Advice on Rotala Macrandra

[Erk]

I just got one of these yesterday, and after doing some research on it, it sounds very demanding, and I was wondering if someone can help give me some pointers on trimming, and reproducing it? I have high light, so I dont think that will be an issue, and I have co2 injection, its not great, but im working on it, but any advice would be great! I really think this plant looks nice right now :D

Thanks! :D

[fish_r]

i used to grow it in my 4ft discus tank and i only ran approx 2.5wpg of light and it used to grow very well. "with DIY Co2"
all u do it cut and replant, wouldnt hurt to put some root tabs under the stems and Seachem iron will bring out the colour.
also one important fact is to plant the stems individually or the stems may rot "dont plant in bunches"
have attached a pic how it used to look in the 4ft. all the stems were planted individually.

[Erk]

Thanks very much fish_r! :) I just planted the bunch it came in, so I will def. break up the bunch when I get home from work today, and it is planted right next to the co2 pumps, so that should help too....I will pay more attention to my dosing of iron also.

Your picture was very helpful, and its a very nice picture! :D I will get some root tabs for it as well, and see how I go, I know I have lots of light (4.2 wpg) but I dont think the co2 can keep up with the light atm, so Im still working on that, and the riccia arrives hopefully next week!!! :D

Thanks again :D

[fish_r]

no probs Erk glad to help, should go good in ur tank with ur specs and adds a nice bit of colour to the tank too :)
i want to give riccia a go soon too :wink: but want to add a cpl more T5 tubes to the tank first.
thinking about big changes to the 5ft tank "again" soon...
btw my fish have grown lots since them pics :shock: it shocked me a little to c by how much 8-)

[Erk]

Good luck with all your changes! I look forward to the pics...I think once everything starts growing well, I will rearrange some things and make everything a lil nicer and more "organized" :D

I got home from work yesterday and broke the "bunch" up and a lot of the leaves look rather transparent :( and Im hoping it bounce back, I dosed a good bit of liquid ferts yesterday for the first time in a lil while, so hopefully that will help...but Im supposed to do a water change tonight, so we will have to wait and see how it goes

Ive never used riccia before, so I really dont know what to expect out of it, but hopefully it goes well! I will def. get some new pics up soon! :D

Glad to hear your fishies are much bigger now!! Thats great! I would imagine mine will be growing a good bit now, with lady red's recipe! :D Maybe some blue rams this weekend! :D

Thanks again! :D and good luck with your changes
Eric

[fish_r]

if ur anything like me m8 it's a constant thing to do re arranging lol.
i wouldnt worry too much just yet about the transparent leaves, cause it will take a while to settle in.
i usually dose with flourish straight after a water change then dose iron the next day then dose flourish again in another 2 days and add potassium about once a week or so...
riccia looks really nice when done properly :) are u going to mount it on wood or make a carpet out of it ? either way it has to be tied down...

good luck with the rams and the changes :)
keep us posted with pics pls...

i got some nice apistos today too "well yesterday now really"

[Erk]

Yeah, im sure i will be constantly moving things around too! :D Its fun, but Im just not happy with how things are planted right now, but I dont really wanna move things until they are bigger, and I can see what Im working with! lol

So thats how you dose your liquids? What about excell? I have root sticks under everything with roots, and I will get some tabs for "near" the stems for the stems plants...the rotala mainly....very soon! I have all those ferts to dose tho, i just have been slacking with keeping up with it lately...due to some other issues, like the co2, but Im gonna get on top of it! :D I never dose anything on days I do my water changes, and maybe thats part of my problem. If I do a water change saturday and wednesday, then thats two days outta the week that nothing gets dosed :?

I agree...riccia is very neat looking, and hopefully it will pearl in my tank (still havent seen anything going on) but we will see....I dont plan on mounting it to the driftwood, I like the brown the driftwood adds to the tank, but I would like a carpet effect from it. I read somewhere (not on the forum) about using two grid like plastic things from the local craftstore and sticking the riccia in between them, and using fishing line to tie them shut, and burrying the whole plastic grid...then during trimming, you can remove the whole grid, so I thought I would give that a shot??

