I picked up some Mexican oak leaf plants (Shinnersia rivularis) at Pet Warehouse during our recent group visit to the local stores in Springfield, Missouri. I've never kept this plant before because I never thought that it looked like a true aquatic plant, but Merrill Cohen, founder of Aquarium Products, used to grow it like crazy and bring in the excess for us to sell at Aquarium Center (now Aquarium Depot) in Baltimore, MD. Merrill passed away in 2003, so I thought it would be a fitting tribute to keep this plant in rememberance of an old friend.
Merrill was a long time hobbyist and one of the well-knowns in the trade. He is credited as being the first to sell fish in plastic bags. Before that, they were sent home from stores in those cardboard Chinese take-out boxes. (I actually remember buying fish that way.) He was also the first to commercially sell fish medications. Aquarisol and QuickCure are still sold today.
Merrill seemed to attend every trade and hobby show. I saw him everywhere. The first time I met him was at MACNA II or III? in Chicago. A group of us were sitting around chatting. He came over, introduced himself, and joined the chat. He was alway friendly. Mostly, though, I knew him from Aquarium Center. He and the owner, Dennis Hare, were best friends, so he stopped in often.
Anyway, I put the Mexican oak leaf plants into my wife's 75-gallon. It's got 220 watts of power compact fluorescent light, so should be a good spot for them. However, two weeks later, the plants are not looking so well. Of the two bunches I bought, one has lost the lower leaves. The other has started to lose them. If the plants were grown emersed, I would expect this. The old emersed-growth leaves will die, but the newer, upper, submersed-growth leaves should survive and thrive. However, even these are looking chewed up. I have some bushy-nose plecos in that tank that have a history of bothering soft-leaved plants, so they may be responsible. So it's yet to be seen how these plants will do for me, but I'm crossing my fingers. Perhaps I'll move some sprigs to a different aquarium.
Kenna, how are yours holding up?