Aponogeton Bulbs

Kiara1125

Superstar Fish
Jan 12, 2011
1,142
0
0
Florida
#1
I have 5 Aponogeton Bulbs in my 10 gallon tank. I've had them for about a month now and they are still not growing. When I planted them, they started to sprout white fuzzy hair-like things all over the bulbs (but mainly on the tips). Then after a week, they dissapeared and I haven't seen any progress. There's no fugus or anything growing on it. What it wrong with my bulbs? I have a wattage of 3 wpg and I keep the light on for at least 10 hours a day. Any advice? I really don't think that my fish were eating them though. I have an Amazon Sword and they haven't touched it.....yet.
 

skjl47

Large Fish
Nov 13, 2010
712
0
0
Northeastern Tennessee.
#2
Hello; I put a few bulbs in a tank several months ago. Only two ever sprouted leaves. Some decayed. Two are still solid and are now in my QT. I tried putting a few of them in the fridge for a while to see if they needed a cold cycle. I think one of them sprouted. The other that sprouted was left alone but it took many weeks to sprout.
 

Kiara1125

Superstar Fish
Jan 12, 2011
1,142
0
0
Florida
#3
Thanks. Maybe I'll try some of the dormant cycle ideas that I've heard of. If you have any ideas, please post! I'll need all the help I can get with these stubborn plants. I know that they are supposed to grow like crazy, but the package bragged way to much from what I've heard and experienced.
 

Kiara1125

Superstar Fish
Jan 12, 2011
1,142
0
0
Florida
#4
Ugh, nasty!! They all grew this white fungus on them and they stunk like a landfill!! I threw all of them out. No getting my money back. I'll just stick to live plants from now on.
 

skjl47

Large Fish
Nov 13, 2010
712
0
0
Northeastern Tennessee.
#5
Hello; The bulbs I have came from dry packages at Wal-mart. Of the two packages purchased only two bulbs have sprouted. The two that sprouted have not grown very much yet, after several weeks. Years ago (1970,s) I bought Aponogeton bulbs from a local shop, they would sprout and grow very quickly within a week or two. They would grow to the top of a deep tank with lots of leaves. They were good looking plants. That shop is gone (flood of 77), But I recall that the bulbs were sold wet and often had small sprouts already started. So far today I have $8 in two very poor plants.
 

aakaakaak

Superstar Fish
Sep 9, 2010
1,324
0
0
Chesapeake, Virginia
#6
I bought a couple of those packs from Pet Smart.
1 lily bulb
1 onion bulb
3-5 apo bulbs

To date I've had one onion and one apo start growing, but man are they growing. They get bigger by the day. Both of the bulbs I had grow sunk instantly when plopped in the water. Both of my initial lily bulbs still float after a month.

My snails went after my "good" onion like little slow pirannhas until it started sprouting. They just ate away the dead material on the outside.

From my understanding, bulbs are supposed to have all the light energy and nutrients already stored in them when they start growing. Supposedly, you can have them in a completely dark tank and they'll still grow. But I'm not going to take that chance.

Edit: I "think" the one I got to grow is Natans, but I'm really not experienced enough to know for sure. I'll try and take a picture tonight.
 

Last edited:
Feb 10, 2011
81
0
0
Annapolis, MD
#8
I've had great success with the bulbs you and Aakaak speak of.. the little plastic packs from PetCo and PetsMart...

Now, with that said... I must say, I had to wait quite a while to see anything happen. My girlfriend tried them in her well lit betta tank first but they were pretty much buried and they rotted. Then she tried following the directions and only buried them a little... still rotted.. then we found a blog (not as good as MFT.net!!) that suggested you literally just throw 'em in the tank and see what happens.. so that's what I did on my 30 gallon. Weeks later after the two bigger bulbs floated around and the smaller ones sank instantly, they started to sprout.. and once they did.. BOOM. It was like a race between a few of them to see who could grow more in a day. Apono's have such cool colors and are so hearty and grow like weeds and I love them and luckily you get more of them in a pack then others.....

But I've done some research and was tired of rolling the dice and the waiting game (i know this is the wrong hobby for someone who's as impatient as I am!)

So, now when I get them, I take the bulbs and put them in a glass or tupperware container full of tank water and sit them on or near a windowsill that gets a lot of sunlight. You'll see nothing until about the two week period and then BAM.. out of control sprouting.. then you just take 'em, plop em in your substrate growth side up and they'll continue to take off. I just wish they made plant packs that had cryptos, or swords..

Hope that helps.