Ludwigia turning green...boring.

[Lardeelion]

My ludwigia repens aren't so red anymore. The leaves on the bottom - the leaves that were on the plants when I bought them - are red, but as they grow they lose the red color.

Meanwhile, as my rotala reaches higher and higher it's turning more red.

55 gallon planted tank
Fluorite
Coralife HO T5 10,000k & 6,500k bulbs
Lights stay on about 9-10 hours
Dosing Excel
Root tabs (for root feeders)
Tetra Flora Pride liquid fert until my dry ferts get ordered, and it contains Soluble Potash and Iron (that seems like a pretty wimpy fertilizer)

Ammo = 0
No2 = 0
No3 ~2
pH 7.2

Also, I have a ridiculous amount of wisteria that I'm replacing shortly. I know it's a nutrient vampire - could it be sucking up what the ludwigia needs?

Could it be the low nitrates? Need more iron? I'm seeing all sorts of answers around the internet.

Lastly, is it lud-wid-jee-a or lud-wig-ee-a? Bugging the heck out of me.

 

[Rivercats]

Most of the time red plants lose their red when they aren't in high light. Also sometimes they need more iron depending on whats in or not in the ferts your using. This is how florists say it... Ludwigia-(lud-wij'i-a).

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

Most of the time red plants lose their red when they aren't in high light. Also sometimes they need more iron depending on whats in or not in the ferts your using. This is how florists say it... Ludwigia-(lud-wij'i-a).

At this point, I would point to lights. Although the Coralifes are nice, they never gave me that "high" lighting that I thought they would deliver on. I have a fixture on my 29g at the moment.

 

[Lardeelion]

At this point, I would point to lights. Although the Coralifes are nice, they never gave me that "high" lighting that I thought they would deliver on. I have a fixture on my 29g at the moment.

Well, that's a huge bummer, considering I bought the bleeping light because I wanted...light!

And I'm with the florists.

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

Well, that's a huge bummer, considering I bought the bleeping light because I wanted...light!

And I'm with the florists.

Don't get me wrong. They give you above average light. You'll get good growth with it. But I just got home from work and checked my Repens. Same as yours. Light pink under-leaf. And light pink is being generous haha.

 

[Lardeelion]

Don't get me wrong. They give you above average light. You'll get good growth with it. But I just got home from work and checked my Repens. Same as yours. Light pink under-leaf. And light pink is being generous haha.

Yeah, that's about what I have. A hint of pink. How irksome. I'll lay off buying more ludwigia, and in the meantime concentrate on ferts. If I've learned anything from this hobby, it's to work with what I've got. I already spent all the kids' Christmas gift money on my rams, anyway.

(Kidding. I spent my husband's Christmas gift money.)

 

[Rivercats]

Understand that you get good medium light which grows most anything but it's not high enough to do most red plants or high light carpet plants. The reason I can get red/pink/yellow/orange plants is because of having the halides. If you had a 4 bulb fixture instead of two you would have red plants with CO2 and proper ferts. You might try using Flourish Iron a couple times a week as I've found that can increase red color.

 

[molly100a]

My repens always stayed red when i added iron (red clay) to the substrate right under the plant.

 

[Rivercats]

I use iron root tabs but not alot I have too large a tank and too many non-green plants but I also dose micro ferts daily that have iron but I have high light. Aquarium Plants is who I get my Iron Root Tabs from and have had good luck with them.

 

[Lardeelion]

Thanks, everybody. I guess I'll readjust my thinking towards a medium-light setup. I'm happy to stick with the lighting I've got for now and work within those parameters. I'll try some iron.

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

Thanks, everybody. I guess I'll readjust my thinking towards a medium-light setup. I'm happy to stick with the lighting I've got for now and work within those parameters. I'll try some iron.

If the iron works, let us know! So I can hopefully get my Repens back to being red too haha

 

[Rivercats]

Don't know if you have room but have you thought about getting a Red Tiger Lotus? They actually stay redder in lower light.

 

[Lardeelion]

Don't know if you have room but have you thought about getting a Red Tiger Lotus? They actually stay redder in lower light.

I have almost ordered one about ten times in the last week. Absolutely gorgeous. I meant to ask you about it! Perfect.

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

I have almost ordered one about ten times in the last week. Absolutely gorgeous. I meant to ask you about it! Perfect.

One thing with those plants is to keep up with trimming it. If you slack on it from time to time, it has a tendency to send long runners that float on the top. If you keep up with trimming it, you'll have it make large underwater leaves.

 

[ktomminello]

No pun intended --->

This is going to sound a little weird, but I deal in aquaponics and have take a liking to water plants as well. I have a couple suggestions based on my own experiences, and believe me, reds and purples are my favorite underwater colors.
Using a medium to high watt florescent light bulb is better than a t5 in a normal freshwater aquarium (corals are different, it's not so much the intensity as it is the spectrum)- as I said, this is MY experiences.
Using an iron tab anchored to a driftwood and a little layer of fluorite (I think- check my 10g planted album in my profile, it looks like what I have as my substrate) will provide a good environment for roots to take hold.
CO2 is not really appropriate unless you have a large fully planted tank, which is not a good idea for anyone who isn't experienced or has completely done their research, sorry, but that's how I feel.
Flourish by Seachem and FloraPride by Tetra are decent ferts, and once you have found the dose that is appropriate will help boost those red based colors.
PLANT DIRECTLY UNDER YOUR LIGHT I'm not being snooty, lol, I'm speaking from personal experience
Remove dying leaves and roots from all plants, along with those that are see through, have holes in them or are torn, etc
I cannot stress the benefit of a driftwood base for plants, seeing as though they provide the lower ph that plant roots prefer.
Test your new water going into the tank, if it is above 7.2 lower it to around 6.8-7 before adding unless your tank is normally kept at a ph that high (though I don't think any plant could flourish in that ph)
Keep your plants trimmed back to the size you want them to stay diligently, they will show a difference in color quality once they have photosynthesize.

 

[Rivercats]

One thing with those plants is to keep up with trimming it. If you slack on it from time to time, it has a tendency to send long runners that float on the top. If you keep up with trimming it, you'll have it make large underwater leaves.

I actually only trim the surface runner leaves. They have a rounded shape when they come so it's easy to tell, plus they shoot up towards the surface ultra fast. I did recently trim off alot of leaves as my plant got too large and leggy for lack of a better word. What happened then was the tiny leaves that were coming in under the taller growth actually started to size up and I like the look of the plant much better.

 

[Lardeelion]

I actually only trim the surface runner leaves. They have a rounded shape when they come so it's easy to tell, plus they shoot up towards the surface ultra fast. I did recently trim off alot of leaves as my plant got too large and leggy for lack of a better word. What happened then was the tiny leaves that were coming in under the taller growth actually started to size up and I like the look of the plant much better.

I just watched a few videos on trimming so I know what to look for.