Mangrove question

happypoet

happypoet

AC Members
Jul 9, 2010
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Missouri
Real Name
Aaron
Hi all,
I got a 15" Mangrove today for free.
It's going to be in my new freshwater 36 gallon.
It's currently in the HOB filter, but I plan on putting a ribbonwood stick in the tank vertically and tying the Mangrove to it so that it sticks out of water.
Will it be ok with the roots just dangling in the water column until it's big enough to reach the top from the substrate? Or do I need to make a little gravel shelf for it?

I'm going to grab a clip-on grow light for it as well.

Thanks!
 
Cool. Local Korean restaurants here have them growing in containers of water, so you should be fine...
 
I have seen Mangroves grow very well with just it's roots in water (Even saltwater!!!).
 
If you have sufficient nutrients in the water column it will be fine. Personally I rooted mine in fertilized substrate in a pot so they could reach the surface, but it is not strictly necessary. :) I bought some propagules a couple weeks ago and they're just now starting to take root.
Just know that without much light and nutrients(not sure how much you have) you will not see much growth. On the plus side since they are not fully submerged plants they can take co2 from the air and you don't need as much light per se since it doesn't have to penetrate the water. A couple of t5 bulbs in a good plant spectrum (3500k-6500k) should be sufficent. I just bought a normal duel t5 strip from home depot for my semi-terrestrial planted tank and everything is growing fine. I'm going to make a better reflector for it, but for now everything is growing and healthy.
 
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happypoet said:
Hi all,
I got a 15" Mangrove today for free.

Will it be ok with the roots just dangling in the water column until it's big enough to reach the top from the substrate?
Click to expand...


Yep, just fine. I have a bunch that are stuck thru a piece of foam, floating in the tank.

Just make sure the top is out of water and give it lots of light. Even cool white will work, daylight or 6700K if you can.

Once they get a bit bigger and start to branch out you can pinch and prune the vertical tips to encourage more branching.
 
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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.
 
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