How to Care for Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus?
- Jun 26, 2022
- Anshika Mishra
- 2726 0 0
Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus is a trendy aquarium plant. It has tons of benefits for your tank and is easy to take care of.
So, here are some simple tips and tricks to keep your Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus green and healthy in your tank.
Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus
If you are looking for an eye-catching plant for your tank, Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus is a great choice. It is an excellent choice because:
- It makes a great background plant with its long and wispy leaf structure
- It also does an excellent job of filtering the water by removing excess nutrients and waste that fish produce
- It also provides oxygen to the fish in the water
Now, this is a large-sized plant, so it is best suited for at least a 10-gallon tank. It can be kept in a smaller aquarium, but you must keep it trimmed more often.
Water Parameters and Lighting
Pogostemon stellatus Octopus doesn't need any particular water parameters. They thrive in pretty much whatever your tropical fish is running at. It likes a temperature same as your fish, around 70 to low 80s. pH around 6.5-7.5 and is very flexible with water hardness.
However, this plant does best in medium light. It can grow under low light but a lot slower. SO, if you give it medium-light, it will be happy and generate tons of new growth. It will grow even faster in the high light, and you will trim it all the time.
Nutrition Need
Now, in addition to good light, you'll also want to give this plant some decent amount of fertilizers. We recommend using a liquid fertilizer in water and a nutrient-rich substrate for the roots.
The sweet spot for this plant is keeping the nutrient about 20 to 40 parts per million, and it will be super happy if you are not using a nutrient-rich substrate; you can use root tabs. In addition, it will provide nutrients to substrate like sand and gravel that don't already have them, giving your plant an extra boost.
Planting
For planting Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus, you do have an option. Most people grow it into their substrate, which will feed off the roots and create a tremendous effect in your aquarium, probably best towards the back. However, if you plant it in front of the tank, it will grow tall and shade out all your other plants.
If you have no substrate, you can also grow this plant; it will be altogether growing floating. Just toss it in your tank, and it will send roots down; it absorbs nutrients and leaves the top.
You can even grow it out of water. This plant will expand on the land and might even produce flowers for you if you grow it that way, so there are plenty of options for growing this plant.
In terms of growth rate, this is a fast-growing plant, and it can be a little aggressive. If you give it a lot of light and nutrients, you'll have to keep up with it, or it will just continue growing right out of your aquarium. On the other hand, if you want to create a more full and bushy effect with this plant, it is straightforward to propagate.
Just cut the plant from anywhere, root the trimmed part into the substrate, and it will grow into a whole new plant. Now, the trimming place will shoot two new branches, thus doubling your plant in size, and since you are planting those trimming, it will become super full and bushy in your aquarium.
What to Expect?
When you buy a brand new Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus, it might not look fantastic because the plant needs time to adjust to your tank parameters; it might have been growing in a different aquarium or at the plant farm.
So, if you have it shipped, it is possible that it still has some leaves from when it was growing out of the water. And since those leaves cannot survive underwater, the plant will shed them and produce new growth suited for underwater.
You can also expect to meet with this plant if it has some nutrient efficiency issues. This plant does like to have plenty of nutrients available to it all the time.
Overall, Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus is a great plant choice for all levels of aquarists!
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