rotala wallichi care

[Fuzz]

got an aqueon 500 circulation pump after reading a bunch of good reviews on it. it's nice and quiet and seems to work just about perfect for my tank...let's see if that helps

[fishdud]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

got an aqueon 500 circulation pump after reading a bunch of good reviews on it. it's nice and quiet and seems to work just about perfect for my tank...let's see if that helps

Do you dose anything?

[Fuzz]

i dose a Macro/Micro mix 6 days a week. I no longer have root tabs because I changed my substrate to dirt(capped with PFS).

Like I said, the new growth has green stems and the leaves are too small to really see. They're longer than the old stuff, but still not as long as they should be. Maybe that comes with time?

Should I cut the new growth and plant it? Or should I leave it as is for now and cut it when it gets longer? Here's updated/better pics of it. It is definitely growing, but I'm still unsure about it.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...5/IMAG0756.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...5/IMAG0755.jpg

[fishdud]

I have no idea to be honest..maybe aqua chem can suggest something. But yours look really different than mine. Mines growing as well but I'm thinking about pulling em out.

[aqua_chem]

Mine did that same thing when I let my CO2 flounder for awhile. I just recently tossed the bottoms and replanted the tops. It can't hurt it I figure.


Is your wallichii as green as it looks in that picture? It should be much more orangy than that.

[fort384]

Agreed - it will not hurt to trim and replant. And crank the co2

[Fuzz]

the stems are green, the tops are a pinkish, and the leaves could be orange. I can't really tell about the leaves...I'll turn my Co2 up some today and keep an eye on my fish. I have it running all night and the fish aren't gasping in the morning before my lights turn on, so why not. Should I get a timer and have it shut off at night? or even just for a few hours?

I will also trim and replant the better looking stuff. Some of it has a lot of side shoots, so doing it will spread it out a little more. Hopefully it grows faster after I do this so it fills my tank up a little better.

[fort384]

I may have missed it, what kind of co2 system are you running?

Fish can do fine in much higher concentrations of CO2 than people think. I try to keep my tanks above 30ppm CO2.

[Fuzz]

Its a 5lb cylinder with an electric solenoid attached to the regulator. I have a ceramic diffuser just below the intake of my canister filter. No bubbles are blown out of the output. No bubbles skip past the intake tube. I don't know my ppm, but the drop checker I have is lime green(more yellow than green).

[fort384]

If you have a solenoid, I would definitely add a timer. Injecting CO2 at night is a waste - plants only uptake CO2 while they are undergoing photosynthesis. At night during respiration they actually release CO2 as a byproduct.