Joe Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 Hi people, I got a nice bunch of this from Organism, and I've had it in my tank for just under a week. It is under a 18,000k T8 Aquaglo and an Aqua One Tropical T8 15,000k. It's been growing really well, but lately the tops of the stems and the top leaves are turning red. They are really good looking though, not stunted or damaged or anything, but just quite red. I'm quite worried. I hope it's not some sort of plant disease . I've had enough trouble with fish diseses. Please tell me what's wrong with my plant. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 Hi Joes, nothing is wrong with it. I found this on http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/p/Limno ... iflora.php 'Limnophila sessiliflora is a very easy to care for stem plant. In high light Limnophila sessiliflora will get long internodes regardless of nutrient levels. Lower light will make the plant stay bushy. Tips of plant can turn red, if close to light source. Multiply by cuttings/lateral shoots.' This plant is more commonly known as Ambulia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 I recently doubled the amount of light on my 60x30 tank and with the CO2 my Ambulia is going crazy, daily noticeable growth and heaps of pearling. The tops of mine are also red, nothing to worry about, it's actually a good sign. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 Heh, Sam, it can be a bit rampant in a tank with the right conditions. Mine goes red at the top in my CPD tank that just has energy saving lamps over it. The stuff Joe got was in mint condition, nothing to worry about, it's when it gets long gaps between the internodes and the leaves get thin and wispy and start breaking apart and floating around the tank that you should be concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 Heh, Sam, it can be a bit rampant in a tank with the right conditions. So I can see I'm doing a time lapse of the tank, two photos a day (except today :oops: ). It's going to be wicked. The stuff Joe got was in mint condition, nothing to worry about, it's when it gets long gaps between the internodes and the leaves get thin and wispy and start breaking apart and floating around the tank that you should be concerned. Mine has long gaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 How long a gap? I am talking two inches or more, or for you metric bunnies that would be about 50.8mm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 Yeah, it looks about that much. It's almost doubled its growth in the past 3days since I put 2 CFLs on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 Long internodes are normal for ambulia with high light and nutrients. If you clip the tops off and plant them to keep them short, they will be much nicer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 If the leaves aren't brittle and thin and wispy I would not worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted June 12, 2010 Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 As soon as it hits the surface (I'm guessing 3 days max) I'll trim and replant. Nowhere to put it really without creating a front of tank wall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted June 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2010 Mine's about 1-1.5cm between the nodes. It's leaves are very strong, and really finely-branched. It seems to be growing extremely fast, and I've only had it for nearly a week. I've had Cabomba before, which is hard to grow and died. I prefer the Limnophila to the Cabomba. To me it looks much nicer. Oh and by the way Zev, thanks SOOOOOO much for the Windelov and Narrow-leaf Java. They are beautiful plants. I got some more of each from Dennis in Christchurch. I'm doing a swap with him for 3 flags. I'm going to attempt redoing my tank today. Hopefully it won't turn out crap like all of my other attempts, and I hope it will look something like Jennifer's tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Joe, be patient, your tank will look lovely if you just give it time. I have discovered that when you plant out a tank and it looks great, that you then need to give it time to grow and that trimming and pruning regularly keeps it looking beautiful. My tank looks really good from a distance atm and in photos but when you get close up the java moss is full of disgusting grey bba (the excel is turning it grey) and some hair algae. I remove bits every day but then thats the joys of high lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisP Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 The tips of mine have gone very very red! Looks pretty cool. Need some more though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted June 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Need some more though. I got mine from Organism. It's super-good quality there, so that's where I recommend you get it from if you're looking for more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted June 16, 2010 Report Share Posted June 16, 2010 The tips of mine have gone very very red! Looks pretty cool. Need some more though. MORE?! I have too much! :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Joe, be patient, your tank will look lovely if you just give it time. My plants are fine, and I'm not worried about it taking time for them to grow. A lot of people say exactly what you've just said - but it has NOTHING to do with my plants I'm