rotala wallichi care

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fishdud

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Apr 17, 2011
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Okay so my wallichi is not lookin so hot right now. There are some stems that are growing side shoots while others are dying, needle leaves just floating off. What do they do best in? I have 48 watts over a 36g bowfront, dosing iron and comprehensive and have root tabs underneath it.
 
That might not be enough, unfortunately. Rotala Wallichii is a very sensitive plant, requiring high light, high CO2, good ferts, and preferring (although not necessarily requiring) soft water.
 
aqua_chem said:
That might not be enough, unfortunately. Rotala Wallichii is a very sensitive plant, requiring high light, high CO2, good ferts, and preferring (although not necessarily requiring) soft water.

My drop checker is always around lime green-yellow. I plan on gettin more light and read that it likes to be dosed with phosphates.
 
Bottomfeeder88 said:
Fantasic looking plant. Know anyone selling it on AA?

I don't sorry. I got mine from planted aquatic central.
 
I don't know if It's against the rules to bring up old threads but just wanted to say if It's normal that It's growing and shooting out side shoots but the bottom is melting?
 
Agreed with AC. I have had success with Rotala W in the past, but I had very high light, 35+ppm CO2, and was dosing PPS Pro. If the bottoms are melting, your lighting is probably not high enough for this plant. Also, on that large of a tank, it would be hard to consistently keep your CO2 elevated above 20ppm, unless you are changing the mixes every few days consistently.

I also found the best way to get it to color up was to make the tank N limited. I got some great oranges and pinks out of it that way.

19738-albums378-picture16228.jpg

19738-albums378-picture7859.jpg
 
Sorry for the late response, anyways could another cause be is that I have em bunched together instead of spread out? Would that cause them to melt as well cause of light being blocked?
 
Absolutely that could be an issue. The tighter they are bunched, the less light you get down low. I always tried to plant each stem individually to keep them at least somewhat apart.
 
I have em bunched cause I thought it would look better that way but I'll spread em, see how that goes.
 
I also have Rotala Wallichii and am having trouble with it. I use RootMedic tabs, PMDD, and Co2(my drop checker is lime-yellowish green). I have a 48" dual T5HO fixture and the substrate is about 19" or less from the bulbs(its a 40 gallon long). It is a pretty new plant, but I got other plants at the same time that are thriving/pearling.

I do know that the WPG thing is pretty much old school and is pretty much obsolete, but maybe I should bump my lighting up a bit? I do have a 30" dual T5HO fixture that I could use, but I don't think the light will really reach both sides of the tank. I guess I could try it as a temporary solution until I can buy another light. here's a few pics of my crappy looking Rotala :

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0726.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0727.jpg

And here's a pic of my whole tank. The only lights on in the room are the aquarium. definitely looks really bright to me, but I dunno. What do you guys think? http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0722.jpg
 
I saw the best color and growth by n limiting the tank, running 35+ ppm co2 and 4wpg of t5ho (in a 29g, not the small tank I posted above). I realize that's crazy high lighting but it was the best combo I found for growing tough plants... That and soft water. At 4wpg I kept the leaves on the bottom growing.
 
Last edited:
Fuzz said:
I also have Rotala Wallichii and am having trouble with it. I use RootMedic tabs, PMDD, and Co2(my drop checker is lime-yellowish green). I have a 48" dual T5HO fixture and the substrate is about 19" or less from the bulbs(its a 40 gallon long). It is a pretty new plant, but I got other plants at the same time that are thriving/pearling.

I do know that the WPG thing is pretty much old school and is pretty much obsolete, but maybe I should bump my lighting up a bit? I do have a 30" dual T5HO fixture that I could use, but I don't think the light will really reach both sides of the tank. I guess I could try it as a temporary solution until I can buy another light. here's a few pics of my crappy looking Rotala :

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0726.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0727.jpg

And here's a pic of my whole tank. The only lights on in the room are the aquarium. definitely looks really bright to me, but I dunno. What do you guys think? http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0722.jpg

Dang man. Such a nice plant but it's soo demanding. I plan on getting another light fixture for my tank. I forgot the websites name but they're selling t5ho Nova extreme fixtures for a good price. I plan on getting one for $75 free shipping. Here's a pic of mine.
 

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I also have Rotala Wallichii and am having trouble with it. I use RootMedic tabs, PMDD, and Co2(my drop checker is lime-yellowish green). I have a 48" dual T5HO fixture and the substrate is about 19" or less from the bulbs(its a 40 gallon long). It is a pretty new plant, but I got other plants at the same time that are thriving/pearling.

I do know that the WPG thing is pretty much old school and is pretty much obsolete, but maybe I should bump my lighting up a bit? I do have a 30" dual T5HO fixture that I could use, but I don't think the light will really reach both sides of the tank. I guess I could try it as a temporary solution until I can buy another light. here's a few pics of my crappy looking Rotala :

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0726.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0727.jpg

And here's a pic of my whole tank. The only lights on in the room are the aquarium. definitely looks really bright to me, but I dunno. What do you guys think? http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0722.jpg

That either looks like a CO2 issue, or you have something munching on it.... I would not be at all surprised if it's the latter.
 
fort384 said:
Agreed with AC. I have had success with Rotala W in the past, but I had very high light, 35+ppm CO2, and was dosing PPS Pro. If the bottoms are melting, your lighting is probably not high enough for this plant. Also, on that large of a tank, it would be hard to consistently keep your CO2 elevated above 20ppm, unless you are changing the mixes every few days consistently.

I also found the best way to get it to color up was to make the tank N limited. I got some great oranges and pinks out of it that way.

Sorry, but what do you mean by keeping the tank N limited?
 
Some plants do better, or at least show more color, if nitrates are dosed scantly rather than in excess (as prescribed by EI or other regimens).
 
Well, my PMDD is premixed, so I'd have to buy the dry ferts individually to minimalize the nitrates. I didn't have Co2 right when I got the Rotala, but it has been showing growth. The tallest stem seen in the picture was about 75% that height before I got my Co2. As much as I'd like it to thrive in my tank, I've been thinking about pulling it. It does have new growth, obviously, but the new needles/leaves don't look like they're supposed to either.

I put my 30" dual t5ho fixture above it last night and set the timer to turn it on/off at the same time as my other one. This fixture has one actinic bulb, so it isn't going to be overkill on light. Without including the wattage of the actinic bulb, I've got 139 watts over a 40 gallon tank.

It could have been one of my fish, but I pulled a few of them recently because my tank was overloaded. Right now I have mostly rainbowfish, so plants being eaten should not be a problem.

I hope that this plant works out without too much trouble. I don't think that I"m going to spend too much effort/money just to get one specific plant to grow in my tank.
 
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