Crinum Thaianum (Onion plant)

Fry Lover · #1 06-02-2008, 11:45 AM

I have about 12 of these that have been thriving in my community planted tank (48x18x24) for over a year now. Some of them reach up to 6 foot from bulb to tip if i dont prune them enough.

I am wanting to experiment with a few of them in my 48x20x24 Malawi (mostly mbuna set-up).

The biggest issue i think will be substrate or lack of. I only have about a 1cm sand depth (if that) at the back of my Malawi set-up, as things stand the Crinum Thaianum would be lodged behind some ocean rock and it's roots would be almost completely out of the sand

I know Onion Plants are very hardy (i've never had a dead one or dying one anyway), but is planting with virtually no substrate a non-starter?

Obviously i can do it and see what happens, just wondered what peeps views are?

Thanks

Fry Lover · #2 06-02-2008, 05:04 PM

apparently there is a good chance the onion plant will be ok, thats the response i got from a couple other forums (including a specialist plant forum) so i will definitly go for it, see what it looks like.

I'm going for it, as whenever i see a Malawi tank with some plants, i love it

Will take some pictures later in the week

Fry Lover · #3 06-02-2008, 05:11 PM

PETER MC, PETER MC, whoa, whoa

you have to sing it like you at a footy match, sounds good!

try it

EDIT: Pete i can see you are "replying" to this thread.

Do you get abducted by alien's sometimes, i am starting to think you do, but we don't want to share you with the alien's

You are now not replying to the thread and have gone without replying, i am pretty sure something is happening to you

Fry Lover · #4 06-02-2008, 05:30 PM

keith · #5 06-02-2008, 06:05 PM

Be interesting if you do succeed. The odds are not in your favour. Its like putting your money on a 3 legged horse. Always an outsider chance though

Fry Lover · #6 06-02-2008, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keith

Be interesting if you do succeed. The odds are not in your favour. Its like putting your money on a 3 legged horse. Always an outsider chance though

i know mate, me and you are the same breed, we still hold out some faint hope for a semi-planted Malawi tank where the plants are actually thriving, or atleast growing and doing "ok"

keith · #7 06-02-2008, 08:37 PM

Im always chucking out cuttings of hygro polysperma from my planted tank, this stuff grows fast its way up there on the list of easiest plant to grow.

i have recently upped my lighting to 3.5 wpg in the planted tank, and co2 is at 40mgl about 1 bubble per second. since ive done this the plant grows about 1 inch a day. I might try and grow some cuttings in the malawi tank to see what happens. In theory it wont work. My java ferns didnt last to long they just rotted slowly. I never seem to do well with these anyway and dont believe they are the easiest things to grow like loads of media suggests.
Now i havnt had any form of plant in the Malawi tank for a long time and i reckon the fish will rip anything plant like to shreds. leaving me with plant debris getting trapped under and back of rocks and eventually creating more nitrate.
Oh the dilema lol

telboy · #8 06-02-2008, 08:42 PM

you could always post some to me keithy boy

you know you want to

Fry Lover · #9 06-02-2008, 08:45 PM

Keith, it takes quite a bit of plant debris to impact on nitrate, thats my own theory from my experience with my tanks and nitrate readings.

I am with you on the Java Fern issue, mine constantly reproduces but i am having to constantly cut away brown and rotting leaves, if it wasnt for the fact its attached to bog wood and cost me about £60 in total (x4 bits) i would fly it in the bin, but when i prune back the brown leaves it looks pukka again

Keith you are only person i know to diss Java Fern, i like that in a man, i feel a special closeness to you lmao

PeterMC · #10 06-02-2008, 08:45 PM

Well I was replying, saying that I had onion plants in my graveled tank and they grew like monsters!

But in my bare bottom tank they were loosely attached to bog wood and they didn't do so well.

But... your much more of a plant expert then I am. So don't let it put you off or think that it can't work. It just didn't work for me.