Growing and caring for echinodorus bleheri bulbs

[Clack]

I picked up an echinodorus bleheri bulb about a month ago online and it's gone mental, giving great coverage at the top of my tank. Now I want to get one or two more, but I'm having zero luck finding them - and to make matters worse, I've got no idea where I bought the first one from. I'm in the UK and all the usual online stores seem to only have the plants, not bulbs. I'm keen to avoid any unwanted snails, so does anyone know of any online sellers that do bulbs or have a good reputation for pest-free plants?

[sSjey]

I've done some research on Echinodorus bleheri and it seems I've got some bad news - this plant doesn't actually grow from a bulb. It's classified as a rosulate plant by growers. I've found a picture from Tropica that shows its natural growth habit.

[Doubled]

As far as I'm aware, Echinodorus plants don't grow from bulbs - they're actually rosulate plants. I've found a reliable source, Tropica, that confirms this.

Tropica's image of Echinodorus grisebachii 'Bleherae' shows the plant's typical growth pattern. You can check it out on their website - they're a trusted authority on aquarium plants.

View attachment 326130

I'm in agreement, Echinodorus plants simply don't have bulbs.

[Clack]

I must have got a different type of plant, that would explain why I'm having no luck finding it now. It doesn't resemble the one in your picture at all, I must've misidentified it. I'll try and get a photo later, but it's got these long, thin stems that reach the surface and then the leaf just rests on top.

[sSjey]

That sounds more like a Nymphaea lotus to me. The description of the long thin stems reaching the surface, with the leaves resting on top, matches this plant perfectly. I've come across a page on Aqua Essentials that has a Nymphaea lotus bulb for sale, which seems to fit what you've described - the leaves can become quite large and are great for providing shade for fish.

[Clack]

I've taken a look at the picture I found and it's definitely not the Nymphaea lotus. The leaves are a vibrant green, no red or brown hues at all. I've managed to get a picture of the leaves resting on the surface, hopefully that'll help with the ID. Still not great at this plant ID business, so any help appreciated!

[sSjey]

I agree, doesn't look like a lotus to me. Check this out, it's a list of aquarium bulbs from one shop, see if you can spot yours.

Aqua Essentials has a pretty decent selection, might be worth a look.

[Clack]

I agree, it's definitely not a lotus

Take a look at this selection of aquarium bulbs from Aqua Essentials and see if your plant matches any of them. They offer a range of colours, mainly greens and reds.

While they do share similarities with your plant, none of them seem to be a perfect match.

[thenoob]

I picked up an echinodorus bleheri bulb about a month ago online and it's gone mental, giving great coverage at the top of my tank. Now I want to get one or two more, but I'm having zero luck finding them - and to make matters worse, I've got no idea where I bought the first one from. I'm in the UK and all the usual online stores seem to only have the plants, not bulbs. I'm keen to avoid any unwanted snails, so does anyone know of any online sellers that do bulbs or have a good reputation for pest-free plants?

A picture of the plant would really help narrow down the ID. I've seen some seveflake aponogeton plants that bear a resemblance to echinodorus, so that's my current guess. Seveflake can grow to be pretty massive.

[sSjey]

A photo taken from the side of the tank would be more helpful than one from above, I think that would give a better view of the plant's shape and growth.