Ambulia (Limnophila sessiliflora) Hardy Plant for Your Planted Aquarium

In today's video we will take a closer look to another super easy to keep, hardy and almost impossible to kill plant in hobby known as Ambulia (Limnophila sessiliflora). I personally really enjoy this type of stem plant because of the attractive look, and super low demands. I personally keep, grow and propagate it successfully with low lighting, no CO2 input and also without fertiliser. With aquarium plant soil and a bit of fertiliser you can accomplish great results with this plant and whether your are experienced aquarist or complete beginner, giving Limnophila sessiliflora a shot is definitely worth it.
Make sure to check also my other videos in Aquatic Plants series, in case you like easy to keep and hardy plants that do not need additional CO2:
• Aquatic Plants
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Limnophila sessiliflora by Tropica Aquarium Plants:
tropica.com/en/plants/plantde...
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Music Credit (KZbin audio-library):
Jesse Gallagher - The Blue Pearl

[@tr0798]

Best plant in the aquarium hobby. It sucks up nitrates and grows super fast and looks amazing for both humans and aquarium animals. There really is no downside to this plant.

[@undersurfacechannel]

Absolutely agree. I would definitely recommend it anytime to those who enjoy aquatic plants 😊👌🏻💚🌱

[@icmdead1]

Thank you for this short and to the point video, better still showing the cutting and replanting, as a beginner this gave me the confidence to cut mine which was clearly overgrown at the surface.

[@undersurfacechannel]

Great to hear it was at least a bit useful 😊

[@brelouum]

my favorite plant of all time. I love this stuff, so beautiful and so easy to grow

[@clairecurtis6639]

Great informative video, i have just acquired a huge bunch that is too tall for either of my aquariums so im pleased that I can now prune and propagate it easily. Thank you very much.x Love from UK

[@undersurfacechannel]

@claire curtis thank you very much for your comment! I am really glad you enjoyed watching the video and found it a little bit useful :)

[@guppygeorge1953]

Great video as always Pat! 😊

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Guppy George thank you very much mate, I really appreciate your support!

[@PoseidonsPets]

Never heard of this plant, thanks for sharing!

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Poseidon’s Pets it is definitely as common as others but it definitely is an amazing plant 😊 Glad I shared something new and cheers for your comment mate!

[@WhiteCloud746]

love his videos. thanks Pat!

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Loach Lover thank you, I am really glad you like it 😊👌🏻

[@jaquaaddict5396]

Looks like very interesting plant. Need to check it up :)

[@undersurfacechannel]

@JAquaAddict you won't regret it :)

[@davidmd6180]

Thanks ! Viva la Limnophila Sessiliflora !! 😃

[@asasinofull]

I have this plant too, last year i've put some cuttings in a barrel with rain water and they made small light purple flowers. Nice video! 👍

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Hotea Marian wau, that is interesting :) and thank you very much!

[@jackhb7552]

Got a few of these for a new tank of mine and the four tallest have literally grown maybe an inch or two in the space of a day, it's crazy.

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Jehb UK yeah they do grow crazy fast :)

[@Plant_Mama]

Such cool aquatic plants!

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Plant Mama Tatiana It definitely is 😊 thank your for your comment! 😊

[@Plant_Mama]

@@undersurfacechannel Of course! You made me really want to get some. I have regular old houseplants on my channel if you're interested 😊

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Plant Mama Tatiana do you have some aquariums as well? :) I will definitely have a look to your channel :)

[@Plant_Mama]

Pat's Fish Tanks Not yet but maybe soon!!

[@NAVEENKUMAR-pu8yd]

Great video brother convinced me to purchase some

[@undersurfacechannel]

@NAVEEN KUMAR thank you very much! I am so glad to hear that :) Good luck with growing it!

[@joemassey384]

'Almost impossible to kill' haha I'm here because I've got two tanks with it in that I cant keep alive 😪

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Joe Massey I am sorry to hear that buddy :( Well, I was talking from my experiences and it for sure is a plant on the super easy to keep side of Aquatic plants. I am sure you'll be able to keep it alive. Also don't worry if it melts down a little bit after planting in your tank, that is common and it will grow back strong one it establish itself in the new Aquarium :)

[@stefan00123]

Most of the time the problem is too much light no co2 in the water. Or no ferlitizer. I use EASYLIFE profito 1 doses a week and they will grow out of your aquarium ✌✌

[@boebender]

It HATES flow. High flow will kill it.

