Carnivorous Plants

[John]

Hi, I'm interested in eventually obtaining some aquatic carnivores. Just curious, what are some of the most common ones, how much do they cost, can different carnivorous plants be kept together, what size aquarium, and is there any instance where one of these carnivorous plants can be kept with some animals?

[Damon]

Bladderwort is the most common one and will be the one you will see on places like aquabid. They can be kept with just about any fish (providing the fish doesn't eat it.) It has been know to trap small fry but it is unlikely.

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=284

[DavidDoyle]

Since you have never heard of google, I plugged in "carnivorous aquatic plants" -

What are the aquatic Utricularia like?

U. ochroleuca

U. macrorhiza

U. purpurea

The aquatic species of Utricularia are widespread throughout the world. The main leaves are large and ferny, being "disected" into countless tiny lacy portions. The bladders are either formed on the main leaves, or on a second kind of smaller leaf that the plant makes that descends into the muck. (A few species make even more than two kinds of leaves.)

These plants grow floating in water. Some species are completely free of the ground, and can be found in very deep lakes. The three related species U. australis, U. macrorhiza, and U. vulgaris are all aquatics; a member of this triumvirate is probably found in your country!

A particularly tricky aspect of many aquatic Utricularia is dormancy. Many demand a winter resting period. Respect it, or watch it die.

These are usually very hard plants to grow. They like lots of light and if you do not get the water chemistry just right, they die. I think that the best way to grow this is to do it in large tubs in which you include other companion plants. This way the water chemistry stays buffered in reasonable domains. The only plant I have had consistent luck with is Utricularia inflata.

A word about U. inflata. This is a potential invader of natural areas. Do not plant this or any other plant into your wildland environment. It may multiply rapidly and displace native species! U. inflata is a non-native weed in Washington, where it may be displacing native Utricularia.

from http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq5620.html

More sites are available....

[TheOldSalt]

Excellent! That's the kind of info I hope we can get in our archive!

[Damon]

Isn't that what I said? lol