How to have thick and lush stem plants

[Fei Miao]

Hi all,
I noticed that the stemplants at sam Yick's are thick & lush, I used to keep stem plants, but they always tend to go stringy and boh tat at the bottom after some time,, I have CO2, substrate fertilizer, JBL liquid fertilizer, tank temp with cooling fan at temp 28º-30ºC... the works, is it because they have chillers, I now keep riccia, java ferns, nanas,hairgrass, ozelots & tiger lotus,these are growing well...... but i do miss stem plants like Rotala indicia, Micarnthemum Umbrosum & Micarnthenoids.

How can one achieve lush growth for stem plants[]

[bclee]

What tank size and lightings do you have? If light is not enough, the stem plants will grow leggy towards the lights. The trick is to have enough light and do not shade the stem plants.

It is also better to have the lights spread out over the top. It will cast less shadows and easier to reach the bottom part of the stem plants.

BC

[DEA]

u're talking about having lush thick stands of stem plants, or are you referring to the stems of the plants?
if the former, it's the lighting intensity that matters most

[jhseah]

Strong Light and Low Temperature!!!

Cheers

[Fei Miao]

My tank parameters are as follows:

60x30x36cm -80 litres tank
light::15W x4
temp:28-30ºC with AC fan, recent hot weather up to 32ºC
CO2: 2 bubles per sec -
6 - 7 KH PH: not tested
fertilezer: JBL liquid (weekly after 50% water change)
and horti-tabs; 2 tabs

That's it, hope this will help!

[bclee]

Your lights seemed ok. Just make sure that the stem plants are not shaded or planted in a dark corner. Not too sure about the effects of temp.

Some stem plants will grow bushier with periodic trimming. Hygrophila deformis is one of them. The leaves of Bacopa caroliniana will also grow bigger.

BC

[DEA]

the temperature doesn't matter wrt to the thickness of the stand
the stem plants i've tried all grow faster when it's warm

rotala indica loves more fert
i used to overdose regularly to get red tips along with my gratiola
i used tetra florapride last time
now using the bioplast series
my e. stellata is doing fabulously
it also might be that your tank wasn't matured
you can try a few stems to see how they do