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Looking for tips on keeping this plants full, bushy and pink.

parameters, pruning, etc.



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Since I've been researching plants, I have links saved about multiple species. Here are a couple that I have about rotala rotundifolia (a.k.a. rotala indica).

Arjan's Aquariumthe plant is listed in his plant database

Age of Aquariums

Hope those help.

note: edited to repair link

Last edited by zoeandmaia at 10-Sep-2005 19:05

Zoe,

Thanks for the links. They were helpful.

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Tetratech,

Rotala Indicia is in my tank one of the easiest plants to grow. I had it from the day I set up the tank (29G, scroll to bottom of page.) and even without CO2 and only 1.3wpg, it grew very nicely. Now, with the 2.2wpg it grows even better.

You will have no problems with this plant, except that you will have to prune it rather frequently (which I don't mind) as it is a fast grower.

Have fun with it

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 11-Sep-2005 07:54

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Littlefish,

When you prune this plant. Are you simply talking about cutting the tops and replanting. I want it to be very full looking.



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It's a very thin plant. You need lots. It does produce a lot of sideshoots without much encouragement which is. Dive it a haircut once in a while and it'll get bushy. You can only do this a couple of times before the bottoms get ragged. Every couple of trims cut off the bottoms and replant the tops.

For the red color the usual - good light, lowish nitrates 5-10ppm, relatively high phosphate, lot's of iron.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Tetratech,

I depends on which area of the plants has to be cut.

- The ones in the back I cut only the top 3rd, except if the stems become to thin then I cut them 1/2 to 3/4.
- The ones in the middle about half way down.
-The ones in the from about 3/4 way down.

All these rules are flexible and serve the main purpose that the pinkish parts are not covering too much new growth further back.

If I seem to have any additional space available then I place the cuttings in it. This hasn't happened in a while though.

The plant also creates runners that I once in a while have to cut off as they venture into areas where I have other plants.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Bensaf,

That's really a funny avatar, one of these days I'll get one. When you say cut out the bottom, you mean remove the whole stem.

These plants should love my tank, assuming my phosphate reading is correct. I just did a 30% water change and I'm still getting about 4ppm phosphate. When I test po4 out of the tap I get 0ppm. I did have activated carbon in my tank for the first week during setup, so this might have added to the high number, other than that the only other thing it could be is the eco-complete.

Littlefish

So for the most part your cutting the tops and letting the lower part regrow and getting rid of the tops you cut unless you have room.


Switching to hairgrass, anyone know the difference between
'acicularis' and 'parvula' in terms of care and look. I got acicularis from aquariumplants. Definitely seeing new runners while some of the original stems are browning. Do you leave to disintegrate or can you cut the brown stems down to the root base. I actually asked this in apc, but fiqured I'd run it by you guys.






Last edited by tetratech at 11-Sep-2005 11:27

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Glad you like the av, unfortunately it's all too true !

There's no one trimming method suits all for stems. Some react better to trimming then others.

With most you'll find the bottoms will gradually weaken and look ragged after a while. When this happens you need to pull them up and cut off the ragged bottoms (I usually cut off the bottom 1/4 or 1/3). and re-plant the upper portion. Don't worry about throwing away root systems, they grow back quickly and losing the roots doesn't slow down stem plants much.

For the hairgrass 'acicularis' is the regular spiky hairgrass plant quite erect. 'parvula'is a little smaller and a bit more curly/wavy ,I think care is pretty much the same.
You've got emmersed growth changing over. You can either cut off the browning parts or let it rot away itself.It doesn't really make much difference. Depend how much the appearance of the browning old leaves annoy you.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Thanks for clearing that up.

So assuming the acicularis is growing well, there really isn't any pruning, etc., to get that full grassy field look.

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