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Help - my aldrovanda is dying

I reccently purchased an aldrovanda and it is not doing too well. if anybody could answer the following questions, I would really appreciate it.
1. How much peat, et cetera, do Aldrovandae need in the wate?
2. How much sunlight do they need?
3. What kind of companian plants do they need?

TIA
 
They dont really NEED peat, the peat just helps make the water acidic.

Bright light. Full killed my U. gibba, so it would probably kill an Aldro too.

Duckweed works great, only, after a few weeks you wont be able to see your prized plant. at least it keeps the full sun out
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Hi- it's me again. Thank you for the info, I hope I can save my Aldrovanda. Spectabilis73, do you know where I can get duckweed?
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ati
 
most pond supply stores have it, just ask for some. homedepot ususally has it in the water plant sections.
 
What kind of Aldrovanda is it? Temperate (turion-forming in winter dormancy) or tropical (evergreen)? They may require different temperatures...?

I grow the temprate type (from Poland) very sucessfully. I keep it very well lit with a degree of direct sun for a few hours a day (from around 9am to 2pm in summer). I wouldn't think duckweed would be anything other than a bloomin' nuisance in an Aldrovanda tank. I posted recently about it on CPUK, but I will repost here:

It shares the container with Utricularia stygia. My method is almost the same as for other aquatic utrics except the depth of water and the substrate.

It's in a household, opaque, plastic storage box, 18" long, 12" wide and 8" deep. On the base is 2" of peat overlaid with a thin layer of sharp sand. Then on top of this is a 2" layer of sedge litter, which was boiled in two changes of water before use. The water depth is therefore clear for only 4". The water is rainwater in which peat was boiled and then strained out.

The plant gets bright light and air temps up to 32C. Planted in the same container in 5" square mesh pots standing on the peat are typha minima and carex panicea, and a small water hyacinth floats on the top. A number of small water snails graze in the tub, and it gets a bag of fresh daphnia every month or so (the Aldrovanda and utric gobble most of them up quickly!) to assist against algae. Once the tank is stabilised against algae (which occurs as the utrics and aldrovanda start out-competing it), then it ceases to be a problem.

Here is some pics of mine a few days ago, in soul-elevating flower - yay!!

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Best wishes.

Rob.
 
Hi everybody,
  Thank you for giving me this information, I'm sure it will prove useful, I would like to ask you a few more questions.  How much peat should you put in per quart of water when making the water:-S ?  My Aldrovanda is only about a centimeter long, has sunk to the bottom of the tank, and different parts of it range in color from brown to yellow green
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 do you have any immeadiate suggestions for trying to get it to regain some of its health, I lowered the water level so that part of the aldrovanda sticks out- is this a good idea?  to Rob- man you have a nice, healthylooking Aldrovanda
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.

Thanks in advance,

ati
 
I didn't measure the peat out, just a couple of big handfuls into a large saucepan and filled up with water.

My Aldrovanda are in a perpetual state of dying at the rear, but the growth at the front is so quick that the plant keeps ahead. Yellowing at the back is not a problem if the growing tip is healthy. Incidentally, at some point in the next month or two a turion-forming variety will start to die back and form the winter buds...

What are your temperatures? And what variety are you growing? How much light does it get? What water do you have? How big is the tub? Is there an algae problem? etc. If you can tell us what conditions you have yours in then we can try to see if anything can be improved on.

Cheers!
 
  • #10
Hi everybody,
 I checked up on my Aldrovanda, and it's condition appears to have stabilized, although it still looks about as full of vigor as King Tut.  In answere to Rob-Rah's questions, I "grow" my Aldrovanda in a 1-2 gallon tank near a south facing window that gets indirect sunlight all day.  There is no algae problem, as I change the water about once a week, but there  is some kind of plant that came with it that resembles some kind of floating fern
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. I have recently added some peat to the water, and I am going to make some of that "peat soup" as soon as I post this- I hope this helps
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.

Thanks!

ati
 
  • #11
If the plant is perking up then that's good.

Half of me is telling me that it's not a good idea to keep changing the water though. What you want to do is stablise the conditions so that they are appropriate, not keep the plant guessing as to what is coming next. The stable and healthy conditions involve getting lots of Carbon Dioxide into the water. Peat water will increase acidity and help against algae, but what is ultimately needed for optimum growth is decomposing plant matter on the bottom. This releases CO2 as it decomposes, keeping the water mildly acidic (Aldrovanda doesn't need acid consitions incidentally), but more importantly providing the CO2 that the plant seems to thrive on.

I use sedge litter as that is what is classically recommended, and is replenished naturally by the carex and typha that is growing in the tank. It also releases humic and tannic acids into the water, which are a good source of nutrients for the plant. I have also grown it with simply a bunch of leaves from some garden plants (mainly ceanothus) at the bottom of the tank above the peat. Some growers empty the sludge from their water trays into the tank.

Companion plants are also useful becuase they extract nitrates which would otherwise fuel algae.

Do you know if yours is a variety that will want a winter dormancy or not?

Rob.
 
  • #12
Hi everybody,
I think mine is an Aldrovanda Poland.  I am going to re-habilitate the tank today, using everybody's advice.  The peat I bought has a lot of twigs, bark, etc. in it, will this be enough organic matter?  If it isn't, will a bunch a larger twigs and leaves from my yard work  
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.  I am de-bugging a yeast based carbon dioxide airating system, wihich should be ready by evening.  If all goes well, then my Aldrovanda should be doing better within a few days
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.  Thank you all very much for helping me.

ati
 
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