[@rusiruchamathka468]

Well done 👍👍✌✌

[@undersurfacechannel]

Thank you

[@TheVirkk]

Great video i have this plant in my tank and growing very fast 😊

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Pk Random Yea it does 😊 That’s one of the things I really like about it + it’s super easy to propagate 😊

[@TheVirkk]

@@undersurfacechannel can you please tell us about any DIY fertilizer or make video for DIY co2 it would be great

[@spyrit35]

I really appreciate all of your species highlight episodes... but I would LOVE to see you try a few species that scare you ( because of things you've heard) and tell us if it's as scary as you thought.

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Sean Tomlinson thank you very much for your comment, I am really glad to hear that you like this series. Also cheers for an input and great idea, I may try to record some similar video soon in the future :) Thank you and have a lovely day!

[@md.hridoyrahad.7606]

Thanks. ❤

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Redoy Rahad thank you for your comment and have a nice day! :)

[@Ekster77]

Nice video! You have a lot of snails 🐌!

[@undersurfacechannel]

Thank you, yes I really like them :)

[@Ekster77]

@@undersurfacechannel me too. So nice to look at😊.

[@ragingcalmness7815]

Thanks man was actually a REALLY nice video showing you at least tried a few things yourself to test them out. I recently got this plant in a weighed bunch(not lucky enough to have it in tropica form) and I wonder if I can cut every stem to tightly begin planting a substrate. I love the way mosses look but they grow insanely slow to my eyes in comparison to my amazon frogbit, and I wanted a submerged green plant that could hold a highly dense foliage for either dwarf species of fish or shrimp. Can you see any problems with doing that? Does the plant "stabilize" growth or will it begin to die like my hornwort does if the water is too clean? Thanks for any1's time replying to this if you tried hard packing this plant in a super dense forest and had success!😃🙌

[@guitarprophetyt7164]

Thankyou

[@undersurfacechannel]

You’re welcome 😊

[@rab-cnesbit4181]

Maidenhead aquatics gave me a large free bag of cuttings and i filled up my new aquavue 480 aquarium with superb growth rate in aqusoil sandcapped substrate, and led lights. The leafs are not as far apart on the stem as your plants so im wondering if its a different species but if does look identical.

[@freefunlovin1]

How did you end up going with the dirted tank? I too have just set one up with organic soil and sand cap. Rocks and log from local creek and a heap of plants. I have managed to kill my ambulia within 1 week. Melted. Most plants are suffering (roots off floating plants have dropped off). I’m experiencing high ammonia levels and boarderline nitrates. I’m wondering if this is the cause of my plants suffering or the fact the shop told me I could dunk in salt water solution to get rid of any snails before planting. Solution may have been too strong 🙁

[@kulsumnipa3700]

Can i put this like a floating plant? Like hornwort

[@kitichaii9119]

Hi there :) I have a question! I’ve been wanting to get these plants along with some carpet plants too! I’m wondering if I can grow carpet plants to cover the floor and still have the Ambulia plant growing inside my tank at the same time? Also, what aquarium soil would you recommend as I would like to use soil rather than pebbles :))

[@undersurfacechannel]

For sure you can do that and all the aquascapers do it as well. I usually use Tropica powder soil, but you can use literally anything that is available to you :) Also if you want easy to keep carpet plant, check out my video about "Micranthemum monte carlo" it is my favourite plant for carpet

[@MrCrabguy]

It looks similar to hornwort!

[@daisyn7742]

Hi I have this plants too in my tank too,I really them ad they look pretty! they grow quite tall but they don't look healthy and their leaves always have dark spot cover on them..not sure because lack of nutrient or too much light? I use LED light but for low to medium plants tank..thank you

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Daisy N is it like the leaves are dying off or rather are getting covered by algae? :) In first case it would definitely be nutrition deficiency which can be easily solved by addition fertilisation, in second case it would be too much light :)

[@sisans]

good job bro thanks for the very detailed explanation,but i have one question. After cutting the Limnophila sessiliflora stem and then planting it again in the substrate, can it still survive?

[@marioQ4]

Yes

[@chevyfish5373]

Hi Pat. I just found you on this channel. Glad to see you again even though it is a year old video. This is a cool plant for shrimp. Thanks for sharing.

