# Anacharis (egeria najas) care?



## kaitanuva (Dec 22, 2010)

I just got the plant for science fair. I won't be experimenting on it for at least a few weeks. 

I don't have a tank, but just some buckets. Can I just use tap water to keep it alive for a few months? Do I need to provide it with nutrients such as nitrates from baking soda? Do I need to worry about excess growth?

Additional stuff:
-If I cut a part of the plant from its stem, such as a leaf, will it still grow (as in performing photosynthesis, which is my primary goal in getting this plant)? I don't feel like using one whole plant for a trial run.


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## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

this will sound cynical but...
pet stores give goldfish to schools so the fish prize winning kids will get their parents to buy them fishtanks from that same local pet store. my best advice to you is to throw the plant in the trash and get on with your life.
If you have a genuine interest in plant keeping, fish keepings, and all the time and expense associated with them, then I'm happy to tell you that Anacharis is an easy plant to keep, that is often used to cycle the ecosystem of new fish tanks then discarded because it grows too fast. you can throw it into a glass jar that gets room light, toss in a tiny crumb of any ordinary gardening fertilizer, and it will do just fine. do NOT toss it into any local waterway (lake/river/stream) as it is classified as an invasive aquatic weed.
oh, yeah... Anacharis is a sort of colony plant, so you can slice it and dice it anyway you like to make whole new plants.
baking soda is used to modify the pH of water, not as a plant fertilizer.


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## kaitanuva (Dec 22, 2010)

So I can just throw it in a bucket of tap water and it'll keep itself alive? And if it grows too fast I can just stunt it by cutting parts off?

And what would you recommend for an easily-obtainable fertilizer?


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## OVT (Aug 26, 2010)

Yes. If it grows too fast, just cut the top off and put it back into the bucket. Now you have 2 plants  In couple of weeks you may end up with a bucket full of the stuff .

Fish flake food is a good fertilizer, just use a very small pinch every 4-5 days or so.


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