I do this
General cultivation of aquatic utricularia
Water depth: 5-120cm
Water PH: 5.8-8.4 (optimum is 6.2-6.6)
Bottom substrate: premium potting mix (will grow well and flower but not form traps), sphagnum mixed with sand and sand over peatmoss, or just a layer of peatmoss.
Water temperature: 12-40C is fine for U.Gibba, Aurea and Stellaris
Irradiance: Full sun all day, full morning sun and bright light (50% shade cloth receiving 2-4hours full sun), most prefer the latter.
For a standard 2foot tank, a 3-5cm layer of peatmoss should be added, then a 2-3cm layer of clean sand as an anchoring base for companion plants as well as to hold down the peat, then the water.
(optional, for optimum growth) After 2-3days accompany plants may be added (if any), then on the fourth or fifth day the PH should be recorded, target PH is 6.2-6.6, if the PH is to high add dried sphagnum, it will float for a day or two then sink and increase the acidity. Alternatively peat tea may be used, if the PH is to acidic simply bucket out water and replenish with new pure water. Once the PH is stable the Utricularia are added, this same method may be adopted for large ponds, I work on 1 cup of peat to 3L so a 250L pond takes about 84cups (or 8-9 compressed peat blocks), however for small tanks ½ to 1 cup per litre is enough.
In small setups (less than 100L) I find the addition of a simple CO2 reactor to be a great benefit to the growth rate, they are also simple to make and benefit all aquatic plants (however not recommended if there are fauna such as fish).
To counter Algae I use horn snail, this is a minute species that does not feed on plants and can be brought from some pet stores, or alternatively collected, small cat fish work well in larger bodies of water (in excess of 100L), as do freshwater mussels (who seem to help in filtering the ammonia the fish release), however in smaller ponds and aquariums nitrogen/amonia levels climb to high with these animals for the plants to thrive.
Alternatively, or accompanying the animals, companion plants may be used to reduce algae growth by absorbing excess minerals and also help utric growth by adding CO2 when old leaves decay.
Accompany plants I use
• Other Utricularia
• Nymphoides(best in ponds deeper than 40cm, but small species work well in depths as low as 5cm, attractive and aid in protection from birds and strong sun in open setups)
• Typha (depths of 1-60cm, easily contained in solid pots, long pots work best), their stolonous nature also adds to the CO2 and provide shade and wind protection.
• Pistia Stratiotes (In confined Aquarium only, not in open ponds due to risk of spreading, periodically removed to prevent overcrowding, removed plants must burnt), extreme care must be taken with this species and it should only ever be grown in a container with a lid or indoors.
• Nardoo (tolerates depths of 1-40cm, can get out of control and choke out utrics if not controlled), an array of attractive specimen exist in the marsilea group.
A simple CO2 reactor can also be used, I use 5L bottles with aquarium hose attached to a air stone, I also have a 1way hose joint to stop water from the tank being sucked up, the best ration seems to be 3L of water:250g of white sugar: 1 sachet of yeast, I change my CO2's every 2months, but larger 15L reactors last as long as 3months.