# Tissue Culture Plants (Tropica)



## zerodameaon (Dec 2, 2014)

Pure plants, stuff that is not readily available in a lot of places, and better then the petco TC junk you can get. I had never heard of them until last night but I am considering tossing 30 bucks at it just because.


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## trujillp090868 (May 12, 2013)

Why not seems too good to be true....


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## larusaquarium (Feb 21, 2015)

I buy plants from Jacobs aquarium all the time. Usual plants cost average of $3 at his store. At this price you get very decent healthy plants. I don't see why any one would throw $18.99+$7 shipping for one cup of plant. 
Seems like throwing away money. If you have a decent set up in my experience even when I add a dying plant to my set up plants recover in less than a week and will be just as healthy as any other lab grown plant. So I think it's a big waste unless you just want to give tropica a try for fun.


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

19 bucks for a little cup of moss?


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## lksdrinker (Feb 12, 2014)

Yeah I saw the video too; but it didnt seem like Jacob had anything too special or unique there. I'm sure what he has is uber healthy and looks great. But you could get the same stuff from the LFS or even from other members on this site.

I'd be curious to hear if anyone who is not in the US has ever had any dealings with Tropica? Maybe I'm way off base and they're the best thing since sliced bread?


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## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

The reason for the high pricing is because I guess there's a big system for getting the plants over to the U.S., so the plants have to be shipped to three distributors before finally being shipped to him because the U.S. Is scared of getting some type of hitch hiker which makes no sense knowing its a tissue culture plant. After all that the plant has been sold for more and more each time so at the start it might have only been let's say 6dollars a cup but after it's been in each distributors hand the price has made its way up to let's say 15 dollars, and ten Jacob has to ale a profit as well so he has to up it to at least 18 to make it worth wild.


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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

I didn't realise you didn't have them. They are pretty widely available in the UK and prices are getting very similar to standard plants maybe 1.5-2x the price. There are a couple of different brands now which might be helping with lowering it. They seem to take off well and it's much easier to rinse off gel than remove rock wool.


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

Ive had great experiences withe the top fin plants in a tube, pretty sure its the same basic principal behind them. And as mentioned before washing gel off is WAY easier than rockwool.


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## randylahey (Sep 14, 2013)

Yeah , I'm surprised that they're not more readily available in the states. Up here in canada, every lfs has a display beside the cashier. Our tropica retailer gets a new shipment every other week. They go for $12.99 and the price per unit drops for every 2 you buy. Even with our brutal canadian dollar, that puts our price at about $10.39 us. Wow, we don't see many products costing less here.

As for the product itself, the 1 2 grow cups are good. The variety of uncommon species is better than the lfs plant shipments. I have purchased a few and I had a 90% success rate. ammania bonsai melted twice, i picked up some emmersed stems from a friend and they're thriving in the same tank. 
Talking to others, the freshness of the cups plays a huge part.


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

The only places I've seen these are in the box stores. I'll restrain myself on the sarcasm, but all I've seen are run of the mill plants, extremely small plants, with very large price tags. These plants are perfect for the box stores since their aquatic sections are barely able to maintain goldfish, much less healthy plants (sorry, I slipped). I haven't seen them in a single LFS along the entire I80 corridor crossing NJ with one possible exception. Absolutely Fish in Clifton sells small portion of mosses and things like micro swords in small sealed plastic containers that may or may not be tissue cultured. I only go to Petco for the 1$/G sale and the prices were beastly as I've mentioned, so I buy plants at the LFS as I do livestock. I don't care to see any more of them go away.


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## renesis (Dec 4, 2014)

I have very good success with these, and have even been able to multiply them by creating my own tissue culture media. I managed to turn one of those little cups of HC Cuba into about 20 jars within 3 weeks. They grow very fast in tissue culture media.


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

renesis said:


> I have very good success with these, and have even been able to multiply them by creating my own tissue culture media. I managed to turn one of those little cups of HC Cuba into about 20 jars within 3 weeks. They grow very fast in tissue culture media.


Maybe this is the key...

You buy tissue cuture and then mimic and propagate.

Is the shelf life of these plants better?


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## renesis (Dec 4, 2014)

tylergvolk said:


> Maybe this is the key...
> 
> You buy tissue cuture and then mimic and propagate.
> 
> Is the shelf life of these plants better?


I've found as long as the sucrose in the media is still present, that they will last, even if the nutrients run out - they will still stay very healthy off the sucrose. Once the sucrose goes, they need to photosynthesize on their own, which doesn't work too well in a sealed container due to the lack of gas exchange.

In my experience, to keep them growing, the media needs to be changed every 3-4 weeks. Without the change, I say it lasts about 7-8 weeks before starting to decline (in my media anyways, not sure what Tropica puts in theirs).


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## zerodameaon (Dec 2, 2014)

Price is down to $13.99, he made a video saying he messed up the price and has decided to lower them.


