What is this?

[John G]

My 10 gal has suddenly become filled with long (about 18 inches) stems, with small (about 1/3 inch) flowers at the end. The stems seem to come directly from the soil, not from any of the plants. Can someone id these for me?

[krisw]

Those look like Sagittaria subulata flowers. It looks like you have some of that in the picture... Those flower stalks grow incredibly fast too!

[John G]

Any idea why they would suddenly sprout like this? This aquarium hasn’t had anything different done to it in two or three years—same plants, same water changes, same light. There is no heater in the tank, could the change in the ambient temperature have made them sprout?

[krisw]

I guess it's possible. Sometimes these plants just seem to know that it's spring!