I have ordered Ludwigia Arcuata and Rotala Rotundifolia on two separate occassions, and both times they have arrived on my doorstep looking very red, with short roundish leaves and thick stems. After a few days in my tank they turn green and the leaves become longer and thinner, as do the stems.

The Rotala ends up a very delicate looking plant, bearing little resemblance to when they were first delivered. The Ludwigia Arcuata develops similar shaped leaves to the Rotala, but slightly longer and with a nice Orange tinge. Is this normal?

I always thought a tank with >2WPG would encourage redness in plants. I`m not complaining, because I actually prefer the more delicate look, but I was just wondering if it was a good or a bad thing for the plants.

P.S. The Rotala is an absolute nightmare to plant.

This post has been edited by Dave Spencer: Jan 22 2007, 03:18 PM

Red plants need lots of light and lots of iron if I recall. My R.macranda is red-ish but not as red as it was when delivered, though the bits at the top of the tank go bright pink: this is with 1wpg but I do have JBL AquaBasis Plus beneath the gravel which I think has helped them a lot, the plant roots really well. With the 'wrong' conditions the plants you have will change appearance.

This is what surprises me, as my plants get 3.5 WPG and I use API Laterite which contains Iron. The new plants were put in two days ago, and the new growth is already green and needle leafed. The plants are very healthy and must be getting all they need, it is just a little strange.

Maybe they just need to put roots down and all will improve? After two days they'll only be getting nutrients from the water I would guess?

My originals have been in for six weeks now. Very strange!

I'm led to belive rotala rtundifolia has round leaves when in its emergent form, but will gradually turn to its submerged pointed leaves when underwater. Not !00% on the redness bit though.

I have read that some plants need low nitrates to get good bright color. I don't know how true it is, but it is something to check into.

My nitrates are kept within the targets of the pinned EI article. If what you say is correct, then I will just accept them as they are, which is no problem because I really like them. I wish i had my camera so I could take before and after pictures.

I have just done a bit of looking around and you are right. The Rotala is red when it is growing in marshy ground.

My rotala goes reddish at the top as it nears the lights. Since I only have low light it's not a strong red but a very pleasing colour change none the less.

If I am not mistaken, most of the plants farmer they plant their plants in shallow water which the plants are a lot nearer to the surface, this is to encourage the fastest growth and increase productivity. When the plants are growing that way, their leaves will change a bit when we plant it in our aquarium at home.

I heard this from the supplier from one of my LFS.

Correct me if i am wrong.

I also find that if you plant one stem farther apart from the others that it grows thicker, and more red. I did a test with the same plant in a bunch together, and one separate, and got better results with the separate one. Though I do not know anything scientific about that process though.

This sounds interesting and like something worth experimenting with.

With a plant like Rotala Macrandra, as long as you have high light it will grow well.

As for the bunching. The problem (from my experience) is that if the stems are planted too close together, they shadow the lower leaves and the plant starts to decline, and the leaves go yellow then black then rotten.

Also when you space it the leaves get bigger and it thickens up to try and get more light.

IMO unless you have really bright light this is one to avoid. I got it in a 75 plant collection to start my tank off, I only have 1.6WPG with 1 Nutrafin kit, but as it was in the collection I gave it a go and I now have a yellow plant with pink leaves at the top and brown mushy leaves at the bottom.

As with most stem plants, if they are spaced out they have room to grow and more light to use. Its always temptiong to put them closer because when you buy them they do look a little boring and weedy spaced out, but if I'd been more patient, and spaced them out, maybe it would've been healthier now

Another problem is that this plant is a very sensitive one, and most people tend to 'fiddle' with their aquascape a few times early on. Big mistake with Rotala Macrandra, as I have read that it doesn't like being moved about too much.

With the Ludwigia, when you get it its red, after 1 week its brown and yellowy green. Looks nice and you can see it is still growing, so don't worry.

I NEED MORE LIGHT. lol

At last,

I can post a picture to show what is happening to my Rotala Rotundifolia. The new growth is two days old and the leaves will stay green, become more needle like and remain much smaller than the red leaves.

14gtr14 hit the nail on the head. The older growth is emersed growth and what you are seeing now is submerged growth. Let it grow above the water line and it will start growing the round redder leaves again. It can be quite good fun growing plants out of the water. A lot of aquarium plants are grown emersed and look very different when grown submerged.

James