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

With regards to Tropica tissue culture... they retail in asia for about 9-10 USD, and are very high quality plants [best I've seen other than from other competent hobbyists]. They start small but grow very fast due to the growth hormones present (I'm guessing). I can carpet a 2 feet tank with 1 cup of issue culture HC in 2 months, so in terms of cost, it's actually cheaper than buying individual stems. 1 Cup of AR mini for example, has 14+ stems inside, though they're all tiny. They're also free of algae/pests etc, and last a long time on the shelf and transport well.

That being said; I don't think highly of the sellor above and won't elaborate further in a public post, anyway sellor reviews aren't allowed here i think

For example, all the AR minis in this tank was grown from about 3/4 of a cup of Tropica tissue culture, in less than 2 months


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## lksdrinker (Feb 12, 2014)

zerodameaon said:


> Price is down to $13.99, he made a video saying he messed up the price and has decided to lower them.


Thats enough for me to stay away altogether. To me that says he was trying to maximize his profit and once people started bringing up the cost he decided to lower it by claiming it was a mistake (this is of course purely speculation on my part!)

Of course I might change my mind if a bunch of people start getting great results with these things; but again as of right now it looks like all thats being offered are things that I can get elsewhere for less.

Heres to hoping someone will be able to prove me wrong in time!


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

Florida Aquatic nurseries is offering these now. 
http://www.floridaaquatic.com/articles_tissue_culture.html


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## zerodameaon (Dec 2, 2014)

That is not the same product as tropica. That said they do look OK at AFA (7.99 iirc) but the other stores around me that have them sell them for 12 bucks and they all look wilted and trying to tie petco for worse product. 

As for the price change maybe he was trying to make a lot of money or maybe it was a screw up, its hard to say without seeing how many orders he got before he changed the price.


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## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

Yea idk he seems like a nice guy, but I feel like he should have already triple checked to make sure it was right. I feel that he was hoping for a sell out quick so he left the prices high which I don't blame him everyone that sells plants is in it for the money and as a new company he need the extra money to expand. On another note I'm glad it lowered lol 5$ going back in my pocket 


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## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

I don't mean it literally when I said there all in it for the money, but that's a main part of having a business. 


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

This whole deal where a guy wearing a tee shirt is selling tropica plants out of his kitchen is really off.


Id sure like to see some news about AquaInnova?


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## zerodameaon (Dec 2, 2014)

mot said:


> This whole deal where a guy wearing a tee shirt is selling tropica plants out of his kitchen is really off.
> 
> 
> Id sure like to see some news about AquaInnova?


Why, if you buy anything from eBay or even Amazon(the not sold by amazon prodcuts) you have no doubt bought something from some guy wearing a bath robe in his kitchen. Home businesses are just that, home. Plus its all run through credit card companies, if you feel he ripped you off you have the same course of action you would buying plants from Dr. F&S.


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

Xiaozhuang said:


> With regards to Tropica tissue culture... they retail in asia for about 9-10 USD, and are very high quality plants [best I've seen other than from other competent hobbyists]. They start small but grow very fast due to the growth hormones present (I'm guessing). I can carpet a 2 feet tank with 1 cup of issue culture HC in 2 months, so in terms of cost, it's actually cheaper than buying individual stems. 1 Cup of AR mini for example, has 14+ stems inside, though they're all tiny. They're also free of algae/pests etc, and last a long time on the shelf and transport well.
> 
> That being said; I don't think highly of the sellor above and won't elaborate further in a public post, anyway sellor reviews aren't allowed here i think
> 
> For example, all the AR minis in this tank was grown from about 3/4 of a cup of Tropica tissue culture, in less than 2 months


Thanks for this post!

This post really demonstrates the benefit to tissue culture plants. 

I can understand why the price is higher and if your getting dense healthy plants why not pay a premium. No pest/algae; just great plants with a good shelf life.

Sounds very reliable...


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## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

i can say one last thing. I cant wait to be gettin me some of the ar mini he might have in the future! That plant is hard for me to find!


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

zerodameaon said:


> Why, if you buy anything from eBay or even Amazon(the not sold by amazon prodcuts) you have no doubt bought something from some guy wearing a bath robe in his kitchen. Home businesses are just that, home. Plus its all run through credit card companies, if you feel he ripped you off you have the same course of action you would buying plants from Dr. F&S.


Im very pro small business and own two myself. My point was that it seems crazy that after the long wait Tropica plants are now available through what appears to be a very small home business. I did not intend to infer that this was bad but just strange. How is it he was able to get these plants where apparently noone else could?


I think the fact that he was able to overcome whatever barriers there were to getting these plants in the US should be commended. The availability of these high quality plants is most welcome. And hopefully give the whole market a kick in the pants. No more snails, algae or rock wool sounds pretty dam good to me.


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## du3ce (Jan 26, 2013)

his youtube name is jacobsaquarium he explains how he acquired to carry the line in his vid


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## zerodameaon (Dec 2, 2014)

mot said:


> Im very pro small business and own two myself. My point was that it seems crazy that after the long wait Tropica plants are now available through what appears to be a very small home business. I did not intend to infer that this was bad but just strange. How is it he was able to get these plants where apparently noone else could?
> 
> 
> I think the fact that he was able to overcome whatever barriers there were to getting these plants in the US should be commended. The availability of these high quality plants is most welcome. And hopefully give the whole market a kick in the pants. No more snails, algae or rock wool sounds pretty dam good to me.



