# Staurogyne Repens advice/experience



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

Just got a bit of this, would love to hear others experiences/advice on this plant...also would like to see pictures.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## anthony10292 (Aug 12, 2013)

Here is my s. repens carpet in my 40breeder:









Grown from two packs of staurogyne repens from petsmart
High light, press co2, and I dose ferts. They are FINALLY algae free!!

This plant does not creep or spread, you will have to trim and replant the trimming.


----------



## Shremph (Mar 26, 2014)

anthony10292 said:


> Here is my s. repens carpet in my 40breeder:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice carpet. 

Just received 40 stems and I hope to carpet an area of one of my tanks with it.

How tall do they grow if you don't propagate?


----------



## anthony10292 (Aug 12, 2013)

I saw a picture of a healthy bush of s repens, I may give that a shot in another tank.


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

anthony10292 said:


> Here is my s. repens carpet in my 40breeder:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Beautiful! I am toying with the idea of going for this look, but also thinking about doing the rest of my carpet in HC and kind of making the Repens into 4 or 5
Lush islands among the baby tears


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

anthony10292 said:


> I saw a picture of a healthy bush of s repens, I may give that a shot in another tank.



Also you say that it's, finally algae free, was this after adding co2 or ferts, what did you add/ change to get rid of the algae?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## anthony10292 (Aug 12, 2013)

After I started EI dosing, the algae subsided. 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


----------



## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

I have a love / hate relationship with this plant. I had a very nice full lush thick carpet of it, and it decided to just melt. no parameter changes in the tank, it just melted lol. It is slowly starting to come back, but not near as quick as it was


----------



## anthony10292 (Aug 12, 2013)

Same thing happened to a patch of my carpet as well. No changes or anything..

It has now recovered and filled back in though.


----------



## r45t4m4n (Feb 12, 2014)

Mine has algae and driving me nuts. I EI dose; recently reduced photo-period slightly and upped CO2, hopefully that helps.


----------



## bsantucci (Sep 30, 2013)

anthony10292 said:


> Here is my s. repens carpet in my 40breeder:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Everything I've read says this does spread by sending horizontal runners out, kinda like dwarf sag. I just planted some from petsmart myself, but haven't gotten to that point yet.


----------



## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

LOL- Talking about "getting bushy". This is what happened to mine after not trimming it for nearly a year. My kids thought it looked like a "giant frog" and thought I'd been trimming it, to make it look that way. 

My tank is a 225 gal, so you have that volume for reference.


----------



## anthony10292 (Aug 12, 2013)

O2surplus said:


> LOL- Talking about "getting bushy". This is what happened to mine after not trimming it for nearly a year. My kids thought it looked like a "giant frog" and thought I'd been trimming it, to make it look that way.
> 
> My tank is a 225 gal, so you have that volume for reference.


I'd like something like that lol. That would fill up my 40 completely. 

My staurogyne repens have never spread out horizontally. I have always had to trim and replant. 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

O2surplus said:


> LOL- Talking about "getting bushy". This is what happened to mine after not trimming it for nearly a year. My kids thought it looked like a "giant frog" and thought I'd been trimming it, to make it look that way.
> 
> My tank is a 225 gal, so you have that volume for reference.



That is really cool! There is no mound it is growing on? The substrate is level, if so that's crazy, the height on it, I didn't think that it could get like that!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## micheljq (Oct 24, 2012)

Awesome the carpet in the 225 gallons.


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

I like the 40B carpet, really nice...how much maintenance do you have to do to keep it manicured like that @anthony10292


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Default (Jan 10, 2014)

This was my 29 gallon, possibly one of my favorite plants, very heavy feeder and grows at a decent rate.
They grow both vertically and horizontally, in higher lights they will send side shoots (not runners) that creep quite a distance from the main plant.
Advice, they will choke each other out like no tomorrow, plant with enough space in between or you'll eventually have a bunch of dead or yellow leaves.


----------



## anthony10292 (Aug 12, 2013)

Very little honestly. I trimmed it about a month ago to get rid of all leaves with algae and its just now filled in. I find its a slow slow growing plant. 

Next time I trim, I really wont have any place to plant the trimmings so I don't know what I'll do with them. Def don't want to throw them away. 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


----------



## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

Seadon said:


> That is really cool! There is no mound it is growing on? The substrate is level, if so that's crazy, the height on it, I didn't think that it could get like that!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Lol- There's no mound per say, but there are three large volcanic stones under that mass that were arranged with the starougyne growing out from between them. Like I said- I didn't trim it for nearly a year. I finally got around to trimming it a few months ago and it wasn't fun. It made a huge mess and the plant itself had to be reduced to an ugly white mass that took a few weeks to green up again and look normal. Take my advice- don't let it get away from you. Trim consistently! LOL


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

Default said:


> Advice, they will choke each other out like no tomorrow, plant with enough space in between or you'll eventually have a bunch of dead or yellow leaves.



