Do you know what type of Bolbitis is in your tank?

[rwalker]

Recently I bought some Bolbitis from a brother. See image below:


It looks slightly different from the one I saw on the web (image below is from PlantGeek).



After doing some research, it seems to me that there are at least two 'common' types of Bolbitis heudelotti, a shorter one (~6 inches) and a much taller one .

Seems like mine is a shorter one and I wonder how many types of Bolbitis are there in Singapore aquarium.

[michael lai]

I do not know how many species there are but bolbitis has a tendency to remain 'dormant' for a period of time when introduced to a new environment. Also the amount of light available and temperature affects the plant greatly, mine in a low light tank grows tall, whereas the others in a high light tank grows like a shrub, dense and short.
Boths pictures above despict the same plant, the dark green picture tells of a healthy bolbitis specimen.

[benny]

Oh.. there are many, many species..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolbitis

I believe there are only 2 aquatic varieties that are in the aquarium trade. Bolbitis heudelotii, the African/Congo water fern, and one other Asian variety which I can't recall the name.

Cheers,

[Quixotic]

There is an Asian species called B. heteroclita in the trade, but the leaf shape is totally different, and it isn't fully aquatic. I am not sure of any other Asian species that is available in the trade.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ead.php?t=9908

Could be:

1. B. heudelotii grown under different conditions,
2. some B. heudelotii cultivar/variant, (The leaf shape looks familiar and if I remember correctly, someone mentioned it being B. heudelotii variant originating from Thailand but who really knows...), or
3. some unknown Bolbitis sp.

Off topic, interesting to note there is an endemic Bolbitis sp. from Singapore, i.e. B. singaporeansis. Unfortunately though, it is now extinct.
http://staff.science.nus.edu.sg/~siv...1_archive.html

[rwalker]

Thanks all for the reply. Below is where I got the idea from about different types of B. heudelotti.
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Plants/Bolbitis.html

May be we all post a picture of our B. Heudelotti and compare the sizes and shapes . Hahaha, may be it is a job of botanist to do a compilation.

A side note, about B. heteroclita, I have this plant in my tank. Now I know why the new shoots are always small and not so healthy looking - it does not appreciate fully submersed.