TheChosenOne Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 (edited) Currently struggling with staurogyne repens for the 3rd time. I order 2 from Aquarium Co-Op that came in looking rough but salvageable. I’ve struggled with this plant before so I don’t blame the state of the plant at all. I’m just wondering if I could get any feedback or tips on this specific plant. This and monte carlo are the only plants I’ve ever struggled with. I’m not running CO2 so I’m not expecting rapid growth or a full carpet would just like them to stay alive lol and be able to propagate little by little. Anyone else struggle with this plant? Any tips from those successful with it. 29 gallons, heavily planted (or at least I think it is) Pics of my tank Equipment: Tidal 75 and aquaclear 50 (switching filters and letting both run on the lowest setting until I feel the new filter is fully seeded.) Nicrew Classic LED Plus Planted Light and Fluval Spec 3.0 that is on a time and only runs a few hours a day. (specifically for the lower/carpeting plants) Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 20-40, PH 7.2, KH 2 and GH 15 Phosphate ( first time ever testing this I think it was around 0 so I’ve been dosing to bring it up to .5) Edited December 14, 2021 by TheChosenOne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Burke Posted December 14, 2021 Share Posted December 14, 2021 I love your tank. Don’t mess with perfection! I’ve tried staurogyne reopens before, not luck. Of course mine were all culture, soooooo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted December 14, 2021 Share Posted December 14, 2021 I find staurogyne repens is one of those plants that require strong light and rich substrate. I have a bit in my hi-tech tank that has inert substrate and it does grow but struggles and the smallest amount of shade will set it back. My tank is a shallower than your and my light stronger. I've had it about 13 months but my guess is that in another year it will pass though perhaps I will get lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted December 14, 2021 Share Posted December 14, 2021 I've bought this plant twice from Co-Op. First setup no CO2, cheap 6" suction attached led light from Amazon. stop judging my décor Second setup with CO2 and decent lighting that came stock with my lid. Surprisingly the group in the second setup was the only one that melted the first few weeks. 2/3rds of them bounced back though -- this photo was just taken now. They grow slowly with both setups but I wonder in my case if it could be because they're so low that light doesn't have much chance to reach them? I've also have a couple come unrooted and been too lazy to replant them(first setup). They seem to be doing just fine tangled up in my sword lol. Probably means if they're happy with the nutrients in the water column then they'll be okay. Sorry, I don't have any specific advice, just anecdotes. Hope you're able to piece together something that works for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 Just out of curiosity what are your 3.0 settings? I have mine on a 36g bowfront (18" to substrate) and had to dial my settings way down before seeing good growth. Maybe too much light is your problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 I have a fairly strong light on my 40B and they grow very very slowly and imho are slowly dying. I've had them for about a year but i suspect by next year they will be no more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChosenOne Posted December 19, 2021 Author Share Posted December 19, 2021 On 12/16/2021 at 12:36 PM, JoeQ said: Just out of curiosity what are your 3.0 settings? I have mine on a 36g bowfront (18" to substrate) and had to dial my settings way down before seeing good growth. Maybe too much light is your problem? I actually have my 3.0 set to only be on for about 1 hour as I attempt to balance my tank and fight a green-spot algae outbreak. So the tank is mostly being lit by a 3 year old Nicrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChosenOne Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 My third and final attempt with these failed again. I'm assuming it's an issue with my water. I won't pretend I've done a ton of research on these plants. I've been able to grow most things so I just assumed I could grow these. I'll add these to the list of things I've failed at monte carlo being the only other item on that list. New substrate and root tabs still couldn't help me with this one lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 (edited) Both of those plants need proper CO2 and good strong light to do well. There's always that one person who can put it in any tank, and it looks amazing, but I can't achieve that. Edited February 9, 2022 by Mmiller2001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 1Hold my beer! 🤣 I am also trying S. Repens, with no co2, stay tuned! