crawling stem plants?

[wahahaha8]

Hi, was searching through old discussions and saw that some of you guys mentioned that if the lights are high enough, plants like MM, Rotala indica and H difformi will crawl. Can you guys tell me how much wattage must the tank have in order for the plants to crawl? Thanks alot!

[vinz]

What sized tank? The WPG rule does not scale well to extremely small and extremely large tanks.

Also depends on what kind of light you are running. PL lights will have a hard time penetrating far deep enough in a 2ft tall tank to create the right conditions. Whereas a single MH will do the job in the area immediately underneathe it for the same tank.

[FC]

May I know your name, please?

If you want easy stem plants that stay low, go for Elatine Triandra. Find out more here:
http://www.killies.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3296

[hwchoy]

May I know your name, please?

haha Freddy, are you confused which forum you are in?

[wahahaha8]

ok, thanks ..my name is william

[FC]

haha Freddy, are you confused which forum you are in?

Sounds like one . Not trying to change anything here, it may not be appropriate but I like to know who I am talking to, just not used to call someone "wahaha" or similar .

[vinz]

Well, Freddy, it's your prerogative to ask the name of the person you are addressing. It's also their prerogative not to give their real name.

[SmallFish]

Hi, was searching through old discussions and saw that some of you guys mentioned that if the lights are high enough, plants like MM, Rotala indica and H difformi will crawl. Can you guys tell me how much wattage must the tank have in order for the plants to crawl? Thanks alot!

Hi,

I have MMs in my 3ft tank. Imho, they do crawl (you will need to plant them horizontally rather than vertically), but only for a few weeks without manual intervention. Thereafter, offsprings from side-shoots will grow out and because these grow vertically, you will soon have upright MMs. Unless of course, you push them down horizontally each time a new shoot springs out.
FYI, my light wattage is about 3.3wpg.

Cheers.

[zenscape]

small fish, I don't think what you had described means your MM was crawling. It was just MM planting horizontally.

For a stem plant that really crawls, it will grow horizontally, and in extreme case, "crawling" on substrate. The freshly grown sideshoots will follow suit and it will continue to insert roots from the stem to the soil and this will go on until it spreads wide and far on the ground.

So far, I have only seen Rotala sp. green crawls in Sam Yick's display tank (marine parade branch).

High intensity of lighting is required.

[Justikanz]

I was using 2 x 24W T5HOs in a 2ft tank that is 18in tall and my Hygrophila difformis crawls... Just my experience...

[FC]

Well, Freddy, it's your prerogative to ask the name of the person you are addressing. It's also their prerogative not to give their real name.

Thank you for your response.

Actually, many people has mistook that I am asking for real name (who cares to know that?), a name to call, like a nick name (not "1234" or "siaobu" kind, just something you would give yourself to a stranger on the street) is suffice.

[FC]

I was using 2 x 24W T5HOs in a 2ft tank that is 18in tall and my Hygrophila difformis crawls... Just my experience...

Yes, that is provided the difformis has not grow dense and nothing is permanently shading it. Try tuning off the light or just one of the 24 watts lamp for 2 days, the difformis will struggle upwards, searching for light.

[Justikanz]

Yes, FC, I guess that was what wahahaha8 (Ok, now I know why you asked for his name... ) was asking. Under what conditions will stem plants crawl... However, an interesting point I observed is that even when shaded, the plant will rather crawl to an opening before sending out leaves. Any older leaves in the shaded region grew larger, though...

[FC]

Justikanz,

Saw your blog, enjoyed the whole home page.

Can you share with me your tank's information on:
1) temp (any chiller?)
2) lighting period
3) base fert type and brand
4) CO2 level (ppm or bps)
5) filter type

Thanks!

[Justikanz]

I assume you were asking about the tank with the crawling H.difformis... The tank is a 2ft x 18in x 18in tank, lit by 2 x 24W T5HO tubes for about 14 hours. I use soil from AZOO and seldom fertilize. I think I had CO2 on and off during the period I have the H.difformis. Filter is EDEN501... Fauna is just Endler's Livebearers...

Thanks for reading my blog... Had not posted in a LONG time liao...

[wahahaha8]

Guys, thanks for all yr replies... maybe i should consider getting MH or T5 to make my stem plants crawl and forming a slope (just like sam yick marine parade).

[wahahaha8]

Guys..i got 1 more question..does it means that if the plants are being provided with high intensity light..it will tend to grow shorter..er i mean it won't reach the surface so fast..hope you guys understand my question! haha

[ranmasatome]

High light also means very quick algae problems if you havent got the tank down right.. just a point to note.

[SmallFish]

small fish, I don't think what you had described means your MM was crawling. It was just MM planting horizontally.

For a stem plant that really crawls, it will grow horizontally, and in extreme case, "crawling" on substrate. The freshly grown sideshoots will follow suit and it will continue to insert roots from the stem to the soil and this will go on until it spreads wide and far on the ground.

So far, I have only seen Rotala sp. green crawls in Sam Yick's display tank (marine parade branch).

High intensity of lighting is required.

My experience: what I see is that the main stem of my MM does insert new roots along its nodes as it grows ('crawls') horizontally. However, most new shoots sprouting out from this main stem tends to grow upwards, some does 'crawl' though.

[FC]

...lit by 2 x 24W T5HO tubes for about 14 hours.

That it is. The 14 hours light period gave the plant ample time to receive the energy it wanted. What happened is the plant (in this situation with no hurry/hunger to reach for light) would rather crawl, spread itself over the floor as much as it can find to dominate the ground against its' competitors neighbour (if any). It is survivor instint. Once that is breached, it will then develop upwards.