Taking Care Of Your Aponogeton Ulvaceus Flower Plant – The Right Way

Betta bulbs or bulb plants both are the informal names of the aponogeton ulvaceus flower plant. But regardless of what you call them, it takes a real struggle to plant, grow and take care of them.

Although aponogeton ulvaceus is one of the easiest bulb-type plants to grow, they require extra attention as compared to other plant types.

And that’s where we come in! In this guide, you’ll find every piece of information to plant, grow and properly take care of aponogeton ulvaceus flower.

So allow us to illustrate how you can take care of your aponogeton bulb plant the right way!

Starting with…

Brief Overview Of Aponogeton Ulvaceus Bulb Plants

Originated from Madagascar, the beautiful aponogeton ulvaceus flowers are found in Africa, Asia, and some regions of Oceania.

Aponogeton bulbs make an exciting addition to large aquariums, thanks to their unique appearance (more on that in the upcoming sections).

Not to mention, aponogeton bulbs are versatile. There exist many types of this flower, and it’s entirely possible to figure out their type and origin until and unless they have sprouted.

But once they have sprouted into eye-catching leaves twirled delicately, you can figure out their origin. Aponogeton with multiple stems are from Africa, and those with one blooming stalk are from Asia. 

Advantages Of Planting Aponogeton Ulvaceus

The following are some advantages of having an aponogeton ulvaceus flower in your aquarium:

Nutrition Provider

Dead leaves that fall off an aponogeton bulb serve as a rich food source for scavengers and detritus eaters.

Removes Waste

Aponogeton flowers grow long very quickly, and for that, they consume everything. So an aponogeton flower or two in your aquarium can function as waste removal.

Improves Oxygen

This flower automatically converts CO2 to usable oxygen; hence it works as a natural oxygen improver in your aquarium.

Provides Those Eye-Blessing Aesthetics

Aponogeton ulvaceus flowers make your aquarium complete, thanks to their dense and lush appearance. 

Aponogeton Ulvaceus Appearance

Take a quick glance at any fully grown aponogeton flower, and you’ll see how big it is. On further inspection, you’ll see that it grows in a twisted curly manner and possess slightly translucent light green leaves that are attached from a long sturdy stem.

One root of aponogeton ulvaceus flower can sprout somewhere around 40 leaves that can stretch up to 50 cm long. Not to mention, an aponogeton bulb plant can grow up to 60 cm wide on average.

The base of aponogeton leaf blades tapers gradually, and they have a wavy margin on petioles of an equal length. Not to mention, they can appear reddish under intensity lights.  

Aponogeton Ulvaceus Flower Tank Conditions & Habitat

Tank Of Aponogeton Ulvaceus

As you now know that aponogeton ulvaceus flowers can expand up to 65 cm; they must be planted in a tank that’s at least 10 gallons in size.

For the rapidly growing aponogeton bulb, we’ll recommend you only to plant one flower in a 10-gallon tank.

Don’t crowd your aquarium with aponogeton bulbs if it’s not bigger than 20 gallons.  

Aponogeton Lighting, pH & Temperature Conditions

As aponogeton plants are beginner-friendly, they don’t require any special lighting, pH, and temperature conditions.

Just try to keep the pH level of your aquarium between 6.5 and 7.5. We would recommend maintaining the pH level around 7.

In the dry season, rainy season, or any other season, keep the temperature of your aquarium between 72 to 82 F.

Lastly, low-intensity lights would do fine with this type of plant.

Substrate For Aponogeton

Speaking about the substrate, the best one for an aponogeton plant would be aquarium soil. It would include all the essential nutrients for the plant to grow at its fast pace without any compromise.

For the second-best substrate for aponogeton, gravel or sand would do the trick. But we’ll recommend gravel over damp sand. More on fertilizers to be used with gravel or sand in the following section.

Aponogeton Bulb Plant Planting & Growing

Planting and growing aponogeton bulbs are quite simple! But both are two different things, and that’s why we made separate instruction sets for both jobs.

