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Tips on utricularia graminifolia?

Wolfito

Member
Joined
29 May 2019
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26
Location
Bucharest
This is my 2nd attempt with this type of plant. any hints? I placed some of it in tropica soil and some in quartz intert gravel.
 
I could never get it to grow under water either; that is where I planted it. Like Darrel says it really doesn't like being submersed.
It's easy to grow emersed though, and once established it will spread and grow submersed, but not necessarily where you won't it to ;)

UG growing emersed (and submersed, LHS) through mini Christmas moss on DW...
38747302324_769ae55960_b.jpg
 
It's an afixed aquatic Utricularia and it grows and survives very well submersed in rather shallow conditions. If you grow it on the window sill it is no problem to completely flood it now and then. Matter a fact it seems to like very much if done correctly. Maximun half an inch water anything deeper you might run into CO² issues.

The biggest concern are the water parameters. Since it feeds mainly as carnivore. Catching micro organisme and thus as any type of carnivorous plant it evolved naturaly in soft and rather nutrient poor invironments. Tho the substrate needs some organic composition for the micro organsime to feed off to again provide prey for the plant.

Regarding this natural fertilization cycle its a very delicate natural balance, producing its own nitrogen etc. from what it catches and likely also takes up what the nitrifying bacteria produce in the soil or in the biofilm on the plant itself. All this is sufficient and all it needs.. In most areas in the world tap water is already much to hard containing to much salts and makes it invironment uninhabitable for it. Than using this and adding dry salts on top makes it even harder on it.

It's a very beautifull and mysterious plant sp. that listens very closely to its invironmental conditions and it is extremely hard on us to artificialy create a constant for something delicate like this. I've tried it over and over again with quite a few different Utricularias some aqautics and this little afixed aquatic. Spend quite some cash and tried different conditions high and low tech from down in the substrate to close to the surface in the mosses. And at one point it seems to thrive looking healthy, me proudly thinking and yelling "i finaly did it"! And all of a sudden something goess south and the fun and investment flies out of the window as fast as it came, leaving me frustrated and again defeated behind. All without any obvious visual detectable reason.

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/aquatic-utricularias.39267/

Till now all topics about it die a slow death and slowly sink away into the deep cravises of the net. I'm yet not ready to give up on it, i'm still dreaming about creating an aquatic utricularia scape one day.. But it is hard to find a constant source for affortable aqautic Utricuarias. Till now all sources i got the plants from seem to also finaly dry up and go sillent, probably running into the same issues as i do.

I have only theories on my mind why it always is prone to fail.. And my best guess is it is difficult the maintain a small volume invironment that never crashes in providing enough micro organisme as food source. Take for example the people trying to maintain a Daphnia population in a fish tank. That always seems to Boom and than completely Crash. It might just be, that the Utricularia in the fish tank simply crashes simmultanously with a crashing micro organisme population we are unable to maintain and unable to detect.. :) It's a theory, but my gut tells me, that might be it.

Because i was able to keep this for a year and this is UG as it should grow and develop in an aqautic invironment..
dscf5485-kopie-jpg.jpg


And then, it still crashed and all withered away without me changing a thing..
 
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Hi I had UG growing really well in my last tank
700l
T5 200w
seachem fertilisers just double recommended dose
30% water changes every 2 weeks
Low co2 drop checker always blue/ green
Aquasoil substrate
It was a weed from day one
I got it in its submersed state maybe that was the difference.
I put some in my little emersed setup where hc and mc grew well and the UG did nothing, didn’t die but didn’t grow for months.
Maybe it just doesn’t like the transition.
 
This is my 2nd attempt with this type of plant. any hints? I placed some of it in tropica soil and some in quartz intert gravel.

UG was the plant that drew me to aquascaping, i fell in love wit a tank covered with a waving, lush and vibrant green UG carpet!
I instantely wanted (not wanted but needed) that.
Needless to say that my first try was an eyeopener...
It's been a while since my last attempt. I've tried 3 or 4 times during my first 12-24 months of aquascaping but failed. Once it stayed alive but i became very thin and rather ugly, nothing like the lush carpet i aimed for...
Focused on other plants first so i could tackle it again when i had some more experience, litteraly put it on a hold before it became my aquatic achilles heel.
I kept looking out for it, read a lot of do's and don'ts.
Read tips on waterparameters, lights, fertz, planting technique, ... I found more fails than wins.

But most of those tricks, spec's, tips, ... became rather futile when i was reading the journal linked below.
That tank is full of fertz, loads of light and troughout the journal the UG is being pruned, planted, replanted, uprooted, thinned out and moved around all the time and with al lot of "swag" and nonchalance..
But look and behold: it just seems to come back in full glory, looking great every single time.... It's a great plant when it thrives!
In this tank (or with this caretaker ;)) it doesn't seem to care that much about being submersed, seems to thrive in highly fertilized water and even the different planting/pruning techniques seem to have no impact on it's health and growrate.
It acts like the easiest of plants suddenly?
Is it his TLC, the sound of his voice, the words his whispers to it or is it (more likely) his skillful approach?