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChosenOne Posted February 10, 2022 Author Share Posted February 10, 2022 (edited) On 2/9/2022 at 3:58 PM, Mmiller2001 said: Both of those plants need proper CO2 and good strong light to do well. There's always that one person who can put it in any tank, and it looks amazing, but I can't achieve that. I'm aware that getting a full carpet or even decent spread won't be achieved in most cases without co2 for monte carlo. But I can keep it a live for quite a live it just doesn't thrive or grow. These S. repens immediately die off and never come back. I have done of ton of research on them but I know others are able to grow them without co2 and co-op's own website says co2 isn't necessary. Perhaps I'll try them again if I teardown and redo my tank. On 2/9/2022 at 5:33 PM, JoeQ said: 1Hold my beer! 🤣 I am also trying S. Repens, with no co2, stay tuned! lol def looking forward to hearing how you do. I know others have been able to do it. Edited February 10, 2022 by TheChosenOne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 This is how it started, planted yesterday. Forgive the 1/2 dead plant scrapps, one of my loves in the hobby is rehabilitating plants that most people would just throw out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash_2011 Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 hello all I'm late to the party but I too am doing S. Repens and Monte Carlo with no CO2 I have to say its been slow really slow at first almost nothing I was having a hard time keeping the Monte Carlo in the substrate it would float up I had to put a rock on it and move it every other day so I wouldn't kill it then I wanted to give S. Repens a try so I got some from aquarium coop well I only managed to keep three out of the whole pot they start just the same way as Monte Carlo they lost leaves everyday for awhile as u can see by the pics but here in the past two weeks they have started taking off I have had the tank with Monte Carlo for close to two years and probably 8 months to a year for S Repens so @joeQ it looks like ur plants are doing better than mine did at first so u just have to give it time lol a long time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 On 2/19/2022 at 9:07 PM, Crash_2011 said: hello all I'm late to the party but I too am doing S. Repens and Monte Carlo with no CO2 I have to say its been slow really slow at first almost nothing I was having a hard time keeping the Monte Carlo in the substrate it would float up I had to put a rock on it and move it every other day so I wouldn't kill it then I wanted to give S. Repens a try so I got some from aquarium coop well I only managed to keep three out of the whole pot they start just the same way as Monte Carlo they lost leaves everyday for awhile as u can see by the pics but here in the past two weeks they have started taking off I have had the tank with Monte Carlo for close to two years and probably 8 months to a year for S Repens so @joeQ it looks like ur plants are doing better than mine did at first so u just have to give it time lol a long time Im expecting slow growth on the Repens. My main goal is the accomplishment of growing a plant who many say need co2, without co2! If you look closely in the pick I also have a sprig of rotala which I plan to shape and grow in as carpet. I also put a 9~10 day update on this, with almost no leaf loss in that period and some healthy root growth I believe they are on their way to establishing themselves. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash_2011 Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 What type of rotala is it in one of my other tank I have Rotala Rotundifolia Orange Juice with no co2 it has never carpet for me but it has actually grown better in the tank that has no co2 than the one with co2 what kind of light do u have and I that a crypt Wendi that is staying close to the ground like a pancake here is the rotala it has grown a wall in the back of the tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChosenOne Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 On 2/19/2022 at 9:07 PM, Crash_2011 said: hello all I'm late to the party but I too am doing S. Repens and Monte Carlo with no CO2 I have to say its been slow really slow at first almost nothing I was having a hard time keeping the Monte Carlo in the substrate it would float up I had to put a rock on it and move it every other day so I wouldn't kill it then I wanted to give S. Repens a try so I got some from aquarium coop well I only managed to keep three out of the whole pot they start just the same way as Monte Carlo they lost leaves everyday for awhile as u can see by the pics but here in the past two weeks they have started taking off I have had the tank with Monte Carlo for close to two years and probably 8 months to a year for S Repens so @joeQ it looks like ur plants are doing better than mine did at first so u just have to give it time lol a long time I definitely dealt with the monte carlo floating away. I used Fluval Stratum as my substrate and it's great for growing plants but it's so light weight that my hang-on-back used to blow it around in my 29 Gal. You are definitely doing better than I've managed with the monte carlo and the S. repens. My tank has been setup for over 4 years at this point so in addition to using root-tabs I'm slowly adding new substrate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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