just terrible at aquascaping, and it's really the layout of the bogwood, rocks and substrate that I'm not happy with. I really like the look of this substrate called "Burnt Sienna". It is really fine-grade, but it's not as fine as sand and doesn't pack together - so really it'd probably be the best choice for growing plants. I've found gravel too big, and sand packs together and goes stagnant. The bogwood that I've got is all right, probably best covered with Windelov, but I want something that looks pretty and is eye-catching and doesn't need to be covered with a plant. I've decided to ditch the idea of having a tank that looks sort of like a moss-covered log, because 1. I tried and found it very hard to get the bogwood in the right positions so it didn't have gaps or anything and 2. my Mum din't like it. She said that my fish should have something nice and open so they can swim around and show their colours off at their best. Even though Mum knows nothing about fish, this is one thing that I totally agree on with her. I'm also not too happy with the tank itself- the glass is only 5mm thick and my tank is really tall (50cm), so for something that high the glass should be thicker, and I don't like the width (30cm). Not wide enough - so I'm thinking of selling my tank (it would make an EXCELLENT breeding tank) and having another made that is maybe a bit shorter, but wider too (and also with thicker glass - maybe about 6-8mm). I also want a PROPER aquarium stand, and bracings around the corners of the tank so if there was an earthquake, the tank would be the last thing standing. I want a nutrient-rich substrate underneath the main substrate as well, like JBL Aquabasis Plus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 I find the 60x30x30 aquarium an excellent tank for medium sized aquascaping. I use regular sand and the plants are doing well, DIY clay balls might be helping too. If I were you I'd definitely opt for a lower tank (30cm high max) and use more stems than ornaments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 If I were you I'd definitely opt for a lower tank (30cm high max) and use more stems than ornaments. I don't like low tanks. If it's a 60x30x30 that's fine, but I find that the bigger the tank, the wider and higher it should be. It is currently 30cm wide, and I want about 35-40cm wide. Plus it's 100cm long, and it does not look good being only 30cm wide. It's just way to thin. I also find that the plants just hit the surface super fast in low tanks, because they are closer to the light, and don't have enough room to grow higher - =more maintanance (trimming ect.) Plus I don't use ornaments in my tanks. I HATE them. That's why I use bogwood. The sort I'm after has to be a good size, a goldeny-coppery colour, and quite long. I'll know it when I see it. Usually I like lots of bogwood with ferns in my tank, but I am going to try and rescape it (once I've also got the size tank that I want) just using 1 piece, and a small rock or something. I also just want to have 1 or 2 stem plants. Hygrophila polysperma is a MUST, and I'll think about Ludwigia arcuata or Stargrass. Then the rest of the plants will be Moss and Lilaeopsis novaezealandae (fore and midground), Anubias barteri (back LHS and around the base of the bogwood), Hygro. polysperma (feature plant), Bolbitis heudelotii (on some parts of the bogwood) and Lilaeopsis mauritiana, Hemianthus umbrosum, Crypt. willisi and either a sag. or vallis all behind the bogwood, and a tall vallis on the RHS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 That's a lot of plants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Well I need to get these plants first though, I don't actually have all them. IF I manage to complete this design and I am REALLY proud of it, I'll post some pics on the forums so you can see where all the positions of the plants will be. By the way, it's not acctually a lot of plants. It's enough for a good design, but not too much for the design to look all multicoloured and ghastly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 I have a similar thing happening to my twisted val at the moment, some strands are turning red? Is this a bad thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 I know nothing about val - sorry I can't help you . I've never kept it before. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing for that to be happening to val. Does seem unusual though, cause I thought val was meant to stay completely green. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Val will turn red at the tips in very high light as well When it goes brown rather than red and starts deteriorating, like pushy and slimey, then it is a bad thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisP Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Val will turn red at the tips in very high light as well When it goes brown rather than red and starts deteriorating, like pushy and slimey, then it is a bad thing! My val is doing this too. Very slowly/faintly though. Red that is, not brown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Val will turn red at the tips in very high light as well When it goes brown rather than red and starts deteriorating, like pushy and slimey, then it is a bad thing! Its not the just the tip, its the whole strand.. i suppose it could be brown.. will check on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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