The natural habitat of this plant is the marshland of America (both South and North). Shady micrantemum looks spectacular, being part of an aquarium composition, and is actively grown in Dutch-type aquariums. Passing by the composition, the background of which this amazing plant creates, and not paying attention to it is simply unrealistic.
Brief description of the plant
The rhizome of the plant is creeping. The micrantemum is characterized by the presence of subordinate roots of a white color. From the rhizome, long non-leafy outgrowths resembling stems grow up to a thickness of 0.5 mm.
The apex is dotted with densely seated leaves located opposite each other. Leaf blades are thin and delicate, light green, closer to light green, color. The shape of the sheet is rounded, in diameter up to 10 mm.
Features of growth in aquarium conditions
With aquarium growth, the micrantemum reaches a height of up to 20 cm, while the width of the formed bush varies in the region of 15 cm.
Keeping the plant in acceptable conditions and providing it with comfort, it is possible to observe the flowering of the micrantemum, which is accompanied by the appearance of a mass of tiny flowers, located individually on a small peduncle. An interesting feature that the shady micrantemum possesses is that only the surface part of the plant blooms.
Plant Maintenance and Care Rules
The plant can be grown in containers with different volumes: both large and smaller aquariums. Growing micrantemum in a small aquarium, monitor the level of its growth. So, the plant requires constant pruning and shaping. Having created acceptable conditions for the representative of aquatic vegetation, you will be surprised how quickly the shady micrantemum can grow. The content in the bulk container makes it easier to control its growth and care for the plant.
Micrantemum bushes are planted between snags and stones, thereby creating a designer look of the underwater landscape. Compositions made from micrantemum, ferns and Javanese mosses look spectacular.
Sometimes the plant does not land to the bottom, but is left in free swimming on the water surface of the aquarium. Such thickets adore small fish and fry, therefore they willingly hide inside the algae.
Scientists note that the shade micrantemum (a photo of it can be seen in the article) is a stable and fairly hardy plant, able to adapt to any conditions.
Such a plant in the aquarium is not only a decorative decoration, but also a useful and rich in vitamins and minerals supplement for the inhabitants who like micrantemum.
Optimal plant growing conditions
By maintaining such indicators of the environment in which the micrantemum is located, you will be able to achieve the maximum effect in the growth and development of the plant.
Acceptable for growing consider such indicators:
- temperature conditions - 20-25 ° C;
- water hardness - dH 5-10 about;
- acidity of the medium - pH 5.3-7.8;
- Illumination - not too bright, with an intensity within 0.7 W / l.
Using artificial lighting, it is better to choose lamps with a specially selected spectrum of luminescent radiation.
Creating ideal conditions for the content of algae, make sure that the duration of daylight hours (even with artificial lighting) is 12 hours or as close as possible to this figure.
For planting on the bottom of the aquarium, you can lay fine gravel with the addition of sludge. Shady micrantemum responds well to mineral top dressing and CO 2 .
The representative of the aquatic fauna is characterized by reproduction using lateral shoots. By trimming the top of the micrantemum or its lateral shoot, you can plant it in the ground and soon get a new shoot.
As you can see, the plant is not fastidious in its care, and creating optimal conditions for keeping the micrantemum in the aquarium is not so difficult. But what a beautiful aquarium composition is obtained when this is included in the number of plants used for design.