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Think I’ve made a mistake!

Andrew C

New Member
Joined
3 May 2020
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24
Location
Peebles, Scotland
A week ago I started on a dry start with my new mini M with HC, Eleocharis and Blyxa Japonica.

A week on the eleocharis and HC look fine and have grown a little but the blxya has started to melt away a bit.

I done a little more reading and found that Blxya Japonica can not be grown emersed therefore it’s not suitable for the DSM. Is this the case?

Should I pull it up and try to save it by planting in my other tank or keep it super damp and see if it can survive the dry start?
 
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Definitely plant it in another tank. Blyxa is a fully aquatic plant and I don't think it can be grown emersed at all. The only reason it's being sold in sealed pots with no water is that most of aquatic plants can survive relatively long periods of time being kept in high humidity boxes/bags etc but it's not their natural environment. Plant it and and if you'll keep it in relatively high light/PO4/CO2 environment it will reward you with pleasant copperish hue.
 
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Tropica (and others) offer this in tissue culture

Blyxa japonica Plant Profile video

If you ordered the TC version, it’s more likely to manage surviving the dry start (but may prefer a damper environment and substrate than the HC and Eleocharis Mini)

If you’re adding CO2 and suitable light, the Blyxa may tend to outgrow your Mini M
 
Tropica (and others) offer this in tissue culture

Blyxa japonica Plant Profile video

If you ordered the TC version, it’s more likely to manage surviving the dry start (but may prefer a damper environment and substrate than the HC and Eleocharis Mini)

If you’re adding CO2 and suitable light, the Blyxa may tend to outgrow your Mini M

Ok so it is the tissue culture version but you’ve now got me thinking it might not be right for this tank.

The plan was a iwagumi layout with an HC carpet, eleocharis mini round the edges of the rocks and some blyxa in the back ground.

I don’t want the Blyxa spoiling the scale do you think I’d be better going for one of the longer growing eleocharis version?

it will be a high tech setup with Co2 injection.
 
You can try keeping the Blyxa closely trimmed though I don’t know how well it responses to that treatment
(I’m not a Blyxa fan due to its dense growth... and my lazy trimming methodology ;) )

It is used in Iwagumi scapes and can provide a nice contrast with the thicker leaf shape

To bad one can’t buy a single “mixed grasses” tissue culture cup :)
 
Blyxa japonica IS a true aquatic plant........ so you will NOT be able to grow it in a dry-start, however high humidity you provide. This is the exact reason it is not available as a potted plant from nurseries.
Tropica have spent a lot of time, testing and effort, to have Blyxa japonica in the 1-2-Grow! range - and it is only possible due to the new liquid media, now used for many of the plants in 1-2-Grow!
- so in conclusion: pull it out and re-plant in your other tank. Then re-introduce it, after flooding. The good thing about Blyxa japonica is, that it bounces back to good health really quickly, when given proper conditions.
Trimming Blyxa japonica can be considered a neverending job, due to its vigorous growth - but it does tolerate quite hard trimming back to almost bare stems a few cm. high and will quickly grow back.... if it is in good health and growth before the trim.
 
Cheers for all the advice.

I’m going to pull out the Blyxa japonica and put it in my other tank, not sure that given everyone’s descriptions about it in terms of rapid and dense growth and it’s a great fit for my scape anyway.

Any ideas for a more suitable background plant to replace the Blyxa I have planted behind the biggest rock?

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