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For sale online at: 
Buy & receive at home! ->
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Name: Aponogeton madagascariensis |
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Origin: Madagascar (Africa) |
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Care |
Gravel |
Light | |
Hard |
Rich |
Medium |
I have some of this great plant in my 100 L planted tank. It does very well. Even though it demands a high price it is worth it. It needs good lighting to thrive in your tank.
Aponogeton madagascarensis has a reputation as being a tough plant that I'm not sure is entirely deserved. With good light, gentle algae eaters, and clean water, this plant has always thrived for me (and sometimes without those things, too). It also seems to enjoy food through the roots. The reputation for difficulty perhaps comes not so much from the difficulty in growing it, but from the difficulty of incubating it during dormancy to keep it going year in and year out. Without dormancy it always seems to loose vigor and diminish, but a couple months tucked away in a bag filled with moist (not wet) peat, and it often comes back stronger than ever. A gorgeous plant well worth the price of admission.
I luckily found a few specimens of madagascar laceleaf at a very low price, and after seeing a beautiful specimen in my uncles tank i just had to buy some and give it a try! Without too much care, it grew beautifully and, even though its first leaves died off, it sprouted more and more leaves, which grew tall and lay flat and wavy on the surface. It even flowered, with spikes of tiny, white, scented flowers held just above the water! Definitely does not deserve its reputation as hard to grow, and when given adequate light adds a very special touch to any aquarium. This is a must-have if you can find it!
The Madagascar lace plant is reputed to be very difficult, but I have had good luck with it. The plant I received by mail had very long leaves, about 60 cm, that looked old and had suffered in transit. One by one, they browned off and died back, until one short little leaf remained. I planted it in gravel in a clear glass vase (I like to see how the roots are doing with special plants.) in a 40 liter aquarium occupied by a bristlenose, a betta, and a penguin tetra. There are many other plants in the tank. I probably overfeed. Filtration is provided by a slow Eheim Liberty filter designed for a 40 L tank and with an aged filter cartridge. I use no CO2, and there is a small amount of daylight through the top of the aquarium in addition to the single-bulb fluorescent strip light. The single leaf remained for six months without growing or deteriorating. Two weeks ago, four new leaves appeared. They have grown 5-8 cm a week and are very bright and healthy. Now there are a half-dozen leaves on this plant and all look well. I think the combination of a mature aquarium, light fish load, and slow filter...with adequate light, of course, translates into success with this plant. Planting in gravel in a vase may have concentrated the natural fertilizer around the roots, many of which are not even under the gravel. The corm is only half buried.
This is my first time with this plant, but it is doing great. The Madagascar Lace Leaf plant is a great addition to a community aquarium. Once put into the aquarium, the plant started to grow two new leaves in addition to the four leaves it already had. The new leaves grew more that 15 cm in less that two weeks, and now, two more new leaves are growing! My plant was not that difficult as its reputation perceives it to be.
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