Blyxa Japonica vs E. Tennellus

[bigjohnstud]

Hi all,

I've difficulty telling the 2 plants apart. Neighbourhood LFS' owners give conflicting opinions when I point to the plant in their tanks. As the requirements are very different (though they look similar to the untrained eye), parameters required differ greatly.

Can anyone tell me how the 2 can be differentiated? Thanks.

[DEA]

these two are quite easy to tell apart
e. tenellus has those tough leaves and runners connecting each other
b. japonica has very delicate leaves that bruise very easily, and they don't spread out runners

[juggler]

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On 8/6/2002 10:40:30 AM

Hi all,

I've difficulty telling the 2 plants apart. Neighbourhood LFS' owners give conflicting opinions when I point to the plant in their tanks. As the requirements are very different (though they look similar to the untrained eye), parameters required differ greatly.

Can anyone tell me how the 2 can be differentiated? Thanks.
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Blyxa japonica -- Grows upwards. New shoots branch from main stem. Is taller than E. tennellus.
E. tennellus -- New plants crawls along substrate like Sagittaria.

Blyxa

Tenellus

[bigjohnstud]

Thanks for the replies. What I notice is that these 2 plants are sold in small bunches in the LFS ie difficult to see which one is a crawler. Height also cannot be used at this point to differentiate them.

I know that E. Tennelus is a less demanding plant cf Blyxa Japonica , so imagine my disappointment when they melt on me (at least I thought I bought E. Tennelus). My parameters are suitable for E.T to florish but not for BJ (eg temp ~30 - 31C), in theory at least. Just want to clear this up so that I have comfort in knowing that nothing is wrong with my tank.

[Simon]

John, suggest u go to somewhere else whom the ppl can help u with the plants u wanna buy... try Teo at LCK lane 6c.. they r very knowledgable ppl.. that way, at least u know what u getting is correct.. IMO, its easy to tell the differences.. Blyxa have this centre stem and the leaves branch off from it, where as Tennellus looks like normal grass

[vinz]

John,

Blyxa, I can you give a few stalks.

[DEA]

if they melt, they're not e. tenellus
like i said, a simple feel of the plant will be enough to differentiate them, if you can't tell from sight
blyxa can be easily bruised, and often have holes in the leaves
tenellus is quite stringy in comparison

kf, wah rao, you still keep that link around, u saht saht [:]

john, for comparison, the plant in the same location is now e. tenellus

[bigjohnstud]

Thanks vinz for the offer. I'll feel bad if I take the plants knowing that they will not survive in my tank. Thanks anyway.

Thanks DEA for the comparison. I die die must try again; simply refuse to believe that E.T can't survive in my tank.

Will let you people know the outcome.

[juggler]

DEA: It's in the "My Tanks" gallery. I link from there.
And what a coincidence that John can compare the looks of the two plants at the same location in a tank!

[DEA]

oh, it's not a coincidence
you see the blyxa at the corner of the second pic? that's all it took to produce the blyxa in the first pic
i got sick of the e. tenellus and the algae trapped on the glass by it

[stressed]

Hi,

I do keep Blyxa but they never seem to be able to propogate. Doesnt melt either but grows upwards pretty slowly.

How do all of you manage to get it to grow and yet propogate it? Mine doesnt seem to be able to expand

Advice.....

[vinz]

Blyxa does not creep sideways like E. tennellus. They grow side branches of the main stem which you can pluck off and replant. Its a good idea to wait till the side shoots to grow roots of its own before plucking them, but I have successfully replanted blyxa that have not grown any roots yet.

[NinjaFly]

Err .. I thought that by plucking them off from the side will die/melt off eventually?
Vinz : When I redo my tank, can I get some from you to grow from it?

[DEA]

damn, i could have shown u how just 3 days ago
when blyxa grows up, you'll see them eventually split into twos and so on and so forth
just cut at the junction where the two stems meet and replant them individually
they will grow new roots very quickly
i believe this is their mechanisms of propagation in the wild too

[juggler]

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On 8/6/2002 10:51:18 PM

oh, it's not a coincidence
you see the blyxa at the corner of the second pic? that's all it took to produce the blyxa in the first pic
i got sick of the e. tenellus and the algae trapped on the glass by it
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I found that [Ramshorn] snails are great at reaching for those algae trapped between the glass and plants. I had that problem in my new setup. So I put in some of those Ramshorn snails to do the job.

[vinz]

Ninjafly,

If the plants are big enough to harvest, no problem. Just email me when you need them.

So far I have not experienced melt by plucking. Most times my harvest will float around in a tank of tap water for a week or 2 before they are all given away and they do fairly well.

[NinjaFly]

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If the plants are big enough to harvest, no problem. Just email me when you need them.
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Thanks Vinz.

I hope to do a nice planted tank with that the next time when I re-scape mine.

[DEA]

no snails can survive in my tanks
pH 5.5 in one, 6.1 in the other, high co2 input = dissolving shells
have not seen a snail since my apple snail died