any glossostigma experts out there?

[kogo]

i found some large mats of glossostigma ( at the LFS ) rooted to driftwood and growing out with no substrate attached to the roots. the mats were grown hydroponicly.

my question is weather they need to root for continued growth, or will they grow without being rooted in the substrate or another peice of driftwood.

personal experiances are appreciated.

 

[beleg]

Hi kogo.
I have grown glossos in the past , always in the substrate. I am not sure it can root on driftwood. The plant takes a lot of nutrients via its leaves as well as roots. Its roots can go as deep as an inch.As long as light, CO2 and enough nutrients are provided the plant will grow healthily in horizontal way. If you fail to provide the requirements the plant will change to vertical growth mode and eventually the stem at gravel level will rot and the plant will float to surface. Regular pruning is thus essential for healthy carpet looking effect of glosso.

Hope this helps.

 

[kogo]

thanks for the reply.

the glosso was attached to driftwood in the LFS (although loosly). it may make for an interesting experiment to try and grow it up the back glass.

 

[beleg]

Cool let me know your progress with the wood. It might be interesting to try it on wood..

 

[kogo]

well, ive had the glosso in the tank for a few days now and it is still rooted to the wood. the overall growth seems to be increasing, but a few pieces have broken off and i have replanted them in the substrate (along with a few clippings. still to early to tell (i think) if the glosso will grow well against the back glass or not. if it starts to look bad, i will just replant it as a ground cover.

the glass is dirty, but you can see the glosso on the left against the back.

the fish seem to love it and hide in and behind it. i also placed a DIY co2 outlet right behind it. i also plan on dropping the PH to about 6.5. right now the PH is high due to the fact that the fish were recently moved and have been living in hard water for the last 10months. now that they are settled, ill drop the PH to a more ideal range.




side note: the anacharis is comming out once the tank re-establishes its self LOL

 

[kogo]

well... sad news. i made a closer inspection of the glosso roots, and they were starting to "mush". i took this as a sign that growing without substate was not going to work.

i am still curious of the details on how the nursery was able to succesfuly grow these thick matts without the substrate. perhaps the substrate was simply washed off before shipping.

... anyway, i clipped the mat up into smaller peices and planted them as foreground plants.

sometimes it takes a few bad ideas to find a good new idea...

ill post new pics once the tank clears.

 

[beleg]

hi kogo, that often happens with glosso..

Make sure you plant the plant according to the attached image. If you don't have any pleco or catfish in the tank while they are rooting you will have easier time. Don't forget CO2 its a must for the plant.

 

[kogo]

the diagram is very helpful, i may have to go back and replant once again if they dont start to take off.

the tank is a 65g with eco complete & florite with a layer of gravel on the top. its lighted with 3 X 110w VHO and 1 X 75w VHO with two DIY CO2 bottles (brewers yeast)