[@undersurfacechannel]

Hello Chevy, yeah I will be bouncing back very soon on this channel 😊 Hope you’ll enjoy the new content 😊

[@Drewplegaming]

Hi i have this plant and in a few months its been great ! I started with 1 stem and now i have over than 15 then I don't know but after a few days the bottom part start turning yellow and browing and the leaves start become smaller, any thoughts ??

[@undersurfacechannel]

@DrewPleGaming I have experienced this happening when I had new stem trimmings planted too close to each other, so the bottom part of the plant did not get enough light. It started turning a bit yellow at the bottom, and the leaves were smaller as there was no room and light for plant to grow them bigger... Maybe try to plant them a bit further from each other to give them a bit of space. Also a little bit of fertiliser may help as well :)

[@Nickeeefy]

Hm what do i do with the bottomn half i have cutted from? Just leave it there and it will grow back up again?

[@undersurfacechannel]

Yes it will :) It will shoot new stems from the place of the cut and below as well :)

[@pokfu6440]

I have these plants but they are so sensitive if I try to move one it will drop so many of its leaves creating a mess

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Pokfu really? mine are not like that at all :)

[@syazwan1324]

Can i Grow this plant out and then propagate it closely each other to give like a bush affect ? Or more dense like.

[@undersurfacechannel]

@syazwan definitely yes :)

[@stevens899]

hey I got this plant from a lfs and I thought it was a water sprite at first. However, mine has stalks like these ones and looks closer to it than it does to water sprite. So I think it is this plant. My question is, mine has melted like crazy when I first got it which was a week and a half ago. When will it grow back? I’ve noticed some green stalks coming out of the grey dying ones

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Steven S it most likely will... just give it some time and very good fertilisation and I am sure the plant will recover :)

[@marydebakker9373]

G'day, struggling with this plant generally. It starts off really well flourishes actually then goes really scraggly in the lower stem sections and looses all its lower leaves. Upper topmost sections stay bright green but that's it. Recently I have removed survivors into another tank and abandoned the LED's in favour of daylight fluros. They seem to survive but not growing much if at all. Any help would be appreciated. Tanks are organic compost with sand top coat.

[@freefunlovin1]

How did you end up going with the dirted tank? I too have just set one up with organic soil and sand cap. Rocks and log from local creek and a heap of plants. I have managed to kill my ambulia within 1 week. Melted. Most plants are suffering (roots off floating plants have dropped off). I’m experiencing high ammonia levels and boarderline nitrates. I’m wondering if this is the cause of my plants suffering or the fact the shop told me I could dunk in salt water solution to get rid of any snails before planting. Solution may have been too strong 🙁

[@jiteshsiddhuvlog]

Hi I have couple of questions. 1. Can we stick this plant to the stone? 2. You said sand so can we use river sand or any substrate? I like the information u gave & u got new subscribers 🙂

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Jitsimplify hello and welcome to the Channel! So 1. yes you can, but make sure that it roots go into some kind of sand or gravel. I have experienced this plant shooting roots even just floating at the top of the tank, but long-term it would definitely not do well that way. 2. Yes you can basically use any kind of substrate. What I like to do is use tablet fertiliser and insert it into places where the plant is planted, it will really boost the growth of the plant but it is not necessary. So I hope these answers were at least a little bit helpful, and welcome to the channel! :)

[@jiteshsiddhuvlog]

@@undersurfacechannel superb. Do have any idea about AR plants also?

[@undersurfacechannel]

Not sure what you mean by “AR”?

[@skashwin6092]

Hai , Top leaves leaves of my plants are getting white , wht remedies should I take

[@undersurfacechannel]

@SK Ashwin may be nutrient deficiency so probably dose a bit of fertiliser and also feel free to cut unhealthy parts of the plant. That will encourage new healthy grow :) Hope that helps...

[@ibnuazmi9638]

Hi, I'm having problem with this plant. My plant doesn't grow roots at all but it continously growth new shoots. While that, the plant start melting from bottom and finally the whole plant die. Do you have any idea why this happen?