Im thinking rams this weekend, and I started a new thread in the "tankmates" section to see if I get anymore opinions about it, before I go them...I will def. keep you posted with pics! :D Hopefully I figure out this crappy camera too! haha

This whole US time vs. Australian time is funny sometimes, and the fact that your usually around here at any given time is cool, but yeah...yesterday I guess! lol! How do the apistos look? Pics soon?? :D

Thanks again, and sorry for the long post...its lunchtime for me here at work, and Im all over the internet! haha 8-)

[fish_r]

if u dose ur ferts just after a water change it gives them longer to do there stuff, but iron wont stay in the system for long though. i dont use excel in my bigger tank cause the pressurissed usually does the job.
i'm really no expert with ferts but what i'm doing seems to be working ok.
been having a few issues with my Co2 lately too, more the diffuser side of things though, but hopefully got that sussed now iv'e made and fitted another DIY inline Co2 reactor.
definitely like to see more pics when uv'e done ur changes :)
iv'e seen the article ur talking about with the riccia using the plastic crochet mats. looks the goods :)

this is one of my most visited sites hehe and i'm a bit of a night owl so usually on till around 2am aussie time "later/earlier if i'm not working" unfortunitely theyve blocked our internet access @ work other wise i would probably be on here a lot more lol...

[fish_r]

p.s. if u want to see a pic of the apistos i posted them in the dwarf cichlid section

[Erk]

Thanks fish_r :D I will start dosing right after a water change and see how things go, and since I dont think I have enough co2, I will use excell and hope that helps....other then that, i will give your fert suggestion a go 8-)

Yeah I will take the camera home this weekend, and get a few updated pics, prolly with the rams in, and then hopefully next week, the riccia will come, and I can get some updated pics of that! Im gonna get those plastic things this weekend, so they are around and ready to go when the riccia arrives :D

I work with computers, and everyone here is pretty cool, so thats why Im usually on it, but daytime is your nighttime, so I get most of my replies while Im sleeping, except for you! haha :wink: :D 8-)

Im off to check out the pics of apistos :D

Thanks again! :D
Eric

[Erk]

I just thought up another question now about the liquid ferts and excell, if Im gonna start doing 43% water changes today, does that mean I can now follow the initial dose as recommended on the bottle? Im not at home, but I remember the bottle says something about using an initial dose of 1 capful per 10 gallons after a >40% water change? Should I do that, or just keep doing the other dose as suggested...something like 1 capful per 50 gallons daily and that I can increase dosing slowly...I usually dump two capfuls in when I dose it

Thanks! :D

[fish_r]

good luck getting pics of the rams m8, there fast little buggers, i havnt been able to get any good ones of my blue rams yet, cause most come out blurred.
ur lucky working with computers m8, i work in a furniture shop and dont usually get time to scratch my arse never mind browse the net :( good luck getting ur rams and i would be interested in seeing how ur riccia looks when set up.

i'm not too knowledgeable on the excel, but have read u can use it up to 2-3 times the recommended dose to get rid of algae, but dont take my word for it.
this link might help though as it has a rep from seachem answering the questions posted
http://www.plantgeek.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=33
HTH
Rob...

[Erk]

Thanks fish_r...I will keep you updated on when the riccia arrives, cause I will def. get down to getting that "planted" asap! :D haha...I cant wait for it to arrive....ive been hunting everywhere!

