Ranunculus Inundatus Hill

As you can see to the left, the elatine triandra that I had planted, in hope that it would fill the hill in my 75G has grown unmanagable. It looked fabulous for about a week, and then it overgrew itself, to the point where half of it wasn’t even rooted in the substrate anymore.

So, I decided to rip it all out, and instead try ranunculus inundatus as my “hill plant.” This is a funny little plant that is somewhat new to the hobby, and isn’t likely to be found in all but a few local fish stores.

Planting this plant is quite similar to planting glossostigma elatinoides; you break it into sections of 1-2 nodes, and plant them individually. Before long, each node will send out new nodes via runners, covering your substrate. From the picture below, you can tell that the leaves can be a number of inches above the substrate. These plants were transplanted from a more shaded aquarium, so they are quite high. I’m counting on the new growth to hug the substrate a little bit more tightly, as I have 220W overtop of this tank, with the top of the hill only being about 10″ from the lights.

Ranunculus inundatus is a relatively fast growing plant when in the right conditions. Generally speaking, the required conditions are similar to glosso: decent light, plenty of macros, and CO2. You might be able to grow it in less-than-ideal circumstances, but the growth will likely be leggy, with deformed leaves.