# What am I looking for?



## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

Going back to the 1970's I had gotten a plant called Anacharis which had a fairly thin stem which was very flexible. Otherwise it was similar to what is sold in the LFS as either Anacharis or Elodea today. I would love to get this plant again but every attempt I try gets me the "newer" varieties with a thick and more brittle stem. 

I am familiar that the genus Anacharis is no longer correct and that the genus Elodea, Egeria, and Hydrilla are very closely related to the old Anacharis. I believe only someone with hands on experience with these plants can give me a accurate species that I might be able to search for. 

Help please.


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## aquarium kid (Nov 26, 2012)

Is it egeria najas? The stems in my tank are flexible not brittle


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

Interesting topic. An elder hobbyist here in Germany told that he had Egeria densa long time ago that was different, more delicate etc. AFAIK, E. najas wasn't known as aquarium plant then.

The German company Dennerle has 2 different labels: Egeria densa "Dichtblättrig" (= "dense leaved"), No. 817, and "Tropische Art" ("Tropical species"), No. 678. http://dennerle.com/de/service/pflanzendatenbank
I've seen them in LFS, not very different. The "Tropical form" is surely not E. najas because the leaf margin looks entire, not conspicuously toothed as E. najas (and Hydrilla).


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## pandragon (Jul 10, 2014)

This is interesting to me as well. I had raised crayfish in elementary school as a bio study in 4th or 5th grade years ago and we fed them this tender plant with long stems, long leaves radiating from whirls along the stem that came to a point similar to various egeria species, but much more tender than what I have seen today. I don't recall a name though, but wanted to find some for my guppy tank to provide shelter for fry.


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

@pandragon: Do you remember if the leaf margin looked toothed to the naked eye? (=> Egeria najas and Hydrilla) Was that crayfish food plant gathered in the wild?

When the thin-stemmed, flexible Anacharis had obviously entire margins (only very tiny teeth), probably these species are possible, apart from a form of Egeria densa:
- Elodea nuttallii: compared to E. canadensis leaves narrower and more acute, mostly recurved to spirally twisted.
- Elodea callitrichoides: from temperate South America, introduced in Europe, written to be very similar to E. nuttallii (North America). I've never seen that species, I wonder if it is or was in the aquarium plant trade.

Btw., found a nice site for distinction between the "Anacharis-type" plant species, at least those which are neophytes in Europe: http://www.q-bank.eu/Plants/lookalikes/Hydrocharitaceae/Hydrocharitaceae.HTML


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

Are you possibly thinking of hydrilla?


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