I do enjoy working on computers...I do lots of "research" on fish and plant stuff during the day! haha :wink: I see now why you stay up "late" sounds like after work, you have fish stuff....then this forum! :D

I will try my best to get some decent pics of the rams....Im gonna take the digi from work this weekend I think...I also have a friend that will let me use theirs...I cant find the ISO speed stuff on the one at work :? So hopefully I can find the setting on this "other" camera, and get some better pics

Thanks for the link...I will read up on things on it...I did my water change and dosed excell like the bottle said, 1 capful per 10 gallons, so I will have to wait and see how things go....the discus didnt seem to mind. I hope things start turning around with the plants :(

Thanks very much for your help! :D

[Erk]

THANKS......EXCELLENT LINK!!! :D

[Erk]

That is a great link fish_r! :D I really appreciate it, but it has led to more questions! haha.....first, what do you have stocked in your filter? Do you dose potassium in your tank? Would their purigen and matrix be beneficial for me? My nitrates get up to about 20ppm before my water changes, and Im using R/O which the R/O water has nitrates of 5ppm to start with

I have the rena xp3 with the four pieces of black foam (2 different courses) LOTS of ceramic rings, and some black bio-chem starts, and phos-zorb pouch, and then two pieces of the very fine white foam on top of all that

Thanks very much for your help! I dosed the tank with Flourish, and Flourish Excell after my big water change last night :D

[fish_r]

i enjoy computers my self, b4 i got into fish i was right into computer modding and building computers etc. but the fish have taken over now. i now only make/repair friends comps for a little extra cash on the side.

ur tank will take a bit of time to get the right balance
i know it can be frustrating, but sooner or later it will come good cause it seems to me that ur doing the right things. do some reading on plant geek too cause there lots of helpful info on there that might help u too
u have high light too so it's a bit harder for u than me as high light mean high maintenance, but when u get ur Co2 level sussed with the amounts of ferts sussed u should start to see some great results :)

u got it about right with my routine :) i live on about 5hrs of sleep a night and a bit extra on my days off.

glad the link heps u, it's a good site for info and probably even better for u than me cause lots of u.S. people on there for local knowledge.

i run 2 filters on each tank 4ft has 1 x eheim 2217 1 x fluval 305 eheim has noodles @ the bottom and eheim substrat pro media above that then a fine white filter pad, fluval has noodles in all trays except the top basket has eheim substrat pro.
i also run 2 filters in the 5ft 1 x eheim 2217 and 1 x fluval 404 with the same substrat setup as the 4ft.
if the nitrates get too high i add nitrasorb till it goes down.
i usually try to keep nitrates around 15-20ppm, around 15ppm is a good level for ur plants...
i read something about purigen or matrix "cant remember which" isnt good for planted tanks as it takes some of the nutrients out ? but iv'e never tried them "think i read it on plant geek"
dont think it's anything to worry about with ur nitrates level. but i'll finish with i'm no expert so other people might have other ideas ?

[Erk]

Thanks fish_r :D I do civil engineering....drafting on computers all day, not actually working on them, but it allows me to play on the web daily as well! :)

Im def. gonna keep up the ferts...it gets discouraging not seeing any pearling...ever! haha :cry: I have been reading lots on plantgeek...its is def. a helpful site, and I think after reading almost all the topics...I will have a better handle on dosing my liquid ferts, so that should be helpful

I kinda feel my limiting factor is I dont have high enough co2 to compete with the high light I have :cry: I cant really do much more about that now, as I will do nothing but spend money on these lil 74gram cylinders I use in the new hydor system, but I will just have to wait and see how things go.....the tank has been up and running with plants in since december :?

I like your routine! lol! Not too many people on here to help me during the day :D

I think the nitrate level is rather debatable on here, and I dont feel 20ppm tops between water changes is bad at all, but some people like to keep them even less, and I cant do that without adding something else to the filter...I figured added more ceramic rings or noodles as you call them (I think) should have helped things, but I just did that rather recently..maybe 3 weeks ago, so maybe it hasnt had time to reflect the changes in my test kits yet...I will just keep an eye on things :)

