Historical Re-cap.  Sometime in 2010 we "lost" all our what we call normal watersprite.  All the new watersprite we order now is a spindly emersed farm.  We tried (unsuccessfully) to convert some of these plants to the submerged form. 

LA
The emersed form is much less attractive and on average way too tall to fit many tanks.

LA
We've been watersprite-less for over a year.  Suddenly it's back.

Thanks to a Customer.  Right around the end of 2011, one of our customers brought in a "dishpan" full of watersprite plants -- of all different sizes.  Including the numerous four-leaf daughter plants, we probably received at least a hundred plants.  We scattered them throughout several tanks -- planting them  and leaving many floating on the surface.  Floating plants grow fastest because they're closer to the light.

LA
Small goldfish are harmless.  Over three inches they like to snack on watersprite.

LA
Planted watersprite grows best in brightly lit tanks.

LA
Same sprite a few days later.

LA
Plus another week.  Watersprite grows fast.

LA
Another week later.

LA
Floating sprite in the same tank grows even faster.

LA
Watersprite will not grow in certain tanks-- usually due to lack of light.

LA
Snails are hard on the soft fronds.  Best to pick them off.

LA
Floating sprite grows large enough to make it easier to plant.

LA
The longer roots make it easier to plant.

LA
One of the few emersed forms that survived out of dozens that did not.

LA
Couple of 20Hs totally covered with watersprite.

Small but Large Competitor.  In the picture directly above, you see over a dozen duckweed floating among the watersprite plants.  Pick, net, or rinse these little upstarts out as soon as possible.  They will quickly outcompete your sprite plants if you ignore them.

LA
One of the emersed forms that has survived.

LA
Some of the submerged forms mixed with the emerged form.

LA
When sprite plants get turned upside-down, they grow very strangely.

LA
like this.

LA
Watersprite looks good with bog wood.

Last Words.  Apparently we can't ship in watersprite these days.  We get the wrong stuff.  Luckily, Dean, the customer who brought in the huge mass of watersprite plants at the end of last year, has put our watersprite ranch back on track.  LA

 © 2012  LA Productions