Greetings! I've been a very long time lurker and this is my first time posting. As you can guess from the title of this post, I have encountered something for which I cannot find any information on.
In March I purchased a square foot "sod" patch of Lilaeopsis brasiliensis from AquariumPlants.com. An excellent deal, the quality was impeccable and they were grown submerged.
I set about teasing apart strands and planting them in a number of different tanks. I had a few bits left and decided to toss them them in my 20 gallon high light grow out and test tank.
The stats are pH 7.0, C02 25 PPM (pressurized), kH 8, gH 7 @ 5 WPG using EI. Lights are on for 12 hours daily using 2 dual daylight PC lights (6,700K/10,000K). It is filtered by a JBJ Reaction 4 stage canister filter (Model EFU 25) and thus has an 8 Watt UV-C sterilizer that runs continuously. This set-up is replicated throughout my other tanks and I have enjoyed almost too much success with it as evidenced by the mandatory and aggressively pursued bi-weekly prunings. Culture and management are not problems for me.
This tank is special. It is where I test, quarantine, experiment, breed, replicate, you name it. It is dear to me because it is how I've learned all that I know now and everything I will know in the future. It is my model for my other tanks.
Only, in this tank, the Lilaeopsis began doing something very strange. The old growth died off and this was expected but the new growth is like nothing anyone has ever seen and I've scoured the Internet, libraries and called upon a few universities and no one has seen this. Texas A&M's Suburban and Ornamental Biology Unit is probably the best in the US and they are gob smacked though they admit their experience with tropical hydrophytes is a bit limited.
The new growth looks like giant Glossostigma elatinoides. I have attached pictures for everyone to view. My usual forum where I post actively in were also unable to help and they strongly encouraged me to post it here and here I am begging for information.
Is this a mutation? Like terrestrial plants, could these be sun leaves? Is it perhaps a little known cultivar? What is it?
Make no mistake, this is Lilaeopsis brasiliensis. It isn't a piece of something that got entangled with my shipment. I saw it growing from the same roots and stems and I don't think grafting (natural or accidental) is likely either. The same growth form is occuring in the refugium attached to this tank, hence the two different pictures.
These pictures were taken in March. Now it is almost mid April and they are proliferating and the shape is consistent. I want to continue culturing and propagating them because I like this form. It is pretty cool.
So, what do you all think?
I will offer current pictures later today so you can see how they've changed.
Thank you for your time and attention.
In March I purchased a square foot "sod" patch of Lilaeopsis brasiliensis from AquariumPlants.com. An excellent deal, the quality was impeccable and they were grown submerged.
I set about teasing apart strands and planting them in a number of different tanks. I had a few bits left and decided to toss them them in my 20 gallon high light grow out and test tank.
The stats are pH 7.0, C02 25 PPM (pressurized), kH 8, gH 7 @ 5 WPG using EI. Lights are on for 12 hours daily using 2 dual daylight PC lights (6,700K/10,000K). It is filtered by a JBJ Reaction 4 stage canister filter (Model EFU 25) and thus has an 8 Watt UV-C sterilizer that runs continuously. This set-up is replicated throughout my other tanks and I have enjoyed almost too much success with it as evidenced by the mandatory and aggressively pursued bi-weekly prunings. Culture and management are not problems for me.
This tank is special. It is where I test, quarantine, experiment, breed, replicate, you name it. It is dear to me because it is how I've learned all that I know now and everything I will know in the future. It is my model for my other tanks.
Only, in this tank, the Lilaeopsis began doing something very strange. The old growth died off and this was expected but the new growth is like nothing anyone has ever seen and I've scoured the Internet, libraries and called upon a few universities and no one has seen this. Texas A&M's Suburban and Ornamental Biology Unit is probably the best in the US and they are gob smacked though they admit their experience with tropical hydrophytes is a bit limited.
The new growth looks like giant Glossostigma elatinoides. I have attached pictures for everyone to view. My usual forum where I post actively in were also unable to help and they strongly encouraged me to post it here and here I am begging for information.
Is this a mutation? Like terrestrial plants, could these be sun leaves? Is it perhaps a little known cultivar? What is it?
Make no mistake, this is Lilaeopsis brasiliensis. It isn't a piece of something that got entangled with my shipment. I saw it growing from the same roots and stems and I don't think grafting (natural or accidental) is likely either. The same growth form is occuring in the refugium attached to this tank, hence the two different pictures.
These pictures were taken in March. Now it is almost mid April and they are proliferating and the shape is consistent. I want to continue culturing and propagating them because I like this form. It is pretty cool.
So, what do you all think?
I will offer current pictures later today so you can see how they've changed.
Thank you for your time and attention.