Here's a newly taken photo of one of Azolla plants to the left, I have no idea why it looks like that, maybe it doesn't like the aquarium it lives in?
I did get Riccia, as I wanted, but in the Riccia - well, or rather on top of it - this plant grew. The name of this nice looking and fast growing plant is Azolla californiana. I never saw this plant before I bought it in the aquarium shop. And I've owned several aquariums and bred lots of fish in the past.
I managed to take a close-up of a small piece, floating alone. It looks like it has thick leaves, not at all looking like a water plant in my eyes. It is a fern, but it does not quite look like one. This plants is very small, just slightly bigger than Duckweed. But when they get stuck in Riccia, like most of mine, it looks like a thick rug of green.
I don't know why I bought this plant but I like floating plants, and when I see a pretty one I just go for it. I hope little baby fish like this plant. The Azolla plant is a very small plant, and you will need a whole lot of them to make a difference. They don't seem to grow quite as fast as Duckweed.
I have learned that there are 6 or 7 different Azolla plants, and that they are special since they live in symbiosis with another species. I'll try to learn more about that.
Here's a newly taken photo of one of Azolla plants to the left, I have no idea why it looks like that, maybe it doesn't like the aquarium it lives in?
OK, I got it - it was starving! I gave it some fertilizer, and a few days later they all looked like in the photo to the right! I really do like that it grows in the shape of a star :-) You can see a bit of the red parts in the middle.
I have noticed the in the aquariums with very little Duckweed the Azolla grows a lot better. That's true for my aquariums.
Copyright: Eva Johansson.
Last update: 20th of February 2007.