[@undersurfacechannel]

@ibnu azmi I have never experienced that before, but the only rational explanation for that would be that bottom of the plant and roots possibly were rotten. In case something like that would be happening in the future, trim the plant at the place where the stem is still healthy and propagate the trimming. Fresh cut always initiate new root growth and you'd get rid of unhealthy parts of plant :)

[@JDL__99]

Hi, Do you know why when I propagated mine , the parent plant doesn’t grow any more leaves at the top it just stays with a stem sticking out the top? And I’ve also noticed it doesn’t open and close once I’ve propagated it?

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Joshua that is interesting as I have never experienced that. But maybe it could possibly be by nutrients deficiency or that the plant was still not grown enough to be propagated and successfully recover from that? Really not sure what the problem could be...

[@JDL__99]

@@undersurfacechannel that could be the case, how grown do they have to be to propagate?

[@undersurfacechannel]

@@JDL__99 well there is no right formula... but usually what I do is give the plant a time to grow root structures properly, and propagate first when I see that the plant is doing too well and is overgrown :)

[@JDL__99]

@@undersurfacechannel okay, thank you for your help👍🏼👍🏼

[@undersurfacechannel]

@@JDL__99 You're very welcome :)

[@deb5110]

Can this plant growth in only sand as substrate, without any soil

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Kritartha Bhuyan VI-A-14 in case you'll provide good fertilisation, it sure can... :)

[@dkbpesmobile8089]

Will grow with sand as substrate, without any root tabs

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Ajit Bhuyan it will survive & grow but it won't really thrive :)

[@Knight636]

iis that a cardinal plant i saw when you were planting the trimmings?

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Gary Allen yes, I was experimenting with that one a bit but unfortunately unsuccessfully...

[@Knight636]

@@undersurfacechannel i asked because i have one here struggling too.

[@undersurfacechannel]

@@Knight636 Yeah from my experience even though it is considered “Easy” plant, I think it really struggles in low-tech aquariums. I had it planted in soil before, and it was surviving but definitely not thriving and the moment I moved it to aquarium with sand it slowly melted... 😊 Need to do a bit more research about it and maybe give it another shot... even though I’ve read gew articles about people having the exact same experience and it thriving only in high tech aquariums...

[@Knight636]

@@undersurfacechannel Well i am glad i spoke to you because i was thinking about giving it another try myself but i will leave that myself until i can get some proper c02

[@undersurfacechannel]

@@Knight636 Yea that is definitely a good idea 😊👌🏻

[@MONARKZAVERI]

how to grow it with cutting??i just bought this...and it doesnt have any root but its longer in height...!! suggestion pls

[@undersurfacechannel]

@MONARK ZAVERI just plant the cutting into the substrate and it will start shooting roots :) it is very simple...

[@MONARKZAVERI]

@@undersurfacechannel hm..i have planted it...and my molly fish biting it and other plant tio..any solution? and how many days it will take to get root in cobomba!?

[@undersurfacechannel]

@@MONARKZAVERI algae that grows on the plants is one of the main food sources for mollies... they will do it all the time... maybe try to use so rock that you will gently place over the place where the stem is planted to prevent your fish from unrooting it. In few weeks it should have strong enough root structure to withstand it 😊

[@MONARKZAVERI]

@@undersurfacechannel thankz aloy for ur replies..😊☺😊

[@undersurfacechannel]

@@MONARKZAVERI Anytime buddy 😊

[@streetsiswatching9660]

This plant has taken over my tank 🥴

[@undersurfacechannel]

That's good !!!

[@rajs4283]

I have planted in new soil substrate and now it’s melting leaves 🍃 … wat to do now??

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Raj s Just wait buddy. Most of the time plants you buy are grown emersed (out of water) and once you put them into your tank and start growing them submersed, they usually will melt down their old leaves, but the roots will survive and will grow new leaves soon. Hopefully :)

[@SshivamKhopkar]

What and have u used? By sand do you mean amazonia or anything of that sort? Because your description mentions soil not sand.

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Shivam Khopkar I used regular sand, I think it is called over here "Cichlid sand" or something like that and I also used tablet fertiliser to support the growth :)

[@SshivamKhopkar]

@@undersurfacechannel thanks for the reply...i have these...they are growing like crazy! What i have done is put organic potting mix at bottom and capped it with river sand! I add liquid fertilizer to support the growth. They are amazing.

[@lakai2305]

Will this grow out of the tank? I want to have some plant which grow out of the water!

