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Aldrovanda

I havn't ventured into aquatic carn. plants yet. I was wondering how hard it is to grow Aldrovanda inside. I would probably try to gow a few aquatic bladderworts with it (two birds with one stone). I would probably grow it in a 10 gal but if anyone has suggestions i would to know what works best. Any tips on how to make it a happy home would be nice.
Thanks Ryan
 
I'm not sure they're appropriate for long-term indoor culture; they may need dormancy or cool temps, I don't remember which. Put that aquarium on a sunny porch outside and you'll probably have a better bet. Companion plants will help alot, but I don't think aquatic utrics alone will cut it (although something fast-growing like U. inflata is supposedly good to control changes in water chemistry.) From what I've read, you'll have the best luck with some non-CP companions, like some bog grasses perhaps. The Savage Garden suggests duck weed, but I've heard people here on the forums say otherwise about duck weed. Keep in mind that Aldrovanda is a finicky plant that many commercial nursuries and experienced CPer's find difficult to grow.
With that said, you might want to email somebody at the Meadowview Biological Research Station - I understand they had great success with Aldrovanda this year such that they've put it on sale; it probably wouldn't hurt to ask them about how they grow their plants. Unfortunately, there's a soil quarantine in effect so they can't ship to the northwest, but I'm sure they'd be happy to answer your questions.
Good luck,
~Joe
 
Hi,

I've been successfully growing Aldrovanda 'kimberly red' for over one year now. Believe it or not, it's growing in a plastic Q-tip container filled with peat tea and aerated with CO2. The container is sitting 6" under 120W fluoroscent lights (12hr photoperiod) along with other CPs. There are no other plants and no sand/peat substrate on the bottom of the container.

Initially, I tried growing it in a 10gal tank (with artifical light) but failed miserably--the plant almost died in a week.

I contacted some experienced growers last year and they provided me with some very helpful information. RAther than re-state all that has already been said, I believe some of the posts are in this forum and others can be located at cpukforum.com (forums section-->Aldrovanda).

Hope this helps.
 
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