This is really a neat plant. In the wild it grows as an emergent aquatic out in rainforest swamps. I hope that I can keep it short enough to maintain in the tank.
Ripariums for Plant Filtration
- Thread starter hydrophyte
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If I had the budget that is what would probably happen in the end.
There are some relaied aroid plants that get a lot bigger than that C. johnstonii. Many of them are rare species that just grow out in the jungle in South America or Southeast Asia.
Another related tropical used sometimes for pond gardening is Lasia spinosa (below, arrow), although it could also start to get much too big for a tank pretty quick. Here is a shot with one in a pond at Fairchild Botanical Gardens in Miami.
There are some relaied aroid plants that get a lot bigger than that C. johnstonii. Many of them are rare species that just grow out in the jungle in South America or Southeast Asia.
Another related tropical used sometimes for pond gardening is Lasia spinosa (below, arrow), although it could also start to get much too big for a tank pretty quick. Here is a shot with one in a pond at Fairchild Botanical Gardens in Miami.
What's the growth habit like? Vertical stem, rosette, rhizome, other? Do you plan to use active measures to keep it small, or are you relying on limited space/resources to stunt it? Maybe it'll be like pothos and just stay small when grown indoors.
The C. johnstonii grows as erect rosette. Thus far it has grown very slowly, so maybe it will stay a manageable size for a while longer. I am hoping that it might grow new little pups around the base and that I can divide them and to start new plants as the original gets too big for the tank. Have you ever had any experience with any similar plants? I hope that I can keep it going. It has such great leaves.
Very nice plant, love the red on the leaves if it could be paired with green/red guppies would be very interestinghydrophyte;3654197; said:The C. johnstonii grows as erect rosette. Thus far it has grown very slowly, so maybe it will stay a manageable size for a while longer. I am hoping that it might grow new little pups around the base and that I can divide them and to start new plants as the original gets too big for the tank. Have you ever had any experience with any similar plants? I hope that I can keep it going. It has such great leaves.
The only rosette-forming aroid I've tried in a tank is Peltandra virginica; it's still too early to say what it's going to do. If it were a stem plant it would be easy to "bonsai" it, but I don't know what you can do with a rosette to keep it small. I guess if it has enough leaves you can just trim away the bigger ones. Most rosette plants like to put out pups anyhow, so hopefully that strategy will work if all else fails.
Those are some beautiful little cats! This is your 50 gallon setup, right? I look forward to seeing it come together.
Those are some beautiful little cats! This is your 50 gallon setup, right? I look forward to seeing it come together.
I have a few different rosette habit plants that do well in ripariums, and they all generally do form little offsets around the base of the plant as it grows. Spathiphyllum peace lilies are especially nice and easy to propagate this way. I also really enjoy several different dwarf taros, including Colocasia fallax.
This one is planted in a riparium planter if you look down around the base of the plant you can see a couple of the runners that grow away from the crown for some distance then root and form new little plantlets.
This one is planted in a riparium planter if you look down around the base of the plant you can see a couple of the runners that grow away from the crown for some distance then root and form new little plantlets.
Wow. I just found this and wanted to let you know that is some awesome work. I would not mind trying my hand at this type of setup.