Plantgeek def. talks about purigen and matrix, and the guy says they are safe alternatives to carbon in filters, and it shouldnt take out your liquid ferts like carbon...I dunno I will just keep my eye on things, and see how they go...they really seem to like the "stability" product, which I have, but I dont really use it, and maybe that would be a good idea...to boost things up on the ceramic rings, since Im feeding a good bit of lady red's recipe these days! :D I guess I wont make any changes to my filter right now

Thanks again for your help! :D

[Erk]

Here are some pictures of my "new" poor rotala mac :cry:

Im hoping it wil bounce back...Im on the liquid ferts, and its next to all the co2 stuff...we will see :roll:

Thanks

[Erk]

Last one

[Erk]

Some better quality photos of the rotala mac

Thanks

[Erk]

more

[Scotty Bils]

Looks like the Rotala is starting to come back - nice!

When i used to have it in my tank it boomed - it wsa out of control and I used to sell it back to the ffish shop for credit.

What I was using was CO2, and Dupla Iron liquid fertaliser. I had 3 fluros, undergravel heating and substrate fertaliser - added from set up.

With all the liquid ferts I have used the best fert for my plants is iron - especially for the red plants. I grow red tigers like crazy now with the same set up.

Antother trick I used with rotala to make me some cash was to let it grow to the surface (yes most of the leaves at the bottom quarter died) and then let it grow across the top of the tank. When it grew vertically along the top it used to send of soo many shoots from the stems that when I replanted it one stem had multiple shoots. A month later you have four times the macaranada!! $$

Once you get the conditions right this plant is awesome!

Look forward to more photos.

[Erk]

Thanks Scotty Bils Im gonna try and dose a lil more iron then normal for a lil bit and see how things go in there...its hard for me to tell if its coming back or not....the stems feel weak and squishy! haha

I will keep your tips in mind, if I ever get to that stage with this plant!

Thanks again :D

[Scotty Bils]

One thing I also used to do - now I can not say for sure that it works but I bought a dropper / pipet from the chemist (about $2) for dosing my iron.... The big downside is you have you arm in the aquarium alot but after water changes this tip works well.

What I did was to have a small plastic container - that holds 50mls. I then add my iron drops into that. You will need to calculate this with the number of litres of water or a "Fe" (Iron) kit. It may only be 5-10drops or even 5ml!! Then I would add some tank walter - to get more bang for my buck plus its pretty concentrated at this point.

I would then suck the iron loaded water into the pipet and slowly release it around the macaranda and any other red plants in the tank.

I am sure that your plant will start to boom soon! :)

[Scotty Bils]

One thing I also used to do - now I can not say for sure that it works but I bought a dropper / pipet from the chemist (about $2) for dosing my iron.... The big downside is you have you arm in the aquarium alot but after water changes this tip works well.

What I did was to have a small plastic container - that holds 50mls. I then add my iron drops into that. You will need to calculate this with the number of litres of water or a "Fe" (Iron) kit. It may only be 5-10drops or even 5ml!! Then I would add some tank walter - to get more bang for my buck plus its pretty concentrated at this point.

I would then suck the iron loaded water into the pipet and slowly release it around the macaranda and any other red plants in the tank.

I am sure that your plant will start to boom soon! :)

[Erk]

Thanks Scotty

I have a syringe thing that came with my girlfriends test kit, which is now at my place :wink: lol

It goes up to 10mL....I was gonna dose iron today too...maybe I should do that today, and just squirt it all around the mac, since the red tiger lotus seems to be doing well? I always have my arm in the tank! haha

THanks for the tip tho! I hope I can salvage this plant, it really looks nice in the pics :D

[Erk]

I dosed the iron with syringe and it seemed to help a lil bit, the tops of the rotala were mostly red last night, and then the remainder of the plant was crappy looking, and the leaves were starting to go transparent and die off, so I trimmed off the nicer parts, and replanted them...will see how that goes

Im gonna do the syringe thing again today with these new small portions of good looking rotala mac :D

It seems to be getting a lil better tho, hopefully once I can turn the bubble wand off during the day, and just use the co2 again, things will really start looking up