[@undersurfacechannel]

@lakai2305 I don’t think it would... it’s stem is not really strong enough to support emersed growth... once it reaches the water surface it kinda bends towards the side but stay submersed... 😊

[@lakai2305]

@@undersurfacechannel Thanks for the helpful answer :)

[@undersurfacechannel]

@@lakai2305 You’re welcome 😊

[@monishlal]

How many hours of light is required for this plant ??

[@undersurfacechannel]

8-10 from my experience. I am sorry for late reply.

[@southnyourmind]

How do these plants compare to Cabomba?

[@undersurfacechannel]

@southnyourmind as far as I know Ambulia a bit more hardier and faster growing, I do not have hands on experience with Cabomba so cannot say that for sure :)

[@southnyourmind]

@@undersurfacechannel Thank you for your answer. I'm still stuck between those two plants. Not sure which ones to get.

[@undersurfacechannel]

@@southnyourmind they both look pretty cool :) whatever you´ll choose, good luck growing it :) I am sure you´ll enjoy it...

[@nadeemahmed4019]

Sir wich light use

[@undersurfacechannel]

Just a regular led-light :)

[@Catalion100]

Can you let it to just float?

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Catalion 100 short-term yes, long-term definitely no as they are stem plants and need to be planted into some kind of substrate :)

[@ergun1986]

My plant came in the mail dark green yesterday is this normal?

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Ergun 1 well that sometimes happens, especially if it was packed for extended period of time. Hopefully it'll be able to recover quickly :)

[@asifali007]

is this same as Limnophila indica or its different?

[@undersurfacechannel]

It is slightly different 😊

[@docvinceroy5706]

is this plant similar to cabomba?

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Doc Vince Roy I would say there definitely are some similarities :)

[@docvinceroy5706]

@@undersurfacechannel thanks pat.

[@bonyylast7147]

can it grow as floating plant?

[@undersurfacechannel]

It can survive, but definitely won't grow long-term.

[@MiziSlide]

It can grow without soil? Just in gravel..?

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Mizey Soleh mine grows just fine in sand yea :) From my experiences it will start shooting roots even when it is just left floating in the aquarium :) It is very easy to keep plant...

[@MiziSlide]

@@undersurfacechannel I'm gonna try it.. Your videos really helps a lot, thank you so much..👏🏼

[@undersurfacechannel]

Mizey Soleh Happy to hear that and good luck! 😊👌🏻

[@srihbalaji7272]

Will this plant grow in sand

[@undersurfacechannel]

With enough fertilisation yes for sure :)

[@kaloyankostov9523]

So what happens with the parent plant after you prune it?

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Kaloyan Kostov It'll just keep growing :)

[@unusualaquariumecosystems5805]

My snails have eaten my plants, I suggest you get them some food my friend...

[@undersurfacechannel]

@UNUSUAL AQUARIUM ECOSYSTEMS well, that definitely depends on the type of snails :) Ramshorn Snails and Malasian Trumpet Snails that I keep will only ear dead plants, never those that are thriving :)

[@advaneic3824]

Can you write name of plant youre use in tank,... Ambulia.. And......

[@undersurfacechannel]

@Advan Eic if you mean the other stem plant, it is "Bacopa Compact" here is a video I have done about that plant as well: kzbin.info/www/bejne/npemnHWuha6Hh8U

[@EireFirst2024]

This is a weed in my tanks... In a GOOD WAY.

[@thanhvu-xd2fr]

A question can ambulia be a floating plant?

[@undersurfacechannel]

@thanh vu 21 not long-term... it will start shooting roots towards the bottom of aquarium trying to root itself into substrate :)

[@thanhvu-xd2fr]

@@undersurfacechannel so if I get some gravel and plant it will it stay down. And no fertilizer needed?

[@undersurfacechannel]

@@thanhvu-xd2fr Yes pretty much... without fertilizer the growth will be quite slower, but it will be fine 😊

[@thanhvu-xd2fr]

@@undersurfacechannel will plain gravel be fine? And thank you for helping me so much . And sorry for bothering you

[@undersurfacechannel]

@thanh vu 21 yes, whatever substrate should be fine :) I had it planted in sand, gravel and also planted tank soil without fertiliser, only with waste produced by the fish in the aquarium and it was doing fine. When I added fertiliser or root tabs, its growth was 2x quicker and the plant was much more thriving... but even without it, it will be just fine :) And you're not bothering at all, feel free to ask as much as you need :)