So should I have not planted mine in tight little groupings? I thought that would be the way to get them to carpet like shown in your picture, to plant 3 or four tight groupings and over time they would spread out and connect. But will they choke each other out planting in this way?..how did you start yours off to get such nice uniform coverage?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

anthony10292 said:


> Very little honestly. I trimmed it about a month ago to get rid of all leaves with algae and its just now filled in. I find its a slow slow growing plant.
> 
> Next time I trim, I really wont have any place to plant the trimmings so I don't know what I'll do with them. Def don't want to throw them away.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk



You could always sell them...or ROAK to me  lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## anthony10292 (Aug 12, 2013)

I'll keep ya in mind Seadon

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

anthony10292 said:


> I'll keep ya in mind Seadon
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk



Wow, thanks...please do, I'm always more than happy to pay a fair shipping price if someone has something cool they need to off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Default (Jan 10, 2014)

Seadon said:


> So should I have not planted mine in tight little groupings? I thought that would be the way to get them to carpet like shown in your picture, to plant 3 or four tight groupings and over time they would spread out and connect. But will they choke each other out planting in this way?..how did you start yours off to get such nice uniform coverage?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


In that particular tank I made a mistake by planting them with a 1cm or less distance apart and it proved to be a major problem in the long run. They would grow so dense and would try to compete with each other for light that most of the bottom stems would be bare and you end up with a lot of loose leaves.
I now plant them with 1 inch spacings and they will bulk up quite well, they will grow as individual main plants and may look less dense initially, but will last a lot longer.
If you're condition is good, they should fill in within 2 months and you won't even notice the spacing. This method will also allow for easier trimming and maintenance.


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

How large or small do you guys make your cuttings to replant?..I'm wondering what the minimum size would be to make a good strong cutting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

Also from what I'm gathering S. Repens is a relatively slow grower correct?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## bsantucci (Sep 30, 2013)

Seadon said:


> Also from what I'm gathering S. Repens is a relatively slow grower correct?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'm new to growing but I planted emersed for from petsmart about a month ago and it is really just now starting to take off. I didn't think it was growing much but it was growing down establishing roots. Each node grew like an inch down with roots. The leaves are now growing quick up top. No spreading yet though. 

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

bsantucci said:


> I'm new to growing but I planted emersed for from petsmart about a month ago and it is really just now starting to take off. I didn't think it was growing much but it was growing down establishing roots. Each node grew like an inch down with roots. The leaves are now growing quick up top. No spreading yet though.
> 
> Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk



Thanks, that makes me feel much better, I think that is what mine is doing as well. I hope lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

How large are the cuttings people are using to propagate these little guys and also what height do people generally trim them to?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

also, my fish have been ravaging the leaves of this plant, anybody else notice that these are fish magnets?..should I feed more often, maybe two small feedings instead of one larger one at night. It just sucks because im trying to get this stuff established and my fish are just pulling them up and eating the leaves off...do you think they will still be ok with 3/4 of the leaves off


----------



## jbig (Jul 13, 2012)

Seadon said:


> also, my fish have been ravaging the leaves of this plant, anybody else notice that these are fish magnets?..should I feed more often, maybe two small feedings instead of one larger one at night. It just sucks because im trying to get this stuff established and my fish are just pulling them up and eating the leaves off...do you think they will still be ok with 3/4 of the leaves off


i've never caught my fish in the act but it seems like they may be eating the lower leave of my s. repens as well.


----------



## TekWarren (Oct 6, 2013)

My female Endlers will pick at my s repens but not to bad. The thing that keeps frustrating me about this plant is that it goes through these cycles melt (other threads about this). It started again a couple weeks ago and has ramped up through the whole crop. The stems always remain and each time it has grown back thicker and looks great but I don't like how often the melts keep happening. I did recently double my DIY CO2 so I'm hoping maybe it is adjusting to that.

The melt off this time I think may have led to a bacteria bloom. Water clouded up and I had to drop in the UV filter. I am scooping tons of leaves out my tank daily while they shed. Looks pretty terrible in this mode at the front of my tank. About ready to pull it out and let my hydrocotyle sp japan fill it the front...


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

TekWarren said:


> My female Endlers will pick at my s repens but not to bad. The thing that keeps frustrating me about this plant is that it goes through these cycles melt (other threads about this). It started again a couple weeks ago and has ramped up through the whole crop. The stems always remain and each time it has grown back thicker and looks great but I don't like how often the melts keep happening. I did recently double my DIY CO2 so I'm hoping maybe it is adjusting to that.
> 
> The melt off this time I think may have led to a bacteria bloom. Water clouded up and I had to drop in the UV filter. I am scooping tons of leaves out my tank daily while they shed. Looks pretty terrible in this mode at the front of my tank. About ready to pull it out and let my hydrocotyle sp japan fill it the front...



Maybe that is part of my issue, because I don't catch them in the act OFTEN, and I have ramped up my co2 booster, I see them picking at the mass amounts of floating leaves more often


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## jrman83 (Nov 22, 2010)

Seadon said:


> How large are the cuttings people are using to propagate these little guys and also what height do people generally trim them to?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I trim mine nearly to the substrate and cut when they are about 1.5-2". You will want at least 1" to replant the trimming.


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

My fish while I was gone for 2 days, ate literally EVERY leaf off of these, do you think they will make it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Seadon (Mar 24, 2014)

I'm seeing little tiny leaflets growing back at the top of some of the stems...so apparently these plants are pretty hardy!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------

