# Suggest me Emergent Plants ideas



## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I have a 75 gallon tank, of which I use a shop light located at ~ 6 - 8 in above the tank. I currently have growing as emergent on one corner some Bacopa, on another corner I have mint, and I am looking for more ideas for another corner. So the roots are in the tank, but they emerge out. For these two plants, it is simple to trim to always keep bellow the light, though I can bypass the light and have them grow around it.

Any suggestions? I would like something where the roots are not poisonous, ie not Lucky Bamboo or Pytos or Cypress, as I have goldfish and don't want them accidentally munching on the roots.

I was thinking of Water Hycianth or Staurogen, but don't know how well they grow emerged, and neither worked for long in this specific tank as fully submerged. I do have a few staurogen in my 10g tank which look healthy, and can maybe try that out, but is there a special procedure to change them from submerged to emerged? Any other plants or vegetable that would work?

Thanks


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Brazilian Pennywort will grow emersed and it's quite attractive. It's safe for the fish, as it grows submersed too, which is how it's usually grown. 

Left to it's own devices it will grow up and out of a tank if you don't trim it back, and you can trim it pretty much any way you like.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Thanks, I have some, but havent tried emerged. Anything else?


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## Fishyfishyfishy (Mar 3, 2008)

Fishfur said:


> Brazilian Pennywort will grow emersed and it's quite attractive. It's safe for the fish, as it grows submersed too, which is how it's usually grown.
> 
> Left to it's own devices it will grow up and out of a tank if you don't trim it back, and you can trim it pretty much any way you like.


Mine dries up when it grows above water. With a lid, maybe it's is moist enough.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I met a guy when I was picking something up, and he had pennywort growing three feet out of his tank, hanging over the sides and growing up some sort of support.. a line of some kind. It was simply rampant growth, very attractive looking. The fish room was more humid than the rest of the house, yes, but not like a greenhouse or anything.

I suspect it very likely would lose some of the new leaves once it pops up above the water, while it adapts to being in air, but it will grow in air just fine, with the roots below water.

If you want something really tropical and lush looking, and can give it enough light, maybe you'd like one of the smaller cyperuses, aka Papyrus ? These do need strong light to thrive, in habitat they grow on river and pond edges in full sun in tropical areas. It's roots often provide shelter for small fish and fry, as they become thicker, and if the river edge crumbles away under them, the mass of plant holds it together and becomes almost a cave like area full of roots and shade, providing shelter for all kinds of little creatures. Sometimes they become free floating rafts with almost no soil, but that's only in places where the giant papyrus grows.

Wild Spike is one you can often find that's nice and can be grown as a house plant, and it should do very well with the roots in an aquarium. It has lush grassy foliage at the flower stalk bases, to a foot high or so. The flower stalks may get to 3 feet,, more often half that height. Being a marginal water plant, the roots are quite happy fully submerged and don't need any adaptation time, but the crowns don't care to be very deep at all. No more than a few inches deep, or just at the surface. 

The entire plant is completely harmless to fishes, even my cats love the darn stuff and eat the leaves when they can reach them, and it does them no harm either. One species of it used to be sold as cat grass.

Typically comes potted, so just wash off the soil well and maybe soak it for a few days before you put the roots in the tank, make sure any commercial fertilizers are well washed off. If it's happy, a strong grower, pops up new little crowns around the edges of the central clump all the time. 

Flower heads root and sprout baby plantlets when they're under water. In nature, they bend down after flowering and the heads end up just under the surface, produce roots which eventually root into the river bed near the parent plant and produce baby plants.

Just don't get giant papyrus.. it'll hit ten feet. If you'd rather one with no foliage and only flower stalks, there's a dwarf one called, I think it's Tut.. might be King Tut.. about 18" tall, stiffer stalks. No grassy leaves, but will still make baby plants from a submerged flower head. Normally sold as a potted plant, not a water plant, but it'll be fine if the crowns are kept just at water level.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Wow, thanks fishfur for the very detailed response, let me research these plants you mentioned as I am not familiar with them, seems good, oh and I am trying the pennywort, a small part, to see how it gows.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Wild Spike often shows up in the pond section at Sheridan Nursery. Though they put a frightful price on it, like, fifteen bucks or more. 

