Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBulbs are a great way to start plants in a tank
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2017
I could not tell which end of this bulb was the top or bottom, so I put it in my tank and let it float for few days to see from which ends roots and leaves sprouted. Within a week, there were leaves and roots beginning to form. I normally do not fertilize my plants, and instead let them get their nutrients from the decaying debris in the tank's substrate. Since I ordered this plant to use in a tank that was newly set up, I put a Seachem Flourish Tablet below the plant's roots when I sunk them into the tank's sand substrate. After 12 days, the plant has about 9 leaves, the tallest of which are already 5 inches long.
I wanted a large plant for the back center of a 55 gallon tank for breeding freshwater Red Cherry Shrimp. I wanted a plant with leaves that would fan out to cover a large area to provide habitat for the small shrimp. For a large plant in a tall tank, this is the perfect choice. It's leaves have a very attractive wavy appearance and grow up to 20 inches tall.
One of the best things is that you don't have to worry about snail eggs and other such pests hitching a ride and infesting your tank. Many large plants are raised by commercial growers in ponds that have lots of snails, parasites, and other nasties growing in them, which will hitch a ride on the plants and wreck havoc with your tank. Quarantining plants and pretreating them to kill pests is a hassle, but necessary to avoid headaches otherwise. With these bulbs, it it much easier to clean them. Salt water dips which are recommended for killing pests on plants before putting them in your tank, but the salt water can often damage tender new leaves of plants. Since this plants is shipped as a bulb, it is easy to soak in salt for a few minutes to kill anything microscopic that is hitching a free ride.
A down side is that some bulbs may fail to sprout. When I order this one, I also ordered a Aponogeton Capuronii bulb from the same seller. The Capuronii bulb rotted without ever sprouting a leaf or root. From now on when I buy plant bulbs for my aquariums, I'm planning to first put them a bowl with some sand and water to make sure they sprout rather than rotting and releasing bad chemicals into the tank.
From everything I read about this species, it is also considered one of the easiest plants to grow for beginners or those of us who want live plants without lots of work maintaining them. It will grow quickly with medium light and does not require CO2 treatments. For beginners with a tall tank, a plant like this is a perfect accompaniment to a good filter, as it helps reduce ammonia, nitrate, and phosphate levels in a tank between water changes.
