so good. We'll see if it can keep up in a tank full of elodea, hornwort, and vals.

This thread might not be the place, but since we're on the topic of native plants in aquariums, might as well mention that I'm also experimenting with longleaf pondweed, Potamogeton nodosus. It appears to be doing much better. A new leaf almost daily, with no algae or melting. The underwater leaves remind me of swords, and the floating leaves are like little narrow lily pads.

I was more worried about seasonal dormancy requirements on that one, but I read that it has a near global distribution, so it sounds like it should be fine. I managed to find one post online of someone saying they've grown it in a tank, and they said it takes over quite easily, so I may have to pull out some of it every now and then. I imagine I'll definitely have to trim some floating leaves on occasion to prevent it from shading out everything else. Unless it hates the substrate and dies, which is also possible.