Tonina fluviatalis and the overall tank plan

816 Views 2 Replies 2 Participants Last post by edacsac, Feb 3, 2007

edacsac

Discussion Starter · Feb 3, 2007

I'll might as well get right on the next difficult plant I'm having trouble with...

Per the plant geek database: it says that it is "a difficult plant, and if too much light is blocked, the lower leaves die. Likes soft acidic water". So true so far.

How should I care for this plant in this situation. My ph is 6.5, and I plan to keep it between 6 and 6.5. Seems good so far with my co2. As far as the lower leaves dying - well it's partially the tops of the plant blocking the lower parts. some of them grow kinda twisty and bendy. One actually did a 180 half way up and is growing straight down. The tops look great, and it is growing overall. I had to trim one the other day. I trimmed it and stuffed the trimming in the substrate. Is that about all I really need to do? Should I cut this stuff low and let it grow out again, or will the dead leaves fall off and regrow? Is tonina a strong rooting plant? Does it "propogate" or whatever you call it on its own? Does it mind being planted densely?

I'm also having a hard time making a decision. I have some other plants that after a couple of weeks I don't really care for, partially because they also help block light from the toninia, and because they just collect dirt and I can't clean them because they won't root. Should I feel guilty to get rid of the hm and anacharis so I can focus on just a few plants, one being the tonina? the anacharis and hm just grows long and gets tangled up. I destroyed alot of the more delicate stuff in my newbness as well. Some of this stuff was planted anywhere just to plant it, and now the visual plan is comming together and some things don't fit at all.

I have a plan for the tank, at least as far as color and to a lesser extent texture goes, but I also understand that it will be somewhat of a work in progress for me while I learn about what I want and what I have success with.

I don't have a lot of real estate in my 10 gallon layout, and I'm trying to equalize between the plants I really get into and having enough plant matter to leep the ammonia low, but all these varieties seem to be too much to manage.

Or should I just forget about it and let everything do what it's going to do for a month and go from there?

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Wö£fëñxXx

· #2 · Feb 3, 2007

Is the tank mature?
Tonina is not a strong rooted plant, I actually love it that way, you don't gut your substrate by trimming and moving things around like some other plants do.

It does not like shade.
It does likes a good swift current, with lots of C02.

If you swap over to just Tonina, keep in mind they are slower growing than the plants you may be used to, so the system will need to be ran in a more managed manner, I like to keep some faster growing plants in my Tonina tanks, it helps keep things stable and moving along nicely.

If you want to grow Tonina nicely, I would suggest not worrying about ph at all, go as low on everything as you can and it will do fine, if you have fish you are concerned about, toss them in another tank.
Learn to grow Tonina first then add fish/shrimp later if need be.

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edacsac

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 3, 2007

Hi Wö£fëñxXx,

No, my tank is certainly not mature. It's really only month on it's way and I need to get more plant matter back in after my blyxa forest died. I just would like to keep the tonina around. Right now it currently dominates the left-rear of the tank, but I want to keep it top notch. It is almost in the beginning of the current. The filter output is right above the toninia, although the heaviest current is at the front of the tank. I also have dwarf puffers in the tank that I would like to keep.

Thanks for the info. It helps alot as I go forward.

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