# Cabomba furcata



## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

Is anybody familiar with the phenomena happening with this plant?


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## 247Plants (Mar 23, 2006)

How close to the light are they? My Cabomba does that when it gets close or actually breaks the surface of the water


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

This did start when the cabomba started getting a couple of inches from the surface.
What is the phenomenon? Does it serve a purpose other than it looks interesting?


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## 247Plants (Mar 23, 2006)

I dunno....My theory is that being a delicate plant when it gets that close to a heat source and that amount of light intensity it happens...


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

It might also be that the plant has detected a strong enough light source/heat that it assumes it is nearing the surface of the water and is prepering to grow emersed.

Either that or a nutrient/CO2 defeciency is causing stunting, again most likely related to the intensity of light driving growth faster than it can get the nutrients.


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

But Cabomba doesn't grow emersed as it is in a sense a 'true aquatic' plant(?).


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## 247Plants (Mar 23, 2006)

i think Ive seen pictures of it on the internet that show it growing abouve surface flowering in small white flower....but it looked like a pond situation if i remember right


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## mrbelvedere138 (Jan 18, 2006)

Raul-7 said:


> But Cabomba doesn't grow emersed as it is in a sense a 'true aquatic' plant(?).


When he says emersed I think he means flowering stage.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

When Cabomba prepares to flower it produces one or two floating leaves that look like little lily pads.


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

The bright red growth in the picture became a new branch.

Thanks for the info.



> When Cabomba prepares to flower it produces one or two floating leaves that look like little lily pads.


Here is a picture of the plant that has recently flowered in my tank. There was as mentioned a floating leaf.


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

The plant is still blooming after four weeks. Here are some more photos.


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## dstephens (Nov 30, 2005)

Beautiful photos. I am hoping for the same effect. Mine have just hit the top of the water. Did you do anything else special to encourage flowering?

Thanks, Darrell


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

wiste that is a beautiful flower


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

Thanks for the comments



> Did you do anything else special to encourage flowering?


Prior to the blooming the CO2 rate was lowered towards the end of life of the CO2 tank.
I had not noticed that the rate had decreased.

The following changes occurred about 5 days before the blooming:
I did a periodic pruning and raised the CO2 rate from 1 to 2 bubbles per second back to the higher rate of 5 or 6 bubbles per second (which is really too fast to count).

There was a change in pruning from twice-weekly 6 inch pruning to once a week 12-inch pruning. They are in a tank that is 24 inches deep.

A 50 percent water change was conducted with RO and tap water mixture to lower the water hardness. Previous water changes were with just tap water. The tap water is very hard.


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## fish_4_all (Jun 3, 2006)

Wow, I hope mine does this. Have you tried to pollinate the flowers or do you just have the one? It would be really nice to get seeds so mailing them would be REALLY easy. I think I have Carolina so hopefully I will have similar results as your Furcata.


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

> Have you tried to pollinate the flowers or do you just have the one?


No I have not tried to pollinate them. I have had many blooms but rarely are there two at a time. The blooms last less than a day they usually wilt within 4 or 5 hours. There are two in the tank today but one of them is already pretty wilted. I would have to research how to pollinate them, as I have never tried.

I set some up the cabomba in another tank that has more light and more shallow. I am curious if they will bloom in this tank. The other tank has a soil substrate, metal Halide lighting with CO2 the same as the tank with the blooms. The other tank is newly setup and I have not begun to add any ferts to this tank.

If you get a dozen or so stems growing well (6 inches or more a week) and still no blooming you might try adding a small amount of ammonium sulfate a little each day for 3 or 4 days and see if this inducing blooms. This is a little risky, iIf your tank is not heavily planted this could induce algae but as you will have fast growing cabomba it should be O.K.

I hope you have luck, I would like to see the photos and to see if the bloom is the same.


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