The Iwagumi Style

[Navarro]

It does better in soft water and it will do very well with amazonia, if you don’t have access to it try using a more sandy substrate and peat moss under it.
As far as I can remember this plant needs to live in symbiosis with a bacteria in its roots to thrive.
I know Tom Barr wrote an article or a post about it in the past. In my experience living in an area with predominantly hard water unless I use amazonia or the sand peat moss mix the plant is out of the question
But is by no means difficult I got these plants for the first time 10 years ago and is still going in the club.
BTW nice work Mr. Deki.
Cheers,
Luis Navarro

[Mellonman]

I've had Blyxa japonica in my big tank for almost two years and it's still as healthy as in the beginning.

But from my experience, when it has grown too much, you better remove the whole bunch and replace it by a single stem, otherwise stems tend to separate from the plant foot and float up.
Maybe this is what they mean by "limited lifespan" ???

[Joe Faria]

Keeping Blyxa can be a nightmare for some people... as far I'm concerned it does well in a iron rich nutrient substrate and soft water.
It is well known because it suffers some kinda a ''meltdown'' like most crypt species, and it's due to a change of conditions or parameters in water column or even a bulb change it's enough to lead to the ''melt''.

About the creation of a Iwagumi tank I saw an article somewhere, where it says some aquascapers cultivate the plants on their emerse way, and when the layout it's almost done, they just fill the tank, give a nice trimm to promote plant growth and it's ready for the pic.

Don't know if it's true or not, but it can be done...

Regards,

Joe Faria.

[goalcreas]

I have had great luck with this plant.
I have kept it in low tech, non co2 tanks with moderate light and high light high co2 tanks. Never had a problem, I mostly keep it in Pure RO but have had it in liquid rock tap water.

I have grown it in tanks with NO FERT DOSING.

I have had it long term in every tank.
Ii would rate it as a 1 on the scale of 1-4 with 1 being easy.

I have heard complaints of people that can't grow it.

It might be sensitive to high levels of Excel which I have used but never very high levels.

[StanChung]

Well done Roy, inspiring article. I do think if the fishes cooperated you would have done better. Always have a scary person/s around the sides to take pictures! Fishes always school when just dumped in or scared around.

As for B. japonica, IME it does not do well in new tanks, mishandling or N limiting tanks. An LFS had his for more than 3 years running. I gave up after three years because of it's weediness. Grew more than 1ft tall. We have soft water here but some still can't grow it. ???