How To Grow Potato In Aquarium

How to grow Potato in Aquarium / Fish Tank:

Potato can grow from a seed or cutting of potato. You would have seen potatoes planting underground, but you have a choice of growing them in water. Planting in water have a lot of advantages such as fish can lay eggs in the roots of the plant & fry can hide there. Monitor the healthy leaves & roots of potato after growing them in aquarium

Growing potato from an existing potato will ensure that the new plant copies the qualities of the original potato plant. There is an alternative way of growing potato. Planting potato seeds is not a very genuine way of growing potato because they do not develop true to type & are of a small value to the hobbyists growing potatoes in aquarium. New potato plant develops from the eyes of the potato, fresh tubers grow, which will take time to become new potatoes that can be harvested.

Grow potato in aquarium by suspending the potato cutting or seed in container filled with water with at least 1 sprout facing up. The part of potato submerged in aquarium water will absorb water & will act as a nutrient source for the growth of potato, eventually producing roots in the water. A potato vine will develop from the sprouted eye. Fresh tubers will grow as part of the emerging root, serving as stems for potato & will finally develop into complete potatoes.

Growing potato in aquarium can be an experiment, which allows hobbyist to monitor the growth of the potato as it grows into the full potato plant. Use a container for growing potato. Use tooth picks for holding the potato in the mouth of the container. This is a simple way to observe the growing root system of potato, though there is not enough space for the roots to grow & tubers to completely cultivate.

Observe your potato plant to see how it develops. Keep your potato in direct sunlight for better growth. Make sure you change container water regularly. Potato will develop roots & leaves. Shift your potato to aquarium after keeping it in a container for a month. Roots of the potato twist in container. Uncurl the roots when shifting it to aquarium. Make sure potato is partially submerged in water & its leaves are outside. Also potato will need aquarium light.

Fill the container with water & ensure that potato is partially submerged.

Steps: How to grow potato in aquarium:

If you want to grow a healthy potato plant in aquarium, then follow all steps:

Step 1:

Buy potatoes from market. Wash the potato, look for the eyes, if a potato has more eyes at one end then use that potato so stems can be produced from there. You can either cut potato that has more eyes or use whole potato & suspend it in a way that the part having more eyes is at the top & outside of water.

Step 2:

Fill water in a container. Take a potato & place 3 toothpicks, & suspended it inside the aquarium so only bottom part of potato is submerged in water. Make sure potato is not completely submerged in water. Refill container if water level lowers due to evaporation. 

Step 3:

Make sure only 1/3 part of potato is submerged in water. Place container in sunlight. Monitor the leaves & roots of the plant. Set a goal of keeping potato in container for about a month & keep monitoring its progress. Add potato to aquarium only if plant is healthy, & have enough roots & leaves.

Step 4:

After a month, if potato is healthy, shift it to aquarium. Make a hole in aquarium lid for leaves to stay outside aquarium. Drill a hole in the lid using drill machine. Sanding the surface will make it smooth & this way it won't hurt the plant.

Step 5:

Potato will grow roots that absorb nitrates & clean aquarium water. It will help stressed fish to hide from aggressive mates. Potato roots will absorb fish waste as fertilizer so there is no need to add extra fertilizers. 

Potato Care & Considerations:

It is crucial to avoid the leaves of the plant get wet while growing potato in water; leaves that remain wet over time can develop a disease that cause the plant to rot. Carefully planning is required for growing potato in aquarium since the potato plant will need lots of space for growth. It is recommended to use multiple containers if planning to grow multiple potato plants in aquarium. Make sure container does not hurt your potato.

Do not put potato in a very small container as its roots will twist. It is a bit difficult to uncurl the roots so do it gently. Make sure you do not hurt the roots. Potato in aquarium will sprout lots of roots as this plant is known for growing healthy root system so ensure you have enough space. Also do not add fish that hurt potato roots. Potato roots will take lots of aquarium space so ensure you have enough swimming space for fish.

If the plant grows tomato like fruits after flowering, then remove the fruits quickly because they are toxic.

Pros. of Potato in Aquarium:

Overtime potato will grow healthy root system which acts as a natural filter. Fish waste releases harmful ammonia that can be toxic to fish. Potato plant absorbs fish waste which acts as fertilizer for plants. Hence it can act as a biological filter in aquarium. Potato plant also absorb carbon dioxide & releases oxygen in water which is beneficial for plant.

Fish lay eggs in the potato plant roots & fries can hide there. Potato plant is recommended for beginners because it is easy to grow & needs low maintenance.