Giant Hygrophila Care (Hygrophila Corymbosa)
Care Level: EasyStem: Big A.F. 2'+
Leaves: 7"+
Biotope: Thailand, India, Malaysia, Indonesia
Light: Low
Video: Giant Hygro Care Video
Youtube: HardyAquariums Youtube Channel
Biological Classification (Video soon to come)
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Eudicots
Order: Lamiales
Family: Athanceae
Genus: Hygrohphila
Species: H. Corymbosa
Uses in the Aquarium
Nitrate Buster: This monster plant supposedly gets rid of nitrates, but I haven't noticed many changes with my tank. Really though, i'm just bitter that I have so much algae. The plant can be propagated easily by cutting the stem and replanting. It can also be floated. The plant grows quickly, and other forms of hygrophila like Hygrophila Difformis are also known to reduce nitrates and ammonia.
Background: Giant hygro would make a sexy background in a deep tank. It has so much potential to fill in empty areas in a background, however a 55g is too small to aquascape with this plant. As you can see below, it fills in nicely, however it takes up almost half the depth of the tank. Now there's no room for other plants.
High Tech vs. Low Tech
High Tech: The first setup is a high tech 55g tank with Co2 and high light. Here this shit grows faster than my black beard algae. It has large leaves, some getting 7 inches long, and as it reaches the top of the tank, the leaves turn a nice pink color. I am using eco complete in my high tech tank, and the hygro seems to do well with this substrate.
(High tech 55g)
Low Tech: The second setup with giant hygro is in a low tech 16g bowfront tank with black sand and low light. Here, the plant also grows well, just not as fast or as dense as the high tech tank. This is probably an obvious outcome. The plant shows brightly colored green leaves. I keep cherry shrimp, bristlenose pleco, and pseudomugil furcatas in the 16g. Them cherry shrimp keep the leaves real clean.
