Emersed frogbit?

[gid]

Is the plant below also known as Frogbit? I have seen it before but it was firmly rooted to the soil with leaves above the water surface. But from what I usually see, Frogbits are free floating small leaves that we usually see in LFS. Is the below some sort of emersed form?

I am looking to buy some that is the same as the pic for my emersed set-up. Please let me know if you know where to get some or if you have some to sell.

Thanks!

[Mystikboy]

Frogbit is a floating plant. What you have here is some sort of Echinodorus specie.

[Urban Aquaria]

Frogbits can be grown in emersed conditions, its actually already growing emersed as a floating plant anyways, just that its roots are drawing nutrients from the water column. The ones from LFS are usually just smaller off-shoots or grown under aquarium conditions so they are not as large or dense as established ones grown outdoors under direct sunlight.

You can also grow them in a vivarium sitting on loose gravel or soil, just have to make sure the roots are kept moist so that it can still draw nutrients.

The upward leaf growth pattern in the photo usually happens when the frogbits become crowded, so the new leaves start growing upwards and on top of each other. I've observed that happen in my tanks before.

[Mystikboy]

Ooh. Do the stems really grow that long, as in the left side of the picture?

[gid]

Thanks Bro UA, yea you confirmed my suspicion that it's frog bit. I saw some growing in a miniature pond in Krabi and it was a beauty. At first I thought it was water hyacinth but it seems too small (each leaf about 3cm wide) and was firmly rooted to the soil.

Any idea where I can get this 'vertical' form?

[Urban Aquaria]

Ooh. Do the stems really grow that long, as in the left side of the picture?

Yes, its possible... when frogbits are crowded together and there is no more space for the leaves to grow horizontally, they will start growing vertical leaves like in the photo.

Thanks Bro UA, yea you confirmed my suspicion that it's frog bit. I saw some growing in a miniature pond in Krabi and it was a beauty. At first I thought it was water hyacinth but it seems too small (each leaf about 3cm wide) and was firmly rooted to the soil.

Any idea where I can get this 'vertical' form?

The vertical growth is just a result of crowded conditions. To encourage that type of growth, you could simply grow the frogbits in a container with small surface area (so that it can quickly cover the water surface and is forced to grow new leaves vertically), or DIY a floating ring out of silicone airline tubing and confine all the frogbits in it, that can simulate crowded conditions for it too.