# Which Plant is this one?



## MikeD

I found a photography from a tank with a plant which is perfect for my new tank but I dont know which one it is. So I wanted to ask you if you could help me out.
I talk about the Plant in the background of the tank in the photo, the green one which I think is some kind of a Vallisneria. Please help me!


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## Cavan Allen

It looks like it could be _Vallisneria nana_.


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## cS

My vote is for _Isoetes sp._ from the browning quill tops. It does that when exposed to the dry heat of the overhead lights IME.

I have never seen _Vallisneria nana_ in person so I can't rule it out. But I have always thought it to be fatter, arching, and not as stiff as those quills in the picture. And to achieve that thick of a cover in such a narrow front-to-back space with _V. nana_ would be pretty difficult IMHO. This effect is far easier to achieve by taking advantage of the clumping habit of the _I. spp._

But who knows. Maybe the owner would be able to shed some light on the matter. Isn't this Mr. Luis Navarro's tank?


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## dennis

It is Luis's tank. There should be a description in the thread.


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## Cavan Allen

> My vote is for Isoetes sp. from the browning quill tops. It does that when exposed to the dry heat of the overhead lights IME.


I thought of that too, but thought that _Isoetes_ would probably bow out a little more at the bottom. It could even be an _Eleocharis_ species like _montividensis_. A closeup would solve it right away. That or a link to the original thread.


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## david lim

Hey all! 
I've seen this tank and it is Isoetes. Cavan, I do want to try the Vallisneria nana (? the thin one) but have never made an aquascape for it.


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## Cavan Allen

> My vote is for Isoetes sp. from the browning quill tops. It does that when exposed to the dry heat of the overhead lights IME.


Good call. I suppose I should have noticed that and the lack of tapering at the tips.


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## Nymph

I can't seem to find Isoetes listed in the plant finder. (either that or I still haven't figured out how to use it.)

Can someone tell us more about this plant please?
Thanks!


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## Gumby

Isoetes are quillworts. Their leaves are grass/hair like and arranged in a rosette. Height varies with species. 

They tend to be medium to high light. Fairly easy to grow, in my opinion. 

Propagation isn't easy, they don't send out runners and you can't do clippings. My only luck with propagation has been random... Each leaf has a bulbous shape at the base, in these "bulbs" are spores. I've accidently ripped leaves off and saw the spores going all over the place in my tank. A few weeks later I had little Isoetes plants popping up all over the substrate. I've actually got one little Isoetes plant that started growing in a mass of Anubias roots on driftwood, its pretty cool


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