Question on Apongeton(?) and other aquatic plants?

Question

Hi. (:

I got this bulb in a "betta bulb" set and had a question about it. I'm not sure if that is actually what it is. It has grown into a nice plant, but it was my first planted tank experience, so I have a couple questions.

First, the possible apongeton has like one big vine thing coming out of it with no leaves, that forks at the end and is escaping from my tank. It is about 4 inches longer than the biggest leaf blade. Is that normal? If it were a terrestrial plant I'd say it was going to flower but..none of my others have them? What is it?

Next, do onion plants actually smell like onions? <--stupid question What is the care of an onion plant?

Can waterlily, onion, barclava, or apongeton survive in cold water?

Ans lastly, the tank they are in has no fish, so I put some flake food in there once in awhile. Does goldfish food from 1995 still produce the ammonia needed?

Thanks for reading. (:

Answer 1

I&#039;ll try to answer all of your questions in order.

1.  That &quot;vine thing&quot;, does it look like this?  http://www.petfish.net/articles/pics/apo...  If it looks like that, then what you have is a flower blossom.  The blossom will bear seeds if you take a Q-tip and move the pollen around, fertilizing it.  

2.  Do onion plants actually smell like onions?  If you&#039;re referring to crinum aquatica, the water onion, I guess it might.  A crinum is an onion plant and crinum aquatica is basically an onion but it grows underwater and with a bit of the bulb exposed.  I&#039;ve never raised them personally but I would assume that since it is nearly identical to land onions that it would resemble their odor.  As to whether or not this odor bothers fish, I highly doubt it.  

3.  Can waterlily survive in cold water?  According to http://iamshaman.com/lotus/cultivation.h... water lilies need 70 degrees, although &quot;established plants can survive a bit lower.&quot;

4.  Can onion survive in cold water?  According to http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/218... crinum aquatica (the water onion) needs a tempurature range of 76 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit.  

5.  Can barclava survive in cold water?  Well, I&#039;m not sure what a barclava is, but if it&#039;s a Nymphaeaceae, then its temperature range is 22-30 degrees celcius according to http://www.birstall.co.uk/products/wnr22...

6.  Can aponogeton survive in cold water?  Aponogetons go into a dorman stage in cold weather where the plant&#039;s energy is stored in a bulb.  The temperature at which the dormant period is entered depends on the species, and some species&#039;s temperature range is listed here:  http://www.ewaterplant.com/plant/a6.htm  Generally, anything below twenty degrees celcius may send your aponogeton into dormancy.  

7.  Does fish food from 1995 still produce ammonia?  Yup.  If it can rot, it can produce ammonia in a fish tank.  

I hope that helped :)