Elodea aquarium plant: how to maintain and care?

The aquarium plant of Elodea is characterized by intensive growth and unpretentiousness, for this it received the second name - water plague. Perhaps this is the most common variety in the world aquarium horticulture plant family Aquatic. Caring for an Elodea is quite simple, even a novice aquarist will cope with this.

The native land of the plant is North America. In botany, many species stand out, among which tubular, serrated, curly elodea, and dense are popular. One of the most popular is the Canadian variety, it can be seen not only in the home aquarium, but also in a pond or lake. The stems of Canadian Elodea are long with a fragile branching structure, with age the stem becomes more and more dark. This is a tender plant, the structure of which is quickly destroyed under the influence of adverse conditions, but also quickly restored. The roots of the water plague are also weak.

Translucent sheets reach 1–2 m in length. In shape, they have a pointed edge. The higher the sheet is located, the lighter its color. Shoots come out easily, a small stalk quickly transforms into fluffy thickets. When conditions change, for example, with a decrease in water temperature, the plant settles to the bottom, but does not lose buds for further development.

Each variety has its own characteristics.For example, leafy Elodea is massive, large in volume, density, while the jagged appearance is lighter and more airy, so it is recommended to plant such a variety in aquariums that contain small fish that are not able to swim through heavy thickets. At the same time, the leafy variety is good water filter, but her gear rival not able to fully improve the microclimate and is used mainly for decorative purposes.

The “golden mean” in density is Dens Elodea. It is characterized by a rich dark green color and thickets of medium density. As for the Canadian variety, it is famous for its ability to develop equally actively in both cold and warm pond.

In artificial and natural reservoirs, this plant is planted for landscaping and purification. Leaves release oxygen into the water and also become the main decoration of a home aquarium. For large reservoirs, it is not always recommended to use elodea, since it is still not capable of cleaning a large area, and it will be very difficult to remove it later.

Another use for this plant is to use as pet food. Especially enjoy the thickets of Elodeans like scalars and goldfish. For fry and small species of fish, such as guppies or swordsmen, algae become a convenient shelter. Where elodea grows, good ecology is always maintained, as it is able to absorb salts of heavy metals and radionuclides.

In order for a culture to feel comfortable, it is important to create suitable living conditions for it. Aquarists recommend listening to the following tips:

• provide water temperature + 14– + 23 degrees; if the water is warmer, the development rate will slow down, and when grown in cold water, the elodea will begin to prepare for wintering;
• This plant is not picky about water hardness, but there is one caveat: it does not like a sharp change in its former hardness. Moreover, the vegetation will withstand relocation from hard water to soft water, but in the opposite case it will feel very bad.
• Set aside elodei in case of treatment of fish with salt additives. This plant does not like salt in water.
• Maintain clean water. Turbidity can interfere with the penetration of the sun on the leaves of Elodea, and a deficiency of light can even lead to the death of this culture. Daylight hours should be 10-12 hours.
• Do not plant water plague in a fast flowing aquarium, otherwise it will begin to grow in only one corner, thereby violating the aesthetic harmony in the appearance of the aquarium.

Check out our care tips for this aquarium plant.

• Follow the rules of planting. Lower the lower end of the shoot to the bottom in the ground and press it with stones. White filamentous roots will appear very quickly and will be firmly fixed at the bottom. For planting, give preference to soil containing a large amount of lime - this substance will allow the plant to take root as firmly as possible.
• Thin out the elodea in the summer. The fact is that at this time it grows too actively and quickly fills with itself the entire space of the aquarium. Due to the abundance of vegetation, aquarium inhabitants may feel uncomfortable, therefore it is recommended to thin out the plant, removing small areas of vegetation.
• When you need to transplant the elodea from soft water to hard water, increase its daylight hours to 16 hours. This is necessary for the plant to quickly get used to new conditions and to restore the volume of green mass lost during adaptation.
• In winter, always use artificial lighting, as natural light during this period is not enough. This can lead to stunting and plant diseases.
• Replace 1/5 of the water volume weekly, so that the aquarium is always clean and the plant feels comfortable.
• You do not need to fertilize the elodea. As a top dressing, it uses recycled waste products of the inhabitants of the aquarium.
• Being a quality filter, Elodea accumulates particles of dirt on the leaves and stems, so it needs to be washed periodically under running water.

When breeding elodey problems usually do not arise. For planting, you need a twig of at least 20 cm in length, which must be strengthened in the ground. Some aquarists do it even easier and simply put one shoot into free swimming. A sprig quickly sprouts, which become independent and begin to grow throughout the territory. Knowing the activity and unpretentiousness of the plant, it is important to weed the elodea.

If you need to plant a plant in an open reservoir, it is better to choose a fast current for this. When planting elodea in stagnant water, the respiration of algae will provoke the formation of an abundance of carbon dioxide, which slows down the development of plants. The plant is capable of propagating by seeds, but this is possible only in nature.

In the home aquarium, Elodea is used as a natural filter, it absorbs fish waste and purifies water. In winter, its growth slows down slightly, and in spring water plague can even go into hibernation due to lack of sunlight and low water temperature. In the summer, plant activity resumes again. Be careful when moving the Elodea, as its stems and leaves are fragile. When thinning and pruning the stems for planting, remove the specimen from the water.

Elodea has a fairly strong immunity, so she practically does not suffer from various ailments. Health problems can occur only in the absence of lighting and if the water temperature is not observed. In this case, the leaves are covered with brown spots, and then fall off. If the conditions remain as unfavorable, the Elodea will perish.

Despite the resistance to disease, the elodea itself can cause fish infection in the aquarium. This happens if you take a plant for planting from a natural reservoir. On the leaves and stems, an infection can be transmitted, which will cause the death of the entire aquarium world.

For more information on Aquarium Elodea, see the next video.