rotala wallichi care

[Fuzz]

Update : Did a massive 75% water change today after work and my rotala was pearling! That's a good sign...still too early to tell if the light is/was the culprit, though. I'll update again in a few weeks whether it improves or not. The websites I've read say that it requires moderate-high light. According to the PAR charts that I've seen, I'm in the very high range(even with just the one fixture)...

Maybe my water is just too hard...I don't know if I want to start softening my tank water, though. I heard that R/O water is the way to go if I want to soften my water(without getting a water softener, of course). A LFS has free R/O water that I could use on my weekly water changes....thoughts?

 

[fishdud]

Update : Did a massive 75% water change today after work and my rotala was pearling! That's a good sign...still too early to tell if the light is/was the culprit, though. I'll update again in a few weeks whether it improves or not. The websites I've read say that it requires moderate-high light. According to the PAR charts that I've seen, I'm in the very high range(even with just the one fixture)...

Maybe my water is just too hard...I don't know if I want to start softening my tank water, though. I heard that R/O water is the way to go if I want to soften my water(without getting a water softener, of course). A LFS has free R/O water that I could use on my weekly water changes....thoughts?

Are you sure it wasn't the bubbles from the water change that made it false pearl? It happens sometimes, do you have root tabs underneath em?

 

[Fuzz]

That could be, but the plants that usually pearl without a water change were pearling a lot faster after the 75% water change.

I am using RootMedic Complete tabs. I made sure to put one or two by the Rotala just to make sure it was getting nutrients. I'm actually converting to dirt shortly and I'll put another batch of tabs in(i have a few extra, so why not).

I've definitely done my research as far as a lot of this kind of stuff goes, I'm just trying to figure out why it doesn't look like its supposed to. It is growing slowly, but it might be too early to tell if the new leaves/needles are growing properly.

Are the stems supposed to be green? The new growth has green stems that look a lot better than the old stuff. The older parts of the plant have a dark red/brown color to them. I should have taken pictures of the plant when it was fresh from the UPS packaging...

Maybe I should trim off all the old stuff if the newer growth is long enough to plant? I did it as an experiment with one of them, but it didn't stay down. I still have it floating around my tank. I can't tell if it has gotten any bigger yet.

Still playing with the idea of softening my water. Even if it's 5 gallons of RO water and 10 gallons of tap water for each water change, itll still be softer than straight tap water. Rotala Wallichii likes softer water, so I could try it for a week or two and see if it helps.

 

[aqua_chem]

Rotala can take on colors between dark burgundy to excessively bright pink. I've seen pretty much everything between there.

I would be more concerned with the availability of nutrients in the water than in the substrate. Most stem type plants will take the majority of their nutrient out of the water column and not the substrate. Something to consider...

 

[fishdud]

Having the same problems fuzz, my new growth is actually growing pretty well but very slow. I'm dosing seachem comprehensive, iron, phosphorus, and have root tabs underneath. They're doing okay but bottom leaves melt, I just need higher lighting.

 

[aqua_chem]

I have also heard that low CO2 levels can be a cause of stems melting. Your drop checker is telling you what the CO2 levels are in an open area with likely good circulation. If you have poor circulation in and around your plants, then they might not be getting good CO2 delivery and are quickly using up what's in their immediate vicinity. I have been having issues with my R. Wallichii lately as well, and I saw a HUGE impact when I pointed my power head at it, which substantially increased it's circulation and therefore CO2 delivery.

 

[fishdud]

I have also heard that low CO2 levels can be a cause of stems melting. Your drop checker is telling you what the CO2 levels are in an open area with likely good circulation. If you have poor circulation in and around your plants, then they might not be getting good CO2 delivery and are quickly using up what's in their immediate vicinity. I have been having issues with my R. Wallichii lately as well, and I saw a HUGE impact when I pointed my power head at it, which substantially increased it's circulation and therefore CO2 delivery.

I have a diy connected to my powerhead pointing towards the rotala, my drop checker is usually always lime green. I think I'm doing everything okay, I may need to up my lighting. There's my powerhead, think I may to lower it a bit more.

 

[Fuzz]

Hmm...Circulation might be part of my problem. I'm dosing "dry ferts" and have a 5 lb. co2 tank with my diffuser directly below the intake to my Fluval 206. My drop checker IS in a pretty open area at the other end of the tank, so that might not be as accurate as I want it to be. I might have to find a quiet powerhead/pump to help circulate that co2 better. Any suggestions on quiet circulation devices?

 

[aqua_chem]

What size tank?

 

[Fuzz]

40 long. it has the same footprint as a 55, but isn't as tall.

 

[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]

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/hh190/tallkid12285/IMAG0756.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh190/tallkid12285/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.