Can lotus be companion plant for aldrovanda
 

I was wondering if I could use lotus as companion plants for utrics or aldrovanda as I have some lotus plant with me now.

Re: Can lotus be companion plant for aldrovanda
 

Richard has written a very good article on this. Here: https://forum.petpitcher.net/showthread.php?t=1510

Re: Can lotus be companion plant for aldrovanda
 

My bet is: YES.
There's no need to get too worried actually. I grow Aldrovanda myself and I have found that the plant can take quite a lot of abuse and still come out on top(and even flower!). I would personally be more worried about algae.

Re: Can lotus be companion plant for aldrovanda
 

I did a quick check and apparently Lotus are Monocotes so they still fall into good "companion" plant category for Aldro.

I did have a Lotus plant on my small plastic pond before I got aldro from my good friends in Penang, which came from Richard. But after I started putting in the Aldro, I also added some Horsetails and cattails (small ones) which are monocotes as well. Anyway yeah Lotus are okay as long as they do not over crowd the pond and their leaves cover the water surface, and take out the sun that Aldros might need.

Yeah I agree that Algae is the biggest enemy, luckily never had algae on my pond probably because of the monocotes as well as snails. I even chose not to put any fish after the last one died.

Oh, you know what else is pest on my Aldro? U. Biblis! Sheesh they overgrow too quickly, so this is a warning, do not include U biblis with your aldro :(

TTFN
Arvin

Re: Can lotus be companion plant for aldrovanda
 

Yeah, that's right! Certain aquatic Utrics can overgrow and totally crowd out the Aldrovanda. My problem is with U. gibba, which I can't get rid of at all.

I've not heard of U. Biblis tho, is there anywhere which sells it?

Re: Can lotus be companion plant for aldrovanda
 

I'm very very very sorry! :spinning: I meant U gibba!!! I mixed up Utricularia Gibba and Byblis Liniflora! hahahahahahaha!!

Yes U Gibba is a pain when they get established in a pond. I used to "baby" them in my pond, but when they started flowering, gosh they became weed!

One thing though, :scared: yesterday I went to my garden after 3 days of neglecting them. I almost had a heart attack because my Adro pond was almost dry!! So I had to put any rain water I had left in the pond and added Tap water. I think the Aldros are okay, they did not dry up totally, but gosh I imagine one more day and they were goners.

The culprit is because we are now in cold and dry season here in Manila, but of course right after I did my emergency rewatering of the pond, in the afternoon it drizzled. :)

Am I scared that my Aldros will die due to Chlorinated tap water? No, Richard mentioned that Aldros are really actually tough and tolerant with water chemistry. But as Infurita and I said, they will die if Algae infects the pond. :(

TTFN
Arvin

Re: Can lotus be companion plant for aldrovanda
 

Thanks for all that info!:1thumbup:

Re: Can lotus be companion plant for aldrovanda
 

U gibba is a monster when it goes wild, entangling the whole aldrovanda plant. I've had much experience trying not to bread the Aldro strand while removing the U gibba. On eht same subject, be wary of U aurea too, they are less "dangerous" but potent.

I lost all my aldrovanda to algae. So algae is Aldrovanda public enemy #1! Didn't have time to try using shrimp like Yamato Shrimp.

Re: Can lotus be companion plant for aldrovanda
 

was wondering what will probably be controlling the spread of U. Gibba as I have seen on several site of U Gibba where they are usually in a small clump by themselves rather than entangling the whole water surface unless it's in a a shallow part of swamp with strong sunlight...