Feeding and Nutrition :: Aquatic Plants

[Holmes1234]

I wanted to get some aquatic plants for my RES. I am planning on ordering some anacharis, hornwort, and water hyacinth. I was just wondering what kind of water hyacinth was best? Is blue shellflower hyacinth ok? What kind of water lettuce is the best?

[BullDog]

As far as I know I've always just gotten "Water Hyacinth" and "Water Lettuce". I didn't know there were different varieties.
I would say go for the cheapest, or if they're all the same price, get the type that is fastest growing (some varieties might say "Very prolific" or something like that). If they're otherwise all the same, just get the one that looks the best to you.

[Holmes1234]

Thanks for responding so quickly Bull. I was looking at these hyacinths, here is the link if you want to check it out. They have flowers on top of them and i didnt know if it was ok if my RES ate that. Here is the link http://www.dragonflyaquatics.com/catalo ... q=hyacinth

[BullDog]

Keep in mind that if they're in the tank, they're likely not going to get a chance to bloom before they become a delicious snack.
I even kept some outside in the summer in a fountain and they never bloomed. The grew like mad though

[Holmes1234]

Ah ok, i see that they wont last that long to get to the flowering stage...haha! Thanks for the help, much appreciated.

[Outlander]

Have you ever had aquatic plants before? And does your turtle already like eating vegetables? Because a while ago i got an amazon sword for my turtle. He went wild on it at first, ripping off every single leaf. But after the leaves were detached from the plant he just ignored them and never ate them! So I wouldn't spend too much money on plants, he may just shred them to bits without ever eating them.

[Zac]

Holmes1234 blue shellflower is really water lettuce, the Drgaonfly lasy calls Hyacinths shellflower because she sells it illegal across many state lines.

[marisa]

No, from what I see in the pics, the leaves are those of water hyacinths. Water lettuce looks very different. Water hyacinth is considered to be invasive in some states and is illegal to sell.