Thanks again! :D

[fish_r]

u will probably end up trimming all the tops off and replanting, thats what i used to do as the bottom of the plants will probably never grow back red from the bottom up, but if u just let them grow then trim the new growth off and replant u will soon have more macrandra than u know what to do with :)

[Erk]

Thanks fish_r, I was a lil scarred to do it, but I know from reading on here, it sounds like trimming is a good thing, and makes things grow faster, and I really feel I dont trim nearly enough, but we will see how it goes

I really hope it does end up growing faster then I know what to do with, that would be great! :D

I only have two new lil stems growing and a big stem with a few lil branches growing, but it looks like crap, and thats why I decided to trim off the good looking stuff

I wonder if I could dose iron a bit more then usual for a lil bit, to really get the red plants to perk up, or is that a bad idea??

Thanks a lot tho! :D I feel better about what I did now! :wink:
Eric

[fish_r]

i would be letting them grow a bit b4 ur trim them, the new red stuff u see is new growth, let them go for a cpl of weeks then trim off the new stuff and replant . it should grow a fair bit in a cpl of weeks. and leave the old stems in there for now cause they will grow 2 or more new shoots from the cut point then just keep cultivating off that plant till it looks ugly and ur other plants are ready to replace it. from what iv'e read iron only stays active in the tank for 24hrs or so, but i would just dose as per the bottle instructions for now after ur problems with the fish a few days ago, u dont want to risk ur fishes health for the sake of the plants.
from what i can see from the photos ur macrandra doesnt look too bad at all and i would let it settle in and grow a bit b4 u go trimming too much :)

[Erk]

Thanks fish_r, those pics are from over the weekend (the decent looking ones) and since then, the plant lost all its transparent leaves, and was just a stem, with some nice red on the top of it, and some green and greenish transparent leaves under it, so thats the part I cut, I left the rest in there, at least now I have two newer nicer looking plants that hopefully grow

Thanks for the tip with trimming, and I wont dose iron more then I am atm, which is about every two days or so....I def. dont wanna risk the fishies lives over some plants

The plant was in there for a week, before I trimmed anything

Thanks again :D

[Erk]

Two more "bunches" of rotala mac arrived yesterday, and I separated the stems from the get go to plant them....the plant itself looks a tad better then the first order, so hopefully this will hang around for a while....the whole corner in the above pics that has rotala mac in it, is now FULL of rotala mac! haha....not very red looking right now, but I will get some new pics up soon! :D

Thanks :D

[fish_r]

hahaha ur addicted m8 :wink:
look forward to seeing the new pics :)

[Erk]

Yes absolutely addicted! haha....I will get pics up very soon...its in poor shape, but there is so much of it now! haha...looks good tho for now! :lol: I will try to get some pic up tonight, but tomorrow is my normal water change day, so if it looks too crappy, it may have to wait till wednesday night

Thanks tho.....my girlfriend calls me all kind of stuff....addicted, nerd, weird! all of that! Im always messing with stuff in that tank! lol

[Erk]

Just an updated pic of the "rotala mac" corner! haha....went a lil nutso with it, but I like it...looks like crap, but hopefully after the pressurized co2 system gets hooked up things will bounce back

Got a stem floating, but I didnt care to replant it before I took the pic

Sorry if it is a lil blurry....I had to use the work camera, and Im starting to not like it very much! haha :?

Thanks

[Erk]

Well quite a few weeks later, and Im still waiting for my regulator to arrive :( But here are some updated pics of the rotala mac....getting more red, and taller I believe

Thanks :D

[Erk]

Last one...sorry bout the quality....the good camera I try to borrow has too many pics on it still

Thanks :D

[Erk]

The pressurized system got hooked up on saturday....running one bubble per second for now

The rotala mac did a good job coming back on its own, without the pressurized system set up, so I must be somewhat on the right track! But now it will be very fun to watch grow! :lol:

Thanks! :D