Pistia (Pistia stratiotes) | maintenance, reproduction

Family Araceae. Homeland: Africa’s tropical regions.

Among the most fascinating floaters. It produces enormous rosettes of bluish-green, velvety, wavy leaves. Big specimens can grow to a height of 15 cm, and their leaf rosette can have a diameter of 25 cm. The plant has a well-developed root system that reaches a significant depth. The roots weave together to provide excellent shelter for many fish fry. Pistia is common among people who love aquariums. The plant grows somewhat more quickly and reaches its maximum size during the spring and summer months. Pistia worsens during the winter.

It is best to keep pistia in a tropical aquarium. The ideal range for water temperature is 24 to 30 °C. The plant grows more slowly and shrinks considerably in colder water. Hardness and active reaction are not major factors in water quality; however, pistia gets slightly worse at hardness levels above 12°.

Pistia’s root system gathers turbidity particles to perfectly purify water. Change the water three to four times a month.

Bright light is the primary requirement for maintaining this plant. Pistia loves the outdoors, especially the sun. When using artificial lighting, lamps should have a very high power output. The only lighting that should be used is fluorescent, with a minimum power of 3 W per 1 dm of water surface.

The plant is not as big as it would be in its natural habitat, even in somewhat bright lighting. Using incandescent lights is not advised because they produce a lot of heat and can burn leaves, even when placed far away from the plant. There should be a minimum of twelve hours of daylight each day.

The humidity of the air is crucial for pistia. As a result, aquariums where it is grown need to have a special high cap or a tight glass covering over which lighting fixtures are installed.

Pistis root systems can grow up to 25–30 cm long. Since it is usually freely found in the water column and does not sink, the type of soil has little bearing on the plant. It is beneficial to feed with complex mineral fertilizers—which inevitably contain microelements—during the phase of rapid growth. Approximately 1.5 to 2 g of dry matter per 100 liters of water per week is the recommended amount of fertilizer to be added to the water, same as what is recommended for most other plants.

When the right circumstances are met, pistia multiply quickly by producing daughter lateral shoots that can be split off from the parent plant once two to three small leaves have formed.

The size of the pistia is greatly decreased in low light, and the young leaves do not float above the water’s surface. The plant might not survive if the water temperature drops. In the event that the plant cannot be kept in ideal winter conditions, it can be kept in a humid chamber at a temperature of 12 to 14 °C on a cushion of marsh moss. The overwintered plant is put in an aquarium and kept at a high temperature with intense lighting in the spring.

Post category: Aquarium plants from A to Z / Plants for the aquarium – P

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Pistia, sometimes referred to as water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes), is a well-liked floating aquatic plant that gives ponds and aquariums aesthetic appeal as well as organic filtration. Pistia, which resembles little heads of lettuce with its rosette of velvety, soft leaves, serves as a haven for fish and other aquatic life while also reducing the growth of algae by absorbing excess nutrients. Aquarium enthusiasts will find this low-maintenance plant to be a valuable addition, as it thrives in warm, well-lit environments and can play a crucial role in maintaining a balanced and healthy aquatic ecosystem.

November 23, 2012