# Bacopa monnieri



## Nate333 (Jul 5, 2004)

Hi,

I am putting together a 10gal planted tank, I saw the amano nano tanks and just fell in love with it, of course mine doesn't look anything like it :icon_redf, but any way I have 3.5 watts per gallon, I also have a yeast based co2 generater, and a aquaclear filter. The tank is been running for 2 months, I added some bocopa monnieri last week, 3 of the four bunches (2 two three stalks per bunch) look good, but there is one that looks like the base stalk is melting away, and I want to figure out why before it happens to the rest of the plants.

nate


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## gnome (Mar 9, 2004)

I love this plant, too roud:. It's perfect for nano-tanks because it's relatively slow-growing. I don't think I've ever had it melt from the base, but are you sure that maybe it wasn't injured (possibly pinched) *before* you planted it? Pull up the ones that are showing necrosis of the stem, snip off just the dead portion and replant the healthy part. It should be fine. B. monnieri has *never* given me any problems. Most plants do very poorly under my care, but this one - it's extremely hardy and under the most stressful situations, it's also extremely forgiving. 

I'm thinking that it's possible yours is still in the emersed form. It should transition to the submersed form without any difficulties, but it might be slightly more susceptible to problems like what you're seeing. Just try the snipping and replanting and give it some time. I'm sure it'll be fine. It's almost impossible to kill this plant, which is probably why it's banned in California. Oh - also, don't have it placed in the direct path of the filter outflow. Make sure the water is relatively still where the Bacopa is planted. 

Good luck!

-Naomi


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## Nate333 (Jul 5, 2004)

Thanks Naomi,

Its funny, my malasian snail did the job of releasing the plant from the gravel :hihi: , so all I have to do was tie a small lead weight to the plant and let it sink. Oh BTW these lead ties are pretty safe I hope  .

nate


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## gnome (Mar 9, 2004)

The lead ties (IF they're in fact lead) can be harmful if the water is acidic. Under alkaline conditions, they're relatively inert, but I prefer not to have them even within my zip code. I found that using stainless steel small-diameter nuts or washers are pretty effective. But if you plant with a pair of tweezers, weights shouldn't be necessary. What I do is to cut the lowest leaves into a spade shape so that it'll help to hold the stem in place. It's a little difficult to describe, but if you have a deep substrate, you don't even have to cut the leaves - just push the stem base far down enough that the first node (with leaves) is completely buried. The substrate above it will hold it down. 

Happy planting!

-Naomi


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## Nate333 (Jul 5, 2004)

According to your recomendation I took out the lead ties, I knew something that makes life easy has to be bad :icon_bigg. 

Also I have two crypts, two cambobas, a drift wood to which I attached a bunch of java ferns. I have ordered some water sprits, dwarf sag, Lysimachia nummularia, ludwigia repens, crypt wendtii and crypt willisii. I have two otos working hard around the tank and a bunch of Malasian snails (the pointy kind). I have 3.5 watts per gallon (10 gallon tank). 2 inch of flourite red on the bottom. I am thinking of getting some amono shrimps. and much, much later some neon tetras.

Any comments or suggestions will be very helpful.

nate


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## gnome (Mar 9, 2004)

> According to your recomendation I took out the lead ties, I knew something that makes life easy has to be bad :icon_bigg.


Sorry, man...:tongue: 



> Also I have two crypts, two cambobas, a drift wood to which I attached a bunch of java ferns. I have ordered some water sprits, dwarf sag, Lysimachia nummularia, ludwigia repens, crypt wendtii and crypt willisii.


Whoa! That's a lot of plants for a 10-gallon! Let's see... Crypts should do fine, but watch out for "generic" types you're not sure about. They can get huge. Even some wendtiis can grow large. C. wendtii v. 'Tropica' will stay a manageable size for a 10-gallon, but even then, it wouldn't be considered a "foreground" plant - unless, maybe, you're going to use it as a centerpiece. Water sprite should be easy, and know that dwarf sag can actually put out tall growth, even if it starts out short. The toughest ones I see on your list are cabomba and L. nummularia. Both of these need very strong lighting. Even with what you have, you may lose a lot of the lower leaves. A good way to deal with this is to "hide" the lower portions of the stems by planting bushy, low-growers in front. Maybe the willisii.



> I have two otos working hard around the tank and a bunch of Malasian snails (the pointy kind). I have 3.5 watts per gallon (10 gallon tank). 2 inch of flourite red on the bottom. I am thinking of getting some amono shrimps. and much, much later some neon tetras.


Sounds like it'll be a beautiful tank! Just remember that rosettes (like the crypts and sags) are going to put out some serious root systems. Be reasonably sure you plant them where you're going to want to keep them because sometimes, uprooting one established crypt could mean having to re-scape a very wide area around it. If you're not sure, use small terra-cotta pots temporarily. You can move them around to your heart's content and finally plant them if and when you've decided on a permanent spot. Or just keep it in the pot, if you so desire.

-Naomi


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## Nate333 (Jul 5, 2004)

Thanks Naomi,

Man who know putting together an aquarium could be this hard. I remember the good old days when I was a kid getting a goldfish bowl, of course the fish wouldn't last too long..............may be they weren't such a good old days after all, at least not for the fish :icon_cry: So may be it is better this way  

I was thinking of putting the ludwegia repens in the midground and pruning them to make it bushy. The teracota pot is a great idea, i have to make a trip to the garden store.

The plant that are already in the tank are doing great, I even see some bubbles under the bocupa and the java ferns, I guess they are oxygen bubbles, thanks to the co2 generater.

Also I am not worried about the plants getting too big, I have a 37 gallon goldie tank I will put it in there, ofcourse I can't gaurentee the plants will survive :icon_roll , but atleast my goldies will have something to snack on :icon_bigg 

nate


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