The Planted Tank Forum banner

Pellia help...

3K views 23 replies 11 participants last post by  Buck 
#1 ·
...and help with a good reason why I should keep this stuff !

I have seen it in photos and always thought what a beautiful plant so I bought some from a member here.
But I think I am going to hate this stuff !
I have yet to figure out what to do with it and I need some ideas on how you Pellia Owners handle it ? Right now its floating in a breeder trap , its floating on the bottom of my tank , its stuck to the filter intake... you get the picture ? Some escaped from the trap through the grates in the bottom and I thought I had an outbreak of algae on my substrate... LOL , come to find out its Pellia chunks !

I think I finally found a plant more irritating then J. moss and messier then riccia.

How do you handle it ? Do you lash this stuff to a stone or something ?
How long do the thallus get ?

Im thinking I made a mistake ! :help:
 
#3 ·
The easiest use of pellia I have heard of is to make an all pellia Iwagumi scape. Use a small tank like a 10 gallon and collect some cool rocks with good character. Then arrange the rocks and spread the pellia around as if it were the substrate. After a good while you will have a pellia field.

Most just use a hairnet to attach it to rocks though and yes it is everywhere in the tank eventually. It does look cool when it grows out.
 
#4 ·
I just use a dark cotton thread to wrap it around a stone, very easy. It grows well even in 1.5wpg.
 
#5 ·
I just "planted" mine yesterday (thanks again, Piscesgirl!!). I got 4 fairly flat rocks and used thread to lightly tie it down.

From what I've read that thallus (assuming that's the "roots") stay pretty short. Based on some of the trimmings I got, I'm guessing they'll run around 1/4". That's my current working assumption. It could be wrong!
 
#6 ·
I read that its not considered a leaf but a "thallus". No roots at all it appears.
So this stuff is basically like riccia where it never sets itself to anything and must always be tied. Using a hairnet type of wrap dont seem to make sense with the structure of the thallus. Riccia gets long and is very thin which allows it to swallow any type of net or weight and make it disappear but I cant see this stuff doing that ?

Anyone have photos of Pellia in their tanks and the different means of growing it ?
 
#8 ·
Buck said:
...and help with a good reason why I should keep this stuff !

I have seen it in photos and always thought what a beautiful plant so I bought some from a member here.
But I think I am going to hate this stuff !
I have yet to figure out what to do with it and I need some ideas on how you Pellia Owners handle it ? Right now its floating in a breeder trap , its floating on the bottom of my tank , its stuck to the filter intake... you get the picture ? Some escaped from the trap through the grates in the bottom and I thought I had an outbreak of algae on my substrate... LOL , come to find out its Pellia chunks !

I think I finally found a plant more irritating then J. moss and messier then riccia.

How do you handle it ? Do you lash this stuff to a stone or something ?
How long do the thallus get ?

Im thinking I made a mistake ! :help:
LOL that is hillarious Buck... :hihi:
 
#12 ·
Now thats what Im talkin about... very nice pellia Deb ! I guess I will give it a go, after seeing a nice pellia bush like that I should get inspired to try...I still have reservations though.
Do you use thread or net ? Im thinking a net would keep the tank neater in the long run.
I also love that Pogostemon Helferi you have in the front left corner, I was tempted to try a stem but this guy at Aquabid wanted 15 bucks for one stem PLUS shipping ! I just couldnt bring myself to pay that... LOL
Beautiful looking plant though, did you have good luck with it ? I read it can be finicky...
 
#13 ·
Pogostemon Helferi is not finicky at all. I got the plant after 12 days in transit from Singapore and still got it in perfect condition.
 
#14 ·
I paid about that plus Fed Ex shipping, Buck, but I was obsessed with the Downoi at that time (a year ago this month). It was my birthday present to myself. The Toninas, etc. however have regrettably bit the dust from me messing with the water chemistry. "leave well enough alone" needs to be imprinted on my forehead.

To be honest, I'm not using thread or hairnet -- but it is 'attached.' The fake cave decoration it is connected to had several ugly fake plants that resemble Asian Ambulia. I weaved the Pelia into the fake plants - I only started with several leaves of Pelia, and it really took off. I've found the Pelia that just settles on the substrate, not 'anchored' down somehow, doesn't develop the nice broad leaves and pretty color, it just hangs out and survives, IMHO.

The nice part is that it has formed a kind of beehive for the shrimp, and they love to go in and out of the 'hive.'
 
#16 ·
Just to add a few more items to this thread. The Latin name for pellia/pelia is Monsolenium tenerum. There is a decent article about it out at Tropica (http://www.tropica.dk/article.asp?type=aquaristic&id=564). In there is talks about the "roots" by stating, "On the underside of the leaf structure attachment filaments form as very fine, threadlike growths known as rhizoids, and can anchor the plant to stones or tree roots..."

Also, here is a picture of how I attached mine to rocks about a week ago. If I look closely at the plant in my tank, I can already see where some of the thallus is starting to throw out little finger like structures.
 

Attachments

#17 ·
OK , Im very sorry folks but I snapped and threw it out the door in a fit , rock and all ! I made a huge mistake buying it... I swore to myself that I would no longer keep HIGH MAINTENANCE plants and I didnt think it was one or at least I did not put thought into my compulsive purchase !
... the worst part is where it ended up... for anyone that is curious...

Snow Banks and Pellia do not mix ! :tongue:

This plant was too much work for this guy and too messy !
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top