# Slow Growing Plants



## ray-the-pilot (May 14, 2008)

Can anyone recommend some really slow growing plants.
For an Amazon biotype, I recommend:
cabomba furcata


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## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

Most of the Crytocoryne are slow growing. Anubias Nana & Anubias Nana Petite are also common favourites among planted tank hobbyists. Downoi is another slow growing one.


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## Dielectric (Oct 7, 2008)

totziens said:


> Most of the Crytocoryne are slow growing. Anubias Nana & Anubias Nana Petite are also common favourites among planted tank hobbyists. Downoi is another slow growing one.


he wants south american plants


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

Vallisnerias can be slow at growing... if you don't have a super high tech set up tehn the growth rate seems ok, but under high light and co2 etc they go nuts!! lol,


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## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

Sorry, if I misunderstood what he wants. The title is misleading - it gives me the impression that it's slow growing plants in general.

From his post:

"Can anyone recommend some really slow growing plants.
For an Amazon biotype, I recommend:
cabomba furcata"

I assume the first question is meant for general slow growing plants. No region is specified here.

The second and third sentence seems like his own recommendation for Amazon biotope.

Only the owner of the thread knows what exactly he wants. So, please clarify!


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## Dielectric (Oct 7, 2008)

totziens said:


> Sorry, if I misunderstood what he wants. The title is misleading - it gives me the impression that it's slow growing plants in general.
> 
> From his post:
> 
> ...


now, im not sure if i understood correctly


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

If general is what you're referring to, the king, imo, is Crypt parva. It makes my Anubias look like speed demons.


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## ray-the-pilot (May 14, 2008)

totziens said:


> Sorry, if I misunderstood what he wants. The title is misleading - it gives me the impression that it's slow growing plants in general.
> 
> From his post:
> 
> ...


I'm interested in any slow growing plants but Amazon biotype would be preferred.

I guess this hobby is like growing grass. You spend money and time watering and fertilizing your crop only to cut it and throw it away!


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## Ekrindul (Jul 3, 2010)

Controlling the environment to encourage slow growth (low light, high flow, consistent carbon) makes more sense, I think, and then just avoid weedy species, like hygrophila or nymphaea. Why limit what you keep when you can just control the conditions they grow in?


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## ray-the-pilot (May 14, 2008)

Ekrindul said:


> Controlling the environment to encourage slow growth (low light, high flow, consistent carbon) makes more sense, I think, and then just avoid weedy species, like hygrophila or nymphaea. Why limit what you keep when you can just control the conditions they grow in?


I agree, this makes sense. What program of ferts and light do you use. Please be detailed enough so I can do the same thing. Any problems with algae?


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## Ekrindul (Jul 3, 2010)

ray-the-pilot said:


> I agree, this makes sense. What program of ferts and light do you use. Please be detailed enough so I can do the same thing. Any problems with algae?


I have a 55 gallon and a 29 gallon. Both of my tanks use a single bulb of T5HO. I would actually prefer to have just a T5 fixture, but I can't afford to make the transition right now. Eventually I will, though. I dose Excel according to the mfg's instructions as my carbon source. I have several koralias in each tank to add circulation and use 2 canister filters on each tank. I aim for 7X to 10X turnover on filtration. For circulation, I aim to have gentle movement on the plants throughout the tank without stems bending over.

As for fertilization, I dose KNO3, KH2PO4 and K2SO4 three times a week (water change day, and every other day thereafter) for each tank according to this chart: http://www.barrreport.com/showthrea...less-techical-aspects-of-the-Estimative-index

These ferts account for my NPK or macros. The K2SO4 isn't a necessity unless you have some plants that are really K hungry. I do and see pinholes in leaves without it. Your mileage may vary.

I dose CSM+B (for micros) on the other days, three days a week. I also dose DTPA Fe, but this isn't a necessity, but I have very alkaline water so the iron in CSM+B probably doesn't stay in the water long enough in a form the plants can use. If you have a lower KH, this isn't a concern for you.

I dose GH Booster on water change day to ensure Ca/Mg isn't deficient.

The day before water change day, nothing is dosed except Excel. This is referred to as a rest day. It's basically meant to help purge the system as plants will uptake any remaining ferts, and anything left over is removed the next day during the water change. I do a 70% water change each week, but 50% is more common and is sufficient. I tend to overfeed, so I change more water to keep things clean.

This is straight forward Estimative Index dosing routine. If you want more information about the method, start here: http://www.barrreport.com/forumdisplay.php/38-Estimative-Index

Hope that helps. Oh, and I see GSA near the bottom of the glass in front of my foreground plants. Very minor, though. Generally goes away if I increase the KH2PO4 dosing for a few days. No other algae, since I set the tanks up about 6 months ago. Not saying much for my scaping skills, but as you can see below, the plants are healthy.


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## ray-the-pilot (May 14, 2008)

Ekrindul said:


> I have several koralias in each tank to add circulation and use 2 canister filters on each tank. I aim for 7X to 10X turnover on filtration. For circulation, I aim to have gentle movement on the plants throughout the tank without stems bending over.


I guess you are pretty much following the EI plan for fert level.

I am following the PPS plan with a much lower level of fert. There are two things different with your plan. Thing one is I use CO2 in my tank and will never use gluteraldehyde because I am allergic to it. Thing two is I have much more light in my tank. Maybe reducing lighting will slow plant growth without plant elongation and other low light deformaties. It is worth a try.


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## Ekrindul (Jul 3, 2010)

All the better if you are using pressurized CO2. Lower light and CO2 make a good combination. I will eventually switch to pressurized, but not until I'm more comfortable with it. I don't intend to learn as I go as the fish are more important to me than the plants. 

I accept that ferts don't cause algae, so PPS doesn't make sense to me. I've seen PPS work very well, but I prefer the ease of EI.


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

ray-the-pilot said:


> I guess this hobby is like growing grass. You spend money and time watering and fertilizing your crop only to cut it and throw it away!


HA! How true that is! I get pretty slow growth on most my plants in El Natural. Swords and stemmies are exceptions there. But all crypts, anubias, Fissidens, Java Ferns, grow much slower than when I had high-tech. Staurogyne is also a good one for slower growth in low-tech, although it will out-grow small crypts eventually.

The one down-side to my current El Natural is I did not use any actual soil (just a potting mix/compost blend) and I have to dose Potassium every couple weeks. My low-tech topsoil tank does not have that problem, but growth is a bit faster...maybe due to better lighting.


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