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Hi,
last week i put in 5 plants of rotala macranda in my 6ft tank, i have 3.2w per gallon of light, 25ppm co2 and are dosing fertiliser based on tom barrs estamative index and i noticed yesterday that half of the bottom leaves are dying off but the top is ok, what causes this, is this meant to happen to these plants
cheers axl

It is probably because of the light. Macaranda is one of the highest light plants you can get and as only a small proportion of the light can reach the bottom the bottom leaves will die of and the top ones will look normal. You can still use the plant very effective in your aquascape but you will have to plant infront of it with bushy plants like cambomba. This will create a sense of depth so its a win win situation.

Alex

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''All the clown fish and yellow tangs in the world cant save you now!''

Rotala macrandra is a difficult plant in the best of conditions. I always know when the slightest thing is off in my tank because this plant is the first to react negatively (speaking of which, I think I'm due to change a bulb soon). What type of lighting to you have? Regular flourecent, compacts, halide? I don't like using watts per gallon rules because it doesn't carry over well with different kinds of lights (goes along with my inch per gallon peeve ). Also what kind of fert are you using? Macrandra does enjoy its iron along with its CO2. If your lighting and ferts are all in check, try planting the stems further apart. This will let more of the light reach the lower leaves. When I have to prune back the macrandra forest I try to plant each stem at least an inch apart.

eureka red

My book Aquarium plants states it is not the easest plant to grow. It requires good light, slightly acid water, and substrate rich nutrient. Temp 22-28C

Keith

Last edited by keithgh at 11-Jul-2005 00:51

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