Aldrovanda vesiculosa

[piscesilim]

My set up is as below

-2.5 feet tank.
-2 x Phillips 865 PLL as lighting, 10 hours per day.
-GEX soil as substract. pH 6.5.
-Got one canister filter. Bio rings, Bio foam as filter media.
-Got a small fan to cool down the water, temperature 27-28 C.
-Got other plants like various types of Eriocaulon, Erect moss, Hygrophila difformis, Limnophila sp.
-Keep some yellow shrimp, Nerite snail, Otocinclus sp. inside.
-Change water 1/3 once a week.
-CO 2 supply 2-3 bubbles per second.

The Aldrovanda grow 2 time longer within 1 week.

[ifurita]

Here's a pic showing the traps, you can't mistake it for a Utric close up:

There's a Utric growing next to it, so you can see the difference in the traps.

[arvin555]

Thanks for the photo Ifurita, thanks for the great writeup Rich! I checked my plant and it is in fact Utric not Aldro. Actually Ifurita, my U. Vulgaris has a more structured form like the Aldro the Utric in your photo looks like the one native here, which I have in my pond as well.

I hope that in the near future I can get some Aldros from you guys, like Lim. Lim, I too only have Rachovii only, 3 fries left only. Poor Cherry Shrimp naupliis, hey you should just give those to me instead, stick with BBS. Oh, you know I have been keeping several cultures of daphnia/Moina, I have them for half a year now and still okay, nice food for Utrics and Aldros

I will be keeping my Aldros (in the future I don't have any yet) in a very shallow pond, which works out nicely from what Rich posted. Rich.

1. No need dormancy of course right?
2. Any temperature requirements? can they take 40C temps?

TTFN
Arvin

[rsivertsen]

Hey guys,

Nice to see Aldrovanda growing in some collections in this part of the world! As you can see, they grow incredibly fast! Much faster than any terrestrial CPs!

As for dormancy, I'm not sure if they will be triggered into forming dormant turions, growing so close to the equator, as the photoperiod and temperature is nearly the same all year.

Here in northern New Jersey, USA, it grows continuously until mid November, when ice is already beginning to form on the surface of some lakes and ponds, and the day length is reduced to less than 8 hours per day.

They can tolerate warm, even hot temperatures very well, and in fact today, we are having a terrible heat wave with ambient air temperatures well in the 30C (95F), and the water temps are near 35C (100F)! I have never measured them warmer than that, so 40F may be pushing their limits a bit.

Their need to feed, and CO2 requirements are only part of the entire equation. For such simple looking plants, they seem to occupy a very complex niche, with simultaneous symbiotic relationships with several creatures and cohabitant plants.

They capture and digest more food than they can use for their own immediate needs, and release the excess nitrogenous matter back back into the water, which is quickly absorbed and assimilated by the roots of these large monocot plants that produce massive root systems, that are just a few cm below the Aldrovanda strands. Without this mutualisim, and balance, filamentous algae quickly overwhelms the strands.

They also need the services of small snails and fresh water shrimp (perhaps even small tadpoles) to help remove the spent prey carcasses from the older traps before algae hits them.

They also love to have the detritus, and clay rich silt stirred up, at least once a week, which releases the minerals and the creatures that live there, which become part of the meal ticket. The dirtier the water, the better! In my pond, my boots churn up so much detritus, clay and silt, that it renders the water opaque, and I can't even see the Aldrovanda strands behind me, where I've walked through.

Remember, they grow best in very shallow water, just enough to cover the strands, above the detritus layer, (just a few cm above the monocot roots systems) and the Utrics grow better in the deeper water.

They also seem to do better in full direct sunlight for several hours a day. I tried to grow them under lights, and just couldn't find anything that could produce the intensity of the blue side of the spectrum that brings out the color of the red forms, and the robust growth of the green forms. Perhaps the mercuric halide lamps (400W) lamps used for live coral aquariums might be useful, but the cost of these lamps, and electricity seems a bit extravagant to me.

I have plenty of Aldrovanda to go around to anyone who has a shallow pond with monocot plants (even lotus plants, or bamboo, or any decorative/ornamental grasses used for landscaping) that produce massive root systems which lay directly beneath the Alrovanda strands.

- Rich

[plantlover]

Wah!! Aldrovanda so cute.

[arvin555]

Lim, what would you say your water parameters are? Do you add something to make the pH a bit more acidic?

TTFN
Arvin

[piscesilim]

CO2 and GEX soil help to maintain the pH lower.

[rsivertsen]

Aldrovanda does not really require lower pH, (acidic water) and is often found in neutral (pH=7.0) or slightly alkaline water. Their primary requirement is a constant source of CO2 for photosynthesis, which is provided by the root systems of companion monocot plants, and the need to feed. - Rich

[arvin555]

Thanks Lim and Rich for the info.

Rich, was intersted in monocot plants that you have been mentioning but an internet search gave me a really broad definition of it. At least Wikipedia mentioned that it's a type of flowering plant, the other one are Dicots. It also mentions Orchids as one example, others are Grains like Rice, wheat and Maiz (what is the difference between Maiz and corn anyway?)

The most practical and easy way to distinguish Monocots is:

" That is to say, a monocotyledon's flower typically has three, six, or nine petals. Many monocots also have leaves with parallel veins." (wikipedia)

Okay well my question Rich is can you give us specific monocot plants that you know live with Aldrovandas and benefit mutually with each other? A big tip from my research is that Lilies are monocots.

TTFN
Arvin

ps. in some aldrovanda sites, they mention of the use of water hayacinth.