Halodule vs Thalassia

[graveyardworm]

My Halodule is rapidly approaching my Thalassia. Should I trim back the Halodule or do you think it'll be okay to let them intermingle? Just not sure how much nutrients are being taken up by the roots as opposed to uptake from the water column.

 

[graveyardworm]

Anyone?

 

[Samala]

Musta missed this one, sorry David. FWIW, I let my shoal grass invade the turtle stand. It rapidly overgrew the turtle. However, the turtle did not die. Turtle grass has not done exceedingly well in my tanks historically anyway, your setup seems to be much more conducive to their long term survival.

Now.. I also was supplementing ferts through the water column.

Just as an observation, I often find them intermingled, with manatee alongside, in the wild. So perhaps there is no direct competition between them, just for limited nutrient resources in the tank.

You may just want to clip the shoal grass back and replant elsewhere in the tank. Or... unearth and redirect the invading rhizomes. Works both ways.

Good to hear you're having this level of success!

>Sarah

 

[graveyardworm]

The Halodule. is sending up 1-2 new shoots per day, and each new shoot is an inch further that the plant progresses. I'm guessing that the rhizome is growing well ahead of the shoots, so it may already be in the Thallasia stand. Redirecting the growth sounds like a good short term solution so I may try it. Either that or it'll need to be pruned, but I hate to just toss out the cutting. It would be cool to see the Thalassia growing up through the Halodule as long as one doesnt adversely affect the other.

Do you happen to know if Eric B. or Anthony C. had an intermingling growth of seagrasses which included Thalassia? Also it seems Halophila has an intermingling growth, just without Thalassia.

Could there be any benefits?

 

[Samala]

I'm not sure if Eric or Anthony had intermingled beds or not. I think they both focused on Thalassia and not the others. I could easily be wrong. I'd visit them and ask.

Halophila has an intermingling growth, just without Thalassia

What do you mean? Halophila intermingles with Halodule/Syringodium, but not with Thalassia in your tank? Or is that something you've read for field reports? Just curious. The stargrass invades the turtlegrass often in my tanks.

As for benefits, totally unknown to me. I dont know if they can get rootbound in the sense that terrestrial plants (or even freshwater aquatics) do. I dont know if they are limited by substrate resources, or if those potential favorable microbes are then in higher density in older, thicker and intermingled stands of plants.

So many questions.

But the REAL questions here is: is your Halodule sending out new plants underneath the substrate? And is that H. wrightii, or the Pacific one that Mary sent to you?

The H. wrightii I have only sends out new shoots aerially, it "walks" across the substrate (for lack of a better description). The leading rhizome forms in the water column, along with the new shoot/plant, and is slowly dragged down by roots.

So that's a very interesting observation if they are forming underground for you.

>Sarah

 

[graveyardworm]

What do you mean? Halophila intermingles with Halodule/Syringodium, but not with Thalassia in your tank? Or is that something you've read for field reports?

Sorry I was refering to the member Halophila. :rollface:

A benefit I was thinking of might be lowered flow within the growth collecting detritus and moving more nutrients into the substrate.

It is the Pacific one I got from Mary, and all I see are new leaf shoots, the main root is well below the substrate.

 

[graveyardworm]

Still really curious as to what species my halodule is. Looks like a trident tip is this characteristic of H. uninervous only? Here's a couple pics.

First a closeup of the leaf tip.

Here's one of some bubbles coming right out of a leaf. Never noticed this before. Can you tell me why?

Finally one of my columbellids cleaning epiphytes from a plant.

 

[piercho]

My Halodule, which was from the Gulf, transplants within the tank pretty readily. I pull up the rhizome, cut it with a razor, the move what I've cut loose to a different part of the tank. The transplanted shoal grass throws new shoots within a month in my tank.

I could not get turtle grass to establish in my tank. I'd be inclined to keep the Halodule out of it for now and let the turtle grass build itself up for a couple years, if I were you.

 

[graveyardworm]

Thanks Howard, I think I will trim it and move the cutting to another area in the tank or to another tank. Anyone with a guess on what species I have? From what I've read the tip of the leaf is how Halodule is identified.

 

[graveyardworm]

Just noticed Halophila's tank back up and apparently there is Thalassia in there with other seagrasses. Not sure why I dint notice or rmember that.

 

[halophila]

Re: Halodule vs Thalassia

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8755254#post8755254 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by graveyardworm
My Halodule is rapidly approaching my Thalassia. Should I trim back the Halodule or do you think it'll be okay to let them intermingle? Just not sure how much nutrients are being taken up by the roots as opposed to uptake from the water column.

graveyardworm, I just let them grow together. After all, this is my stocks tank, I don't mind about the aquascaping look. It is like a garden without trimming for few years!:lol:

 

[halophila]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8773050#post8773050 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by graveyardworm
Still really curious as to what species my halodule is. Looks like a trident tip is this characteristic of H. uninervous only? Here's a couple pics.

First a closeup of the leaf tip.

Yes, it is Halodule uninervis. One of the fastest growing seagrass spp. to me after the Halophila ovalis.

 

[graveyardworm]

Thanks Halophila, I was just noticing that the single runner which was shooting across my tank heading for the Thalassia has split and is now going in three different directions. It is growing extremely fast. So it was progressing about 1 inch per day, and now it will be progressing about three inches per day. I also havent redirected or removed any yet, ( working 14 hour days, with only 1 day off for christmas doesnt leave me with alot of time, Self Employed :hmm5 fortunately everything except fish feeding is automated. Any way the job I'm on will be done in another week so I'll have some time then.

 

[scapes]

hey graveyard...
I already have shoal grass, would you like to part w/ some Thalassia? if your ever going to trim up your landscaping, I'd like some if you don't mind. pay you for it. thanks

 

[graveyardworm]

The thalassia is a fairly slow grower and so far only 1 new shoot, not nearly enough to sell.