brazilian micro sword

[toledosun]

Hi all,

I recently decided to give up on my riccia lawn and got some grass like plants from Rainbow. It looks like the brazilian micro sword, but I'm not sure if that's the name.

Any forumers know if I got the name correct. Also, from the web, it appears that this plant requires cold temp (below 24 deg celcius) but my tank, with fan on is only about 27-28. Can it survive? Thanks.

[budak]

Can you check the tropica or dennerle databases for exact ID?

I suspect it's some Lilaepsis sp. Not a particularly easy plant. Needs very high light, CO2, and grows very slowly.

[Allen_1971]

Is this the plant you talk about?

[toledosun]

Nope, doesn't look like that. Your pic looks like there's a stem. This plant doesn't have any stems. Here's the link to the picture I was talking about. Can't copy from that site unfortunately.

http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/plilaebras.html

If any of you have been to Rainbow in the past few days, you should have seen it. I bought mine before CNY and they still have stock today.

[toledosun]

how do I insert pics?

[budak]

Allen, the Dennerle pix isn't very good for ID.
But toledosun's plant is probably Lilaeopsis brasiliensis. Not easy plant. Need patience. And best separate out the bunch into stems with 3-4 leaves and plant individually.

[Simon]

[toledosun]

Yep Simon, that's the one!

Don't mind the "patience" part since I'll rather have it grow slowly, but steadily than to "blossom" overnight and require weekly trimmings .

Questions I have is - in a tank where there's only micro sword and taiwan moss at a temp of 27-28 deg can it survive without CO2?

Also, I don't seem to see this plant being used as a foreground plant much. Any particular reason?

[budak]

My own experience is that with it only thrives with CO2 addition (and very bright light). When I tried it without, it just withers away after a while. It's probably because, like Glosso, it's a marsh plant which grows at the water's edge or shallows (where gas diffusion is high), so given the depth of our tanks, it can only thrive with added CO2. The 27-28 C should be fine.

Again, it's slow AND demanding. That's why it's not too commonly used. Slow also means algae easily covers it.

[toledosun]

oops, wrong plant to use then. The people at Rainbow told me it was quite hardy. In that case, I won't get anymore of it. Just spread out what I have and see how it goes.

Thanks.

[vinz]

You may want to check out another plant at Sam Yick's. Just saw them in a display tank at the Goldhill Sq branch, in the pet accessories section, a few days ago. They should be bringing the plants to sell this weekend. They might have it at Pet Safari too.

Was told they are a type of Echinodorus. Looks like half-sized dwarf sag. About 1 inch tall in the brighter areas. Up to 3 inches in the shaded areas. They have been in that tank about 3 to 6 weeks and have spread quite well. The tank lighting level is only moderate.

[pipsqueak]

----------------
On 2/7/2003 5:38:43 PM

Was told they are a type of Echinodorus. Looks like half-sized dwarf sag. About 1 inch tall in the brighter areas. Up to 3 inches in the shaded areas. They have been in that tank about 3 to 6 weeks and have spread quite well. The tank lighting level is only moderate.
----------------

Is it Enchinodorus Latifolius / Enchinodorus xingu ?

2nd picture from the top

[vinz]

Nyet. Does not look like that. What I saw looks like small dwarf sags.

[pipsqueak]

hmm.... no idea then..interesting..

[Wyrmbait]

Toledosun, it is definitely not a very hardy plant. I tried this with my non-CO2
planted tank. It looks okay for 2 weeks but starts to wilt after that (or floats
to the surface).

[peterkoh]

hi simon, is this what lfs tied to pieces of wood and sell them at a high price ?

[Simon]

peter, yes... this is one of the plants lfs usually tied on the driftwood

[toledosun]

Thanks Vinz, may drop by Sam Yick's to take a look. By the sound of things, there's really no such thing as cheap, good and easy to maintain foreground plants.

Who knows, may end up just using moss all round, like Chan

[bclee]

Toledosun, it depends on what you want. I've found E. tenellus very easy to grow and almost cost nothing (if you are able to get some from a forumer).

BC

[vinz]

You can always use Chan's and Sam Yick's trick, which is to segregate the substrate with transparent acrylic strips to prevent the plants over-growing to other areas. Then you only have to thin out the plants.

Try short crypts for foreground. Some (wendtii or becktii, I think. Check tropica catalog for info) will grow flat on the substrate given enough space and lights. Others will be parva and willisi (again check Tropica for info and difficulty). You'll have to get enough right fromt he start... cos they are so slow... :P