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"NEW" PLANT Congo

zanguli-ya-zamba

zanguli-ya-zamba

Seedling
Joined
6 Oct 2012
Messages
911
Location
Democratic Republic of Congo
Hi members,
Yesterday we went riding in the bush, and we passe trough a small river, where we stop to relax and refresh our self on that nice spot.
With ukaps mind in my brain, of course I went around the river to check for aquatic plants haha.
So by looking I have noticed that all the shore and some part of the river was full of hair grass.
It's a plant that looks like Eleocharis, only difference is that it doesn't have a stolon where new plantlet is growing. It is individual plant let for each leave. plant height is from 5 cm to 10 cm
So I decided to take pictures of the plant and the spot. Sorry for the quality but I took picture with my go pro. I have took a sample of this plant to try growing it in my tank.
Unfortunately I forgot the sample on the table where we had park the cars (stupid me) but the spot is not far from the main road, so will go back to take it again.

First picture will be on this post to see if it works.
9599546638


lets see if it works
 
I don't understand how to post directly from flickr to the forum. I would like the pictures to appear directly on ukaps.
I have push the button share in my album than I have copy past the HTML code in the window of insert image.

Can some one help me please
here is the link to the album can some one tell me if you can access to the album please
New Plant Congo

cheers
 
So do you have access to the album on filckr ??
If not I have found an other solution! I have put the pics on my iphone (just found an app that can do this)

so let me know please.
I would like to know what people think about that plant because it could be part of my congo only planted tank
 
Guys I am very sorry to post that much just for pic of one specie of plant (but it could be a new one lol)
So have someone have already see this type of plant coming from central or maybe west Africa ?
Plant
equnyzyq.jpg

ge8adevu.jpg


Spot where it grows
yqa4a3er.jpg

amusyqan.jpg

6ebeva5a.jpg


I have decided to upload on the forum for the lazy one that doesn't want to click the link Hahaha.

Cheers
 
Hi Thomas,
Looks like a kind of giant hair grass, but how about some of the other small plants just on the edge of the pond? You might try collecting those and see if they are aquatic or just pretenders.

Cheers,
 
ceg4048 said:
Hi Thomas,
Looks like a kind of giant hair grass, but how about some of the other small plants just on the edge of the pond? You might try collecting those and see if they are aquatic or just pretenders.

Cheers,
Click to expand...
Hi Clive ,
If you are talking about the one on the third pic on the left, I have already try it. But in a other color and it was in a smaller river (2 meter width) deep 1 M very slow moving water, and temperature very high maybe more than 30 C. This one was silver color, it has never settle in the tank. Full blast of CO2. Reaction was structural melting.
Saturday I went to a farm of a friend a mine, he is doing rice culture on Congo river wet land (2 km long ). I have seen the same plant, so I said now I manage a bit better CO2 let's give an other try. It now in my tank we will see.
 
It is to difficult to take the pic of that plant in the tank, with the phone.
But I don't think that it resist.
I have also take 3 different sample of plant that could be aquatic plants.
 
That will be interesting to see. Sometimes it's better to float the plant in a bucket for a week or so. If you pull it from a very brown water, the lighting in the tank might be too high by comparison.

Cheers,
 
I globally understand the idea of the bucket (transition from emerge to submerge) but master, if you have one of your very appreciate scientific explanation of this method (bucket for transition), I would be very happy to know the why of this.

Best regards
 
Hi Thomas,
It's not anything special mate. The plants in your pond experience the same conditions as the rainy season gradually raises the water level, or as the start of the dry season lowers the water level. Some parts of the plant will be under water and will grow submersed leaves while other parts of the plant will be exposed to air and will grow emmersed leaves while having access to CO2. Each area of the plant will develop according to the conditions it faces. It is not an "all-or-nothing" situation. If a particular leaf is in dark shade, that leaf will increase the concentration of chlorophyll to gather more light. If another leaf on the same plant is exposed to air and is in bright sunlight, it will reduce the chlorophyll content of that leaf. This is how the plant handles transition fro one season to the next. Each leaf determines what it needs for the conditions it has to deal with, regardless of what other leaves are doing. The extra CO2 that the leaf which is in air can gather, sometimes is enough to feed the whole plant.

So when we float the plant in the bucket it trigger responses in all areas of the plant to make physical adjustments, while at the same time allowing access to atmospheric CO2 so that it does not starve.

When we put a plant in the tank that was grown in a nursery, and then immediately flood the tank we do not give the plant the opportunity to transition and that's why we have so many problems. Those leaves are constructed to be in air, not water.

In your pond it takes a few weeks to dry out or to fill up, right? Not 5 minutes...

Cheers,
 
Hi CLive,
just a quick answer, because I don't have a lot of time.
Thank you for your nice explanation again !!!! Got it, and this is very logical.
So would you advice me if I want to set my tank in 3 weeks to choose now the plant I want in my set up, and put them for 2 weeks in a bucket ?
this could work with glosso and HC ? Or they are to small too have emerge and submerge leaves in this situation ? Or they are too small that they will sink ?

cheers master
 
Yeah mate, just put them in any container and keep them out of direct sunlight. I take trimmings and the floating pieces from pet shops that don't know how to take care of plants. I get their pond scum for free. Then I just put them in my laundry room sink with water and a stopper to prevent the water from seeping out and I don't even pay attention to them until I need them. The only light they get is what comes in from the window. They just grow as low tech. If the pieces sink, then I just keep the water level low. In nature, HC normally grows as I have described above, trapped in a crevice of rock, or on the bank of a pond or stream, with pieces sticking up into air and other pieces under water. This looks very disgusting, doesn't it? Too bad....This is life when you are pond scum.
9671305414_8307df24b3_z.jpg


Then, when I find space in the tank, I just stick them in and they carry on. after a few months they look amazing. What's all the worry about?
9655626989_30e1eabf97_z.jpg


Cheers,
 
Clive do you think that this giant hair grass could be aquatic ???
This is not not my pond lol this is a small river in the bush. As you can see in the pictures some of the hair grass is growing half emerge half submerge.
This week end I will decide the plants I will put in my next scape, and put them in a bucket on my balcony there is never direct sun there, but good ambient light (maybe too much, i don't know that).

cheers
 
Really, I have no idea mate. I guess it's at least amphibious, since it seems OK submerged in your image #2. Only one way to find out....grab a section of the mud with a sample and put it in a tank half submerged to see what happens as you gradually raise the water level. I just called it giant hair grass because that'w what it reminds me of. It could be Utricularia, or anything. If there are any flowers you might be able to take a macro picture and compare it to what you can find on the web.

Cheers,
 
Hi
Just wanted to say that I have select and put the plant in the bucket here is pic

nuqa6u4a.jpg


I was wondering something, most of the plant was growing half submerge half emerge.
Like the HC. It was growing in the pot and I cut all the tip that was growing outside the pot crawling in the water (pot is becoming too small)
I did the same on three big pots so I have a good quantity. Same for a big cryp, the pot was under water and the main plant has the main leaves growing emerge, but all the new sprout were growing under water.
Do you think that read plant are already adapted to submerge life and I can proceed to planting ? I will take pic of the plant today like that you can have an idea of what I said.
The only plant that was fully emerge is staurogyne, but I think that this plant is easy for transition.
Here is a sample of the stauro
8a2atu3e.jpg


Cheers
 
Hi Thomas,
I guess you can cut some of the submerged growth off and test it in the tank. It's very difficult to predict. That looks like some kind of crypt on the far left...

Cheers,
 
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