It does float, if left to its own devices, but it CAN root, from what I've read. It usually it takes a long time and a ton of patience to get it to, but it looks like it decided to attach itself to foam? My guess is that since foam is so porous, it was pretty easy for it to grab on than if it had been a rock or driftwood (or anything you actually WANTED to attach it to, lol) So yeah! Three cheers for rooted Riccia! That's pretty cool. . . Just pull it off if you don't want it there, it won't hurt it.
Random thought: If you have ANY other floating plants in the tank, you might want to think about moving it out of there. I lost ALL my Riccia because it got mixed in with the other floaters. It's still IN the tank and alive, just not a fluffy mat of awesomeness anymore. Which is sad. . .
Random thought #2: Of ALL the floaters in the world, my frogs LOVED Riccia the MOST. It's so easy for them to tangle up in it. Kind of like fluffing up a pillow to get it super comfy. ^.^ I used to have it in my 10g frog tank, and it made them happy. Show Hunny your love. Give him Riccia!
Did the plant have a bulb, perchance? It kind of looks like an apongeton (sp?) but it isn't if it doesn't have a bulb. Otherwise, I'm thinking a sword or a crypt, like the guy said. Definitely not ludwigia.
Riccia is another one of those types that will attach itself to just about any surface and grow. Looks like somehow it got pushed up against the filter (via current or curious fish) and decided to put down roots, so to speak.
Your 1st plant's most likely a crypt. IME Riccia can grow like in your picture if a bit of it gets trapped. It starts out with just a little bit trapped down, and then this little bit grows into a larger mass as time goes on. To my knowledge Riccia doesn't actually root to anything.
I have a ton of crypt wendtii, red and green, and it is definitely not that. It doesn't have a bulb either.
What about crypt pontederiifolia?
Here's a curve ball. This part of the filter (it's smooth plastic) wasn't submerged until recently, and the riccia actually climbed out of the water to latch onto it. . .
Interesting situation you have with the Riccia. Was the water level lower at some point? Riccia can grow emersed but I always assumed it didn't actually attach itself to a surface when growing emersed. It could be that it grew emersed onto the plastic and then when you filled up the water level higher it just stayed there.
I think you have a sword plant there but I could easily be wrong. And if you do end up with a crypt pontede . . . can't spell tonight, then I'm jealous.
I think I read in my plant books that riccia uses miniscule hooks to attach to things like moss, so maybe root wasn't the right word. It "hooks" onto things. I do think it's just a little weird and maybe kinda creepy that it crawled out of the water to latch onto the filter though. :shock:
contrary to popular belief riccia DOES attach when grown emersed!!! Mine is growing slowwwwly emersed on a larva rock atm.
lol Does that solve a mysteryfor you?
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