Glossostigma growing vertically

[ceg4048]

Hello,
I've seen many pictures of Glosso growing very low to the ground giving a nice carpet effect. On my first attempt at growing it I had much less light than I do now, perhaps less than 2 wpg and I failed miserably, what miniscule growth I did get was characterized by upward reaching runners instead of their heading down to the substrate. The bunches eventially disintegrated.

I've retried it with a much higher illumination, near 4 wpg and the runners do in fact grow towards the ground, however, after the plantlets get established their stems grow up as much as 2 inches. This totally ruins the visual scale of the "lawn" as it looks more like a chia forrest or bean sprouts than a carpet. The foliage is otherwise apparently healthy having a lime green color and is spreading at a good rate.

Is there a trick to getting glosso stems to stay short?

Will trimming these long stems hurt or will new leaves grow back?

Cheers,

 

[JadeButterfly]

Re: Glossostigma growing vertically

i grow mainly glossos in my tank.

trimming is your key.

glossos will evenually overlap each other...so constant pruning is require to stay low.

2wpg should be enough light to grow them...

I use to have around 4wpg like you...and my glosso would grow realyl fast...

now, I am just on a 2wpg schedule..and glosso are still very healthy...and low...they don't grow as fast so I don't have to prune as often.

if u do not prune the higher glossos...it will block out the lights for the lower ones...and they will start growing taller...and this domino effect continues.

 

[ceg4048]

Re: Glossostigma growing vertically

Thanks for the advice JadeButterfly! I'll start trimming immediately. You'r probably right about the 2wpg, however I've found that this rule of thumb is not alway reliable with deeper tanks. In my case the distance from the light to the substrate is well over two feet and I had a difficult time keeping the lower leaves on many plants from falling off. Shading was a constant problem and it was difficult to keep tight bunches without having the lower half of the group look barren and growing roots.

With this depth at 2wpg the Glosso runners always grew straight up and the base stems would rot. Immediately after adding more light, what little was left started sending runners down towards the substrate. I know that Mr. Barr preaches that "more light is not better" and from an algae and dosing control standpoint I agree but to me more light penetrates further and creates more beauty at depth and therefore allows more aquascaping options.

Cheers,

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: Glossostigma growing vertically

Jade said precisely the deal with Gloss.

Some of the best Gloss I've seen was in a 2.1 w/gal 24" deep tank........

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Aviel Livay]

Re: Glossostigma growing vertically

And how do you prune them?

Take all of them out? or just look for the leaves that are on top and cut them one by one?

Aviel.

 

[ceg4048]

Re: Glossostigma growing vertically

Hi Aviel,
Taking the glosso out would be a pain. Based on the advice given I just take a large pair of shears out and crop to the desired height. I scoop up the flotsam with a net after I finish. I'm still not happy though because it looks ratty after the crop. Glosso takes skill and patience. I'm looking for an alternative because it's too much trouble to keep it looking nice. Hats off to JadeButterfly who has a tank full of it and manages it well.

Cheers,

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: Glossostigma growing vertically

If you have rot, then you likely have poor CO2/NO3.
Gloss responds poorly to variation there.

I have watched Gloss grow in a section in more tanks than I can count.
Plain sand with mulm and/or laterite seem to produce smaller Gloss than Flourite. Onyx did this as well.

CO2 at lower light and even non CO2 tanks have done well for me.
I only had 2 w/gal when we first saw it. It was hard and generally a DIY project to get that much light back then for a reasonable amount of $........

Using Excel will also slow the weed down at lower light/ no CO2 gas.


Regards,
Tom Barr