But last time I was out in the east end of TO, I found some 4 inch pots of it at Valleyview Gardens. They were, I think, $6.. A good size to start with, as they will grow fairly fast if given the light and so on they need. I think they had a half dozen of them left a couple of weeks ago. If I set up my aquaponic filter set up, this is for sure going to be part of the plant component.

I often go to Valleyview when I'm in Markham, it's a lovely place, especially in winter when it's crummy outside, it's great to see all the plants and blooms. My mental health break. If you don't get to Scarborough often, if they still have some I could grab one for you. Just a thought. 

Some years Wild Spike Papyrus is a popular item and they use it in mixed planters and such, so you can find it in more places. Last year it was mostly Tut I saw, not much Spike. So in some years it can be pretty hard to locate Spike. Don't know yet about this year, it's a bit early yet. But if you decide you want to try it, let me know and next time I'm there I'll get some and keep one for you.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Hi Fishfur, I read about the Wild Spyke, and another name for them Cyperus alternifolius or Umbrella Plant. You mentioned your cats eats this? According to this website, they are poisonous to cats:

http://essendonvet.com.au/pet-library/poisons-in-the-garden-poisonous-plants-and-garden-dangers

Have a look. Maybe you should prevent your cat to eat anymore, just in case.

I think i have this plant, but i am not 100% sure. Do you know if the attached pic i took is the Wild Spike. I currently have it in a 2.5g tank, i used to have it in my 75g tank a year or two ago, but then removed it as I was afraid the goldfish might eat the roots or try to, and have discomfort, as my fish were heavy breathing at the time, so just to be safe (note i also had pythos and the phylondrin, which are also toxic, and were in my tank before that period. I know many people still use them, but when you have crazy goldfish that may try to eat or munch on the roots, i have to be carefull. A shame though, all those plants looked nice in my tank.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Well, the cat does not eat much of it.. one or two bites off a leaf tip at most and that's only when I've taken it down to water it . Oddly, when I looked up the toxicity, some lists included Cyperus alternifolia and others did not. Most of the toxic plants are in a different major family, Araceae, than Cyperus is. 

But I appreciate the warning in any case. It's absolutely true though, that a dwarf cultivar of Cyperus used to be sold as cat grass, and I had cats who ate entire pots full of it without any adverse effect, other than vomiting. Since making themselves vomit is pretty much why they eat it in the first place, this is not a worrying sign. They also vomit when they eat most greens, even organic cat grass, which you can buy or grow yourself. It's oat seed, actually. It's completely non toxic, but eating greens makes cats throw up and appears to be a form of self medication they use when they aren't feeling well or have a fur ball they can't shift on their own.

The picture you show is most certainly a cyperus, but it's not Wild Spike. It's probably one of the newer cultivars, most of which lack the grassy lower foliage. They have only flower stalks, which have leaves, but only at the top of the stalk. Might be Tut, might be one of several others. The roots should not have caused any problems for any fish.. they are not fish toxic to the very best of my knowledge.

Philodendrons, an aroid, are far more toxic to some animals, but not all animals. Pothos, properly, Epipremnum, is also an aroid, so likely has similar toxins and probably should not be grown in a fish tank, but I know there are many who do grow it and it does not seem to cause problems for the fish. It depends greatly on what the specific toxin is in a given plant, and how it's extracted. If you had fish that literally ate chunks of root material, that might cause a problem.. but if they are only nibbling at biofilm around the roots, not biting into them, it's not too likely they'd cause trouble.

I'd certainly avoid using any plant with a white milky sap.. such as most hoyas, ficus, euphorbia and the like. Milky saps are more likely to contain soluble toxins, and I wouldn't put them into a fish tank directly.


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