Helanthium bolivianum Vesuvius

Helanthium bolivianum Vesuvius

DE

Origin / Breeder : Oriental Aquarium Plants (Singapore)

Helanthium bolivianum Vesuvius is an amazing aquarium plant with attractive spirally curled leaves. It gets its name from the resemblance of curled leaves to puffs of smoke over the top of Mount Vesuvius. Outwardly it looks a bit like spiral Vallisneria, but only at first glance. This is one of the varieties of the species Helanthium bolivianum . Echinodorus Vesuv originates from South America (Brazil). Rosette bog plant with a strong root system. Bred in Oriental Aquarium Plants (Singapore) based on Echinodorus angustifolius. It was first presented at Interzoo 2006 and is a mutation of Echinodorus angustifolia. The aquarium plant Echinodorus vesuvius is light green in color and grows up to 25-40 cm tall. The leaves are long, narrow and twist in a spiral. Although the plant tends to change its shape depending on the care conditions, the spiral curling of the leaves is always retained. As new shoots adapt and grow, the curliness of the foliage increases and takes on bizarre shapes. It grows very quickly and can grow in paludarium conditions. Echinodorus Vesuvius is a very unpretentious aquarium plant, suitable both for simple aquariums with low lighting and no additional nutrients, as well as for fully equipped aquariums with a CO2 system and strong lighting. The most important condition for this plant is a good, shallow substrate with nutrients. It does not have to be a nutritious substrate - use high-quality nutrient substrates that always contain iron. The soil must be sufficiently thick, at least 5 cm - the plant forms a strong root system. When you get a new plant, cut off the ends of the roots with scissors so that the plant takes root well (this process is called picking). The aquarium should have good water circulation and regular water changes - this will save you from scourges such as algae, which can attack the leaves. Lighting can be either low or high. Additional application of liquid macro and micro fertilizers and CO2 is not necessary. Echinodorus Vesuvius grows well in low light, but in an aquarium with strong light, fertilization and CO2 supply, the leaves can grow up to 5 cm per day. The height of Echinodorus Vesuvius can be controlled by regular pruning. Use normal scissors or specially curved scissors for aqua design. Echinodorus vesuvius propagates by lateral shoots, but the frequency of their appearance depends on the keeping conditions. If the conditions for keeping shoots are not optimal, you can wait several months. You can cut the rosette into several parts and tie the resulting parts to the roots or driftwood so that the plants take root well. Although it is very rare, it does happen that Echinodorus Vesuvius does not take root in a new aquarium and completely disintegrates. Echinodorus Vesuvius is a fairly tall plant and therefore seems suitable for the background. However, you should not hide this beauty and uniqueness too far, especially as it is perfectly possible to control the growth of the plant with leftovers. Perfect for the middle ground, it will create an amazingly shaped bright spot in the aquarium, an eye-catcher that draws attention to itself. Looks great against dark backgrounds, especially dark rocks and driftwood.^[1]