Bulb Spout Problem

Bluewind

I bought some Hybrid Aponogeton Bulbs from Walmart the other day to put in my tank while I wait to get some Water Sprite or Anubias. 3 bulbs sunk right away, but after several days, I didn't see a sprout. I found out why today when 2 of the bulbs had nice little sprouts on them and the Ghost Shrimp attacked them and munched up the little piece of green! Is this normal? Will try eventually be able to grow?
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Stoke88

As many people will tell you these bulbs are hit or miss. I bought some just to see what they would do and 1 out of the 7 I had sprouted. The bulbs are under a 6500K CFL in my 2.5g bow and I'm dosing with Flourish Comprehensive and Excel. The one that did spout is growing nicely but not anywhere as fast as they say on the package they come in. Is there another tank you can place the bulbs in to get them started then transfer them back to their original tank with the Ghost Shrimp?

Bluewind

I have 3 out of 5 sprouting and they would be growing if my little guys would just leave them be! -_-'

Ummmm, I do have my old 1.8 gal, but I use it for my fresh water for my PWC. I have a bit of sand in my water and if I dont filter it a bit, it ends up clogging my 10gal filter. Could I just put them in a jar?
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redchigh

Yep, a jar of aquarium water in a windowsill should work fine. You dont really even need to fertilise the bulbs until you transfer them. They do need to be kept warm though.

CinBos

Are these even worth adding. I have always seen them, but never sure if I should get them. What do you all think? And what kind of plant is it?

Bluewind

From what I understand, it is kind of a hard plant to get started, but an extreamly harty one once you get it established. It is also a plant that you fish can enjoy munching on. Pick nice ones without white spots. The bulbs need some light to start off, so I put them in a cup (I love using my old Marimo Ball cup for stuff like this) with old water and some gravel from my tank and put it in a sunny window (east or west). When they drop to the bottom, you can put them in the tank. When they sprout, put it down sprout side up. Once I had a couple sinkers, I put the remander in the tank to float in the cup. Making the gravel unbalanced helps it hug the corner of the tank instead of bobbing everywhere. I take a bit of gravel water from the feeding area and put it in the cup every day. Take them out and smell them and if they smell nasty, their bad. The cup will keep the water from getting nasty if you happen to get a bad one.
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Bluewind

I decided to leave the sprouting bulbs in the tank. The sprout keeps popping back up, so I think they will be okay. If my little guys are still being a pain next week, I'll stick them in the cup.

Btw, don't do what the package said and just let them float in the tank. Besides messing up the water if they're bad, they also eventually get pushed in a corner or odd spot which makes it hard for them to get enough light! The floating cup also gets rid of the problem with sitting them in the window and the water getting super cold at night. It stays tank temp all the time this way.
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jentralala

I just bought some too after seeing them all but take over my sisters tank. Every week they noticeably grew several inches. One bulb has about 12 stems coming off of it, and they all have reached the top of her tank. One even flowered! He fish love playing and eating small bits of them. I threw 4 bulbs in my tank and three sunk, so I put the fourth in a jar. (I grow all my small plants/cuttings in jars, in fact the only way I can grow strap leaf sag is in a jar!)