Mangrove question

[RiVerfishgirl]

Whoa, 3 great additional responses. Thank you all (especially M1ste2tea! Great thread).
I currently have it stuck in my HOB, but will be tying it to some wood stuck into the tank vertically next week. I have a 100W 6700K CFL on it, and am planning to try some other emersed things. Very interesting. Will post pics next week.

Have you seen the post on my semiterrestrial planted tank?

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233635

I need to post more pics as soon as I find my camera charger.

My pothos is doing very well and has gotten several new leaves. I would highly recommend it. If you don't like the exposed roots you hang little baskets with substrate and plant them. I recently did this with one of the other plants I bought (can't remember the name offhand).

The only problem I've had is that the large shoots on the umbrella palms seem to have mostly died off, though one is still healthy, green and growing (though they were kind of dying off anyway when I got them). But they are sending new smaller shoots up from the substrate. I assume if I had more light I would see quicker growth.

With my mangroves the smaller ones are getting small root shoots, and the larger ones if you tug on them a bit you can tell they are now pretty tightly rooted (I have not pulled hard enough to bring them up, so not sure how much root growth, but they have firmly rooted themselves it feels like).

 

[happypoet]

Very cool! I don't know how I missed that thread. I have Pothos in ALL of my tanks. Exposed roots with the plant threaded out through the back of the tank where the heater cord is supposed to go
I'm going to try the Mangrove with exposed roots as well, and also an Orchid! I read that if you cut off their epiphytic roots and stick the bottom of the plant in water, it will send out new roots that can take nutrients directly from the water. We'll see!

 

[RiVerfishgirl]

I've actually thought about orchids, but have not looked much into them. I'm currently kind of experimenting throwing stuff in that should technically do well semi-immersed.

So if you do orchids make sure to post and tell us how it goes! And any recommendations as to specific species that might be best suited for this use?

With the pothos I read that the roots that were in the dirt if you put them in the tank may die off, but I have not had much issue with that. Some of them did die, but the majority seem to be healthy and have actually grown quite a bit. One of them has grown to the bottom and rooted in the substrate.
Not that I'm that worried about it anyway, if some die I will just pull them out and it will form new roots.

 

[happypoet]

I just stuck my pothos in as cuttings, and roots grew in out of the little nodes.
I will let you know about the orchids. i'll post pics as well sometime next week in my 36 thread. The orchid I used was a simple moth orchid (if I remember). They all should work out ok, but from what I've read, the ones that do best are the Phrags (Phragmipedium). I'm getting some Anubias Hasitifolia, and will give that the chance to grow out as well.

 

[m1ste2tea]

nice, Im highly interested in planting some pathos into my tank... what kind of nutrients should I add into the water.

Im currently not putting any into the tank and just let them use whatever the fish provide in the water...

I also bought osmocote as a substrate fertilizer, what if I just let it dissolve in the water?

 

[happypoet]

Mine just dangle in the tank, and don't get anything except what the fish provide and a dose of excel every now and again. I really don't know much about osmocote. CWOGunner over here lets the pothos roots grab onto a plastic grid in his HOB filters. His got HUGE, so something is working there.

 

[dundadundun]

pothos should be very happy just taking the nitrates the fish make out of the tank. i'm sure some phosphates come with that just from feeding... but, yeah... it's amazing how undemanding pothos is. i wouldn't fertilize just for it unless you start to see issues arising.

 

[jackiomy]

These work great. You fill them with gravel and you can stick them at any depth you need. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=126413&RN=0

 

[dundadundun]

happypoet... i suspect gunners pothos gets a fair amount of light. that would explain his good growth, highly variegated leafs and large leaf size. when i take mine in for the winter (mind you i'm talking a potted houseplant) i notice all these benefits are gone before it's time to put them back outside. couple weeks in almost full sun and they're new plants again.

in my 30 growth, variegation and leaf size seem highly dependent on orientation in relation to the light.

 

[happypoet]

These work great. You fill them with gravel and you can stick them at any depth you need. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=126413&RN=0

Those are PERFECT. I've been looking at that type of thing all over, but hadn't found one that met my needs. These do. THANK YOU!

happypoet... i suspect gunners pothos gets a fair amount of light. that would explain his good growth, highly variegated leafs and large leaf size. when i take mine in for the winter (mind you i'm talking a potted houseplant) i notice all these benefits are gone before it's time to put them back outside. couple weeks in almost full sun and they're new plants again.

in my 30 growth, variegation and leaf size seem highly dependent on orientation in relation to the light.

Yep, that's got to be a big part of it. My shrimp tank is closer to the window than my 29g, and the Pothos in it are growing faster and have the nice variegation. I have a 100W 65K CFL over my new tank for the Mangrove, so I'm hoping to get some real growth from the Pothos.