Still did'nt figure out if this (seemingly deadeasy success) made me happy (maybe even slightly hopeful?) or if it took away the little glimmer of hope (and confidence ;))i still have/had?
:lol::confused:
Anyhooo... it proves that it is doable...
One day...

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/dutch-something-or-the-other-120-gal.17797/page-7
 
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That figures...that's Tom Barr's journal. He can grow the heck out of anything and everything...plants that the rest of us mere mortals can only dream of growing...like UG for instance :rolleyes:
 
That figures...that's Tom Barr's journal.

:rolleyes:
Yeah, I know...
:shh:

Is it his TLC, the sound of his voice, the words his whispers to it or is it (more likely) his skillful approach?

I guess it will remain a mystery... ;)

He can grow the heck out of anything and everything...plants that the rest of us mere mortals can only dream of growing...like UG for instance :rolleyes:

The truth can be so brutal! :)
But again: his nonchalance and swag in handling, trimming and (re)planting UG all the time was hard to read and harder to accept, I have to admit that.
I believe he even described it as a weed at a certain moment...
UG and weed in one sentence???
I mean, seriously!!!
That was uncalled for!! ;)

Maybe this chill approach is part of his secret? Maybe UG feels our fear and stress when we handle it? :)
I even tried dipping my hands in green paint at a certain moment but sadly: green hands did'nt give me the "green fingers" i aimed for...
:(
:D
Anyway: i think i am almost ready to give it another go, this thread aroused my desire and ambition.
I want a lush and waving UG carpet.
I NEED one!
 
Oliver Knott did the same back in his phase active days (there’s still some archived photos)
He grew UG without any difficulty in several scapes and display tanks
 
Haha, where he answers the question about UG beeing difficult on water parameters and high ferts regime with

"Anybody who told you that is smoking medical weed.. Because i grew the snot out of it on high ferts."

Ok, i respect the guy very much, i know his history, education and field experience, red all about it.. I take my hat off for this man.... But that statement iswith a lot of ego and bit of self-glorification, a downplay taking everybody for a ride and making you feel a total dumb @ss that you fail (all the time). Humorful and teasing statement but not to take seriously imho.. Especialy if he only grows it and shows it and not to elaborate on why he is so succesfull with it. And looking very close to the pictures i definitively see discolorations in his UG carpet and that it is also kinda strugling and on the tipping point most of the time.

In theory all scientific data on carnivorous plants say it's in nature it is only found in invironments very low in nutrients. There is no carnivore plant nursery in the world advicing you to fertilize the crap out of these plants and it's ok to do so. On the contrary... And thats not because they all smoke medical weed..

Obviously there are exeptions to the rule.. I also grew UG for a rather extensive periode very succesfully in a high fertilized high tech invironment. Tho never grew it as a carpet but as it naturaly grows as afixed aquatic very shallow at the surface. In low tech i grew it for months a tad deeper down but still not in the substrate and it grew 10cm long leaves. And still in both cases one day it simply stopped thriving and it died completely off. I have absolutely no clue or any form of evidence why it decided not to like it anymore and die.

Best guess beeing very succesfull for a very long term, is more beeing lucky than knowing what you do. Do the same thing over and over again for 9 out of 10 times. Show that and i'm convinced.. Else 1 to or 3 swallows still don't make a summer.. :rolleyes:
 
I reckon that's grown emersed and then flooded for the photoshoot...:p

ano 2005
194th day after set up - The final picture -

This aquarium was complete sold to a private customer. I say good bye my friend :) one of my personal favorite aquarium the last months because of this amazing new plant: Utricularia sp...an upcoming star...I'am sure.

I wonder how long the private customer enjoyed this rather bouncing star after the purchase.. :) But a star never the less..And probably i'm to critical in terms of succes vs time. :rolleyes:
 
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Hi all,
I also grew UG for a rather extensive periode very succesfully in a high fertilized high tech invironment. Tho never grew it as a carpet but as it naturaly grows as afixed aquatic very shallow at the surface. In low tech i grew it for months a tad deeper down but still not in the substrate and it grew 10cm long leaves. And still in both cases one day it simply stopped thriving and it died completely off. I have absolutely no clue or any form of evidence why it decided not to like it anymore and die.
My guess would be that long term success is the issue. My experience of growing Utricularia sp. (other than U. gibba) is the same, very much boom and bust.

cheers Darrel
 
A tank in the ADA Galery allegedly running for many years with Glossostigma elatinoides and Utricularia graminifolia.


Now Balazs seems to be very inspired by this tank and now is trying to do something similar.


Main tips are dry start for 2 weeks and don't dose with N but only PK. :)
I guess i always fail, because i always have to much nitrates >20ppm in my tap water.

Its a very resent video uploaded early november.. Thus i guess not to miss a future update on this tank you need to subscribe to their channel.
 
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