# Growing Val Nana



## webcricket (Oct 16, 2006)

I've had some val nana in my 20 gallon tank for about 2 months now and it isn't doing much. It produces runners and has filled in horizontally along the gravel, however it isn't growing upwards at all. The tallest leaves are maybe 3 inches, and instead of growing up, they sort of curve back to the gravel. The tank is a 20 gallon tall with 1.8 wpg of CF lighting. I don't add CO2 (no Excel either) or fertilize except for the addition of some K after every water change. There is a heavy fish load in the tank. Lights are on for 9 hours a day. The gravel is inert, but this is a matured tank (4 years old) with matured gravel that was just planted for the first time 2 months ago. The tank is sparsely planted with some Anubias nana petite and a Bolbitus heudelotii being the only other plants - each of these grows well with new leaves every week. I have another 20 gallon tall set-up with the same parameters, and have Taiwan moss, Crypt spiralis, and Eleocharis parvula growing like crazy. No other plants show signs of nutrient deficiency.

I'm starting to think my water may simply not be suitable for the val nana. I'm at a kH of 7, gH of 8, pH of 7.6, temp of 74 and do water changes of 40% every other week. Am I missing something? I thought this was one of those fool-proof plants, but it just won't grow for me! I hate to just toss it out since it was pretty pricey to buy.

Edited to add: I just found another site indicating Val nana is perennial. Perhaps this is my problem. If anyone has any suggestions for a different thin tall grass-like substitute that will grow in low-light, I'd be interested.


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## dhavoc (Mar 17, 2006)

its not your water, its the light or lack of it. without med to high light it wont do much at all. but the downside (if you can call it that) is that you would need to go to some form of c02 to avoid a major algae headache. mine grows in any type of soil and ph/kh, but the key is enough light. figure on about 2.4 wpg for your 20 to get it growing tall. be warned however, it can get pretty invasive once it takes off.


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## AQUAMX (Jan 24, 2005)

Hi webcricket

I have several forms of val species as most are native to me here in Australia.Gracilis, caulescens, nana, kimberly dwarf val etc. You will find with nana that the more light you add the more it will grow as a foreground plant. An indication will be short leaves that appear to be turning red in color.

Over time, and after the plant has spread many short runners the plant will eventually produce more longer leaves as they compete for the light.

I grew this plant out in a 4x2x2ft tank under 400w of light(4wpg). The plant completely covered the substrate with plants all under 10cm before longer leaves began to appear, eventually, as leaves restricted the light, longer leaves were produced in order to gain access to the light. As less light was available the longer the leaves became.

This plant under less light will produce the long, slender beautifully marked leaves you are after. Many people keep this plant as a foreground plant under intense light.

I now grow this plant in low light with higher temps of about 26-28 similar to its habitat, i get long leaved plants which is suited better for selling to the lfs.

Cheers


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## webcricket (Oct 16, 2006)

Thanks for the info aquamx! It does indeed seem to be taking over the bottom corner with runners. I'll see if I can put some larger rocks in deep to stop the spread of runners and encourage taller leaves to grow.


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## miles (Apr 26, 2006)

are you sure it's v. nana? was it short when you bought it?

the fact that the runners are also short seem to indicate that it's a different species.

my nanas were 12-18" when i bought them. they began to send out runners within a couple of days. the new plants have now developed leaves the same length of the mother plants. as dhavoc said, it grows like a weed. (i am running 2.4w/gal and pressurized co2). i only wish my ludwigia inclinata grew as well


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

There are two different plants going around as Vallisneria nana. Are the leaf blades of your plant flat or are the round? The true nana has round thin leaves. 

Anyhow, your water parameters should be favorable to Vallisneria species as they prefer neutral or slightly alkaline water. Would you consider adding some DIY CO2 to the tank to see if it aids growth? I suspect that might help a lot.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

> are you sure it's v. nana?


I wonder the same thing. Your description of the plant sounds to me more like dwarf Sag. There's a way to differentiate vals from sags by their leaf structure, but I can't remember what the particulars are. Perhaps someone else can chime in here.


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## miles (Apr 26, 2006)

AaronT said:


> There are two different plants going around as Vallisneria nana. Are the leaf blades of your plant flat or are the round? The true nana has round thin leaves.


according to this paper, v. nana has narrow, ribbon-like leaves, not thin spaghetti-like leaves: Environmental Water Requirements of Vallisneria nana in the Daly River, NT: Vallisneria nana habitat value

can you post a reference to support your assertion?


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

miles said:


> according to this paper, v. nana has narrow, ribbon-like leaves, not thin spaghetti-like leaves: Environmental Water Requirements of Vallisneria nana in the Daly River, NT: Vallisneria nana habitat value
> 
> can you post a reference to support your assertion?


Perhaps the one I had was misidentified then. I received it 2nd hand from Christel Kasselmann and was told that's what it was. Now you have me curious as to what Val I had?


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## miles (Apr 26, 2006)

AaronT said:


> Perhaps the one I had was misidentified then. I received it 2nd hand from Christel Kasselmann and was told that's what it was. Now you have me curious as to what Val I had?


as far as i can tell, there aren't any aussie val species that have round leaves:Vallisneria

could it have been giant hairgrass?


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

miles said:


> as far as i can tell, there aren't any aussie val species that have round leaves:Vallisneria
> 
> could it have been giant hairgrass?


Nope, this was definitely a Vallisneria, I do know that much. I found someone I know who still has it so I'll see about getting some to take a picture.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Here's a bad picture I got of a flower:


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## webcricket (Oct 16, 2006)

Well, mine was shipped with some longer 10-12" leaves, but they all rotted in transit due to a botched shipping job by the seller. I planted the roots since they were still white and viable. The roots grew smaller 3-4" leaves (growing more horizontal than vertical) and then started producing runners. There are 2 long 10" leaves which have remained, just no new tall leaves. Those 2 tall leaves do look like the picture of Val nana that Tropica has posted.


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