Tuesday 13 December 2011

PELLIA (Monosolenium tenerum) ??

I'm not sure if this Pellia plant is Monosolenium tenerum or Endiviifolia, but they do look similar. I never tried to keep this in my tank, as - with the plant twisting and making it difficult to tell its topside from its underside- it can be quite hard to successfully tie on to driftwood. I did however, prove some of this type of Pellia was aquatic by keeping it in a plastic container for 2 weeks ... and it appeared to be growing nicely, sending out new shoots & spores.  These pics are of an  emersive form.






JAVA MOSS (Vesicularia dubyana)

Java Moss its quite an easy plant to keep. They prefer cold water and less light, but their growth is very slow. I went to collect some in the wild where it was growing in its emersive form. This moss was located just behind my house in a palm oil plantation. To find this moss, they only grow under the shade of trees and in very wet conditions. This plant can be tied to driftwood or rocks, or can be laid on the substrate like carpet; but it can sometimes get messy.
More infos about Java moss, you can go to: aqua moss 
Enjoy the pics!






You can see the pics of this type of moss growing submerged/underwater after a month in my tank here : Submerged form of Vesicularia dubayana

Monday 12 December 2011

JAVA FERN (Microsorum Pteropus)

Java fern (Microsorum pteropus) is an easy plant to grow in your tank; but based on my experience, I've failed to keep this plant previously. The plants turn brownish and melt away, but some plantlets appeared on the malted leaves. This is how Java fern reproduces new plants. Some aquarists argue that Java fern dislikes strong light, prefering low or dim light instead; whereas others have proved that Java fern do like high light and can thrive sucessfully ... perhaps it depends on water chemistry (but I'm not a chemist!). I went to Pahang recently and saw this Java fern growing in their natural habitat. Here are some of my photos of Java fern in their natural habitat:
Crypt. affinis growing in the water, but out of view
took some of these for my tank



these are growing on the edge of the stream