Planting

1. Firstly, select a spot where you want to plant your aponogeton bulbs. Note that aponogeton ulvaceus flowers are background plants, so you want to place them at the back of your tank.
2. Now, start planting each bulk two to three inches apart as they can get too big too quickly. Also, keep the size of your tank in mind when planting aponogeton bulbs.
3. When planting, don’t cover them completely; just bury them enough so they can stay in place.
4. Bury the roots of the sprouted aponogeton flowers in the substrate. In contrast, leave the thinner end of the non-sprouted aponogeton out of the substrate.
5. Lastly, don’t know about the top-end of your bulb plant? Plant them sideways, simple.

Growing

1. Once planted, it’s time to set up the growing environment of your aponogeton bulb.
2. If you are planting the flower in an already established aquarium, you can add aquarium soil.
3. Aquarium soil provides all the nutrients essential for the proper growth of the ulvaceus flower.
4. You can also add fertilizer capsules or tablets close to the roots.
5. However, if your tank isn’t using aquarium soil, you can use gravel or sand.
6. Lastly, to grow an aponogeton bulb in a small tank, you’ll need liquid carbon. By fueling liquid carbon in your nano tank, you’ll see no compromise in the growth of the flower, and it will also kill various types of algae.  

Caring For Aponogeton Ulvaceus Flower Plants

Here are brief pointers for providing ultimate care to your aponogeton ulvaceus flower plants:

Keep The Lights Low

Aponogeton flowers prefer low-intensity light. And thanks to their low-light preference, you won’t have to change or prune the bulbs again and again. But, you must at least use a 10W LED floodlight setup in your 10-gallon sized tank.

Choose The Right Substrate

Aponogetons grow very quickly, and that’s why it’s essential to choose the suitable substrate for them. We’ll recommend using aquarium soil, but you can also use gravel with fertilizers to keep the plants healthy.

Frequent Pruning

Aponogeton ulvaceus flower plants can take over your tank in no time. Frequently prune your aponogeton bulb plants by cutting their stems as close as to the bulb. Not to mention, frequent pruning will also minimize rotting in your aquarium.

Rest The Plants

Resting a bulb plant means taking it out from the water in the dry season and remove all of its leaves and plants. Then, placing its naked bulb in a bag of damp sand and keeping it in a cool, dry, and dark place for two full months.

By resting your aponogeton flower, you can prepare it for the rainy season. But for aponogeton plants that remain in aquariums, there’s no intense need to rest the plants. However, feeding your plant with fertilizers is a must as the nutrients stored in aponogeton’s bulb get reduced over time.

That’s a wrap! Put the above pointers in practice to take utmost care of your beloved aponogeton flower.     

Some FAQs For Beginners Wanting To Plant Aponogeton

Before we wrap up the piece, here are some frequently asked questions we came across related to aponogeton ulvaceus flower plants on various forums and websites:

Do I Need To Prune Aponogeton Plants?

Yes! You’ll need to prune aponogeton plants every once in a while as they can grow in a snap and make your aquarium look small.

That’s not it. Pruning aponogeton plants also keep rotting issues at bay and make your aquarium not only just look good but healthy overall.

How Can I Maintain My Aponogeton Flowers In A Budget?

Maintaining aponogeton flowers doesn’t require one to spend much as they are beginner-friendly bulb plants.

You just need to keep the tank conditions like temperature, pH, and lighting in check, along with choosing the right substrate, providing fertilizers, frequent pruning, and resting.

What’s The Perfect Aquarium Size For Aponogeton Ulvaceus Flower?

As a standard, the perfect aquarium size for one or two aponogeton ulvaceus flower plants is 10 gallons.

We don’t recommend planting more than two aponogeton flowers in a 10 gallons size tank. And even growing two plants in a 10 gallons size tank would require extra care from an individual.

How Many Ulvaceus Flower Plants Can Be Kept Per Gallon?

We’ll recommend planting not more than two aponogeton ulvaceus plants per 10 gallons. Although it would be better to only plant one ulvaceus plant per 10 gallons as not every individual can take care of two flowers at the same time in a 10-gallons sized tank.

Final Words

Aponogeton Ulvaceus flower plants add a wholehearted and warm presence to your aquarium. And as they are beginner-friendly, absolutely any plant fanatic can plant them in their tank without thinking twice.