# Purple-fringed Riccia (Ricciocarpus natans)



## freaky_tah (Jan 21, 2009)

I came across this liverwort while working in the field a few days back. I don't often see it, and I collected a small amount to potentially place in the pond of one of my vivs.

With a liverwort, should I be safe washing them in a 10% bleach solution? Does anyone have any experience this? If it won't survive well in the viv I'd rather not even risk introducing it even after I attempt to sterilize them.

Thanks for the help as always! Sorry the pics aren't the best, I took em while out on the lake.


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## poison beauties (Mar 1, 2010)

Nice find, Id have paid for some of that. Its hard to find down here. I have soaked it in the 10% bleach but make sure you rinse it well. I did notice using cold water with the bleach did fair better with the riccia. I also soaked it in fresh cold water under the lights with plenty co2 after for a few days as well. Good luck with it.


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## freaky_tah (Jan 21, 2009)

poison beauties said:


> Nice find, Id have paid for some of that. Its hard to find down here. I have soaked it in the 10% bleach but make sure you rinse it well. I did notice using cold water with the bleach did fair better with the riccia. I also soaked it in fresh cold water under the lights with plenty co2 after for a few days as well. Good luck with it.


Cool thanks for the info and the quick reply! I'm not sure if I'll end up getting back to the pond that I found it in, but there was a good amount there, so if I can fit it in I'll try and collect some more for ya.


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## poison beauties (Mar 1, 2010)

Are your plans to grow it submerssed or inviv?

Michael


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## freaky_tah (Jan 21, 2009)

I was planning on just having it free-floating in a small pond. Should I not do that? The pond I collected it from was full of this and slender riccia, mixed in with some lemna species.


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## poison beauties (Mar 1, 2010)

No free floating is probably the best based on the lights, temps and water. I am interetsed in trying some of it out on a clay background or some wood pieces in a viv. Its really eye catching riccia.

Michael


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## freaky_tah (Jan 21, 2009)

Cool I hope it takes off! I've seen pictures of it emersed in bog conditions, it would be cool if you could get it established in some clay


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## JimO (May 14, 2010)

Test soak a small piece in the bleach solution. I tried it on some liverworts and they just fell apart.


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## poison beauties (Mar 1, 2010)

True Jim, but it only takes a bit of it to get going. STill I would want it sterilized before it went into any viv. Id use cold water, rinse it well and get it under some lights with co2.


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## freaky_tah (Jan 21, 2009)

If I rinse them with a cup or 2 of cold water, how much bleach do you think I should add?


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## JimO (May 14, 2010)

1 fluid ounce = 2 Tablespoons. A cup is 8 ounces, so you wouldn't want to add much more than 2 Tablespoons to 1.5 cups of water.

Be sure to use bleach that is pure sodium hypochlorite solution with no detergents added. A lot of the name brand bleaches contain other ingredients.


freaky_tah said:


> If I rinse them with a cup or 2 of cold water, how much bleach do you think I should add?


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Cleaning these is tricky as most ways I know to actually kill the things you don't want also kill the liverwort.

This is a floating plant, and will not go submersed. I don't see it being invasive like actually Riccia unless the area its spreading to is pretty wet (aka soggy bogs of badness) - I've grown it on aquasoil with water to the substrate line but that's as close to "terrestrial" as I've gotten it so far, it just doesn't have the invasive inclinations that Riccia does. There are other more terrestrial liverworts that may take better to growing on a background.

The purple "fringe" you guys are talking about is actually the rhizoids (the liverwort version of roots) and are on the bottom of the plant and splay out underneath like a poofy skirt. The color varies depending on some lighting (and possibly nutrition) factors... most of my stock just has green rhizoids, but I have some right under some intense lighting that has red roots.


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