I follow you, sorry about that. It sounds like he was just first in line, happened to contact them right as they were looking for retailers and he got lucky. Hopefully these end up showing up like they were in his video, because I can buy TC plants in the bay area, but so far they are not worth the money. They are all melted and look inferior to the stuff in the tanks next to the display save for AFA in downtown SF. Even those are the same brand as the other places but I suspect they are able to get them in and out fast enough to not deplete the gel.


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## CoryWM (Dec 7, 2010)

They'll be everywhere in a month to any store that wants them. They ran an ad for the tropica plants in Amazonas magazine.

We are not shipping due to weather etc. But my plants will be landing next week. I'm buying them from a wholesaler in Cali.


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

tylergvolk said:


> http://youtu.be/TgzpOM_QCJ8
> 
> I ran across a YouTube video where Jacobs aquariums got a shipment of Tropica plants, which are plant tissue culture. These plants are lab grown and micro propagated but what's so special about them besides the steriliness and health. *Jacob says he's the currently the only guy selling these plants in the usa.*


Jacob is apparently misinformed. (to give him the benefit of the doubt)

My LFS had these 3 weeks ago. At $11.99 per pot. (you can just see most of the price figure in the photo, I wish I had panned up a touch)


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## Teishokue (May 12, 2013)

Actually, at petsmart you can find plants that are also lab grown. With similar agar gel substrate for 6.99-8.99. They come in a vacuumed package


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## brooksie321 (Jul 19, 2014)

Teishokue said:


> Actually, at petsmart you can find plants that are also lab grown. With similar agar gel substrate for 6.99-8.99. They come in a vacuumed package


+1, I've had mixed results with them. I've tried pretty much all they offer.. all positive for the most part. A couple stunted ar packs but the rest has really taken off. Takes a couple months to establish bit once it's happy it's on!


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## zerodameaon (Dec 2, 2014)

kman said:


> Jacob is apparently misinformed. (to give him the benefit of the doubt)
> 
> My LFS had these 3 weeks ago. At $11.99 per pot. (you can just see most of the price figure in the photo, I wish I had panned up a touch)



To be fair he does specifically say internet retailer not the only retailer in his video.


If that LFS is in LA then they most likely they got them from the same place, and I bet he was told he was the only one. Same thing happens with car parts, small custom parts maker tells 4 stores spread out that they are the only ones to get it and being so far apart they do appear to be the only retailer with it.


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## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

mot said:


> Im very pro small business and own two myself. My point was that it seems crazy that after the long wait Tropica plants are now available through what appears to be a very small home business. I did not intend to infer that this was bad but just strange. How is it he was able to get these plants where apparently noone else could?
> 
> 
> I think the fact that he was able to overcome whatever barriers there were to getting these plants in the US should be commended. The availability of these high quality plants is most welcome. And hopefully give the whole market a kick in the pants. No more snails, algae or rock wool sounds pretty dam good to me.



I'm sure it really came down to knowing that this business man(Jacob) unlike most of the retailers that might be bigger as a store has over 17k subscribers and using him would be the best bet I'm my opinion because he can spread the word out faster than lefts say your Lfs that might be a big store but doesn't really have the people Jacob has watching his videos. If that makes sense 


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

treyLcham said:


> I'm sure it really came down to knowing that this business man(Jacob) unlike most of the retailers that might be bigger as a store has over 17k subscribers and using him would be the best bet I'm my opinion because he can spread the word out faster than lefts say your Lfs that might be a big store but doesn't really have the people Jacob has watching his videos. If that makes sense
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks for the heads up Ill have to check it out.


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## bermuda onion (Dec 31, 2010)

For these 2 little bags of plants here in Bermuda.....$49.90...yes thats right 50 bucks! Island life for ya...


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## JohnEX (Jan 28, 2004)

bermuda onion said:


> For these 2 little bags of plants here in Bermuda.....$49.90...yes thats right 50 bucks! Island life for ya...


wow! I would still be using plastic plants if real plants cost that much here.


I've had good luck with the Petco tissue cultured plants, but I haven't tried anything more exotic than java fern and anubias.


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## zerodameaon (Dec 2, 2014)

I find it funny the US let these in but had issues with the rock wool plants, they are not sealed, they are like larger salsa cups where the tops just pop on. Now the plants seem to be of good quality and nothing wrong with them its just funny what they have issues with.


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## morecoffee (Jul 7, 2015)

*More in stock*

They have more in stock. I ordered some Marsilea crenata.



renesis said:


> I have very good success with these, and have even been able to multiply them by creating my own tissue culture media. I managed to turn one of those little cups of HC Cuba into about 20 jars within 3 weeks. They grow very fast in tissue culture media.


Can you explain the process you did? Would I beable to use most my Marsilea crenata in the cup and reuse the media it came in to start some more cultures without having mad scientist equipment?


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## BradH (May 15, 2008)

I just ordered some from aquariumplants.com a few weeks ago snd I don't think it would be possible to re-use the gel.


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