Easy Red Plants

[FishHobby99]

What about the one I ordered?

 

[anewbie]

Reineckii are difficult to grow so chances are after a whlie they will melt away.

 

[FishHobby99]

Reineckii are difficult to grow so chances are after a whlie they will melt away.

 

[FishHobby99]

anewbie, is this accurate?

“Alternanthera is slower growing compared to other stem plants and the AR "mini" version can grow very compact. Due to its slower growth nature, it is more forgiving with regards to nutrients or CO2 demand. Using a soil based substrate helps a lot in having stable growth in this particular species.

When trimming, it prefers not to be uprooted & replanted. This means that better results are obtained by cutting off tall shoots and allowing new side shoots to sprout naturally from the remaining base. This technique is scary for newer aquarists as it means you cut off the healthiest looking top portions of the plant, but it gives a denser bush over time and recovery time is actually reduced for this species. You can replant the cut top elsewhere.

Good lighting helps in coloration, as is the case with most colored plants. The ones in the pictures here are grown well in excess of 100umols (PAR) of light. Using higher lighting also allows greater density for leaves. The difficult part is maintaining an algae free tank with more light. Alternanthera reineckii are slow growers and very susceptible to algae. The real test in growing them well is often maintaining an algae free environment long term.”

 

[anewbie]

It is not incorrect - one thing to note (this was discussed earlier in the thread) is the 2nd line - "using a soil based substrate...." for various reasons I use inert substrate which makes a lot of red plants more difficult for me to grow; are you using a soil based substrate ?

 

[FishHobby99]

It is not incorrect - one thing to note (this was discussed earlier in the thread) is the 2nd line - "using a soil based substrate...." for various reasons I use inert substrate which makes a lot of red plants more difficult for me to grow; are you using a soil based substrate ?

I’m such a newbie that I don’t even know what a soil based substrate is. Mostly I use playground sand. Is that ok? Also have gravel in some tanks.

 

[FF_Member146894]

anewbie, is this accurate?

“Alternanthera is slower growing compared to other stem plants and the AR "mini" version can grow very compact. Due to its slower growth nature, it is more forgiving with regards to nutrients or CO2 demand. Using a soil based substrate helps a lot in having stable growth in this particular species.

When trimming, it prefers not to be uprooted & replanted. This means that better results are obtained by cutting off tall shoots and allowing new side shoots to sprout naturally from the remaining base. This technique is scary for newer aquarists as it means you cut off the healthiest looking top portions of the plant, but it gives a denser bush over time and recovery time is actually reduced for this species. You can replant the cut top elsewhere.

Good lighting helps in coloration, as is the case with most colored plants. The ones in the pictures here are grown well in excess of 100umols (PAR) of light. Using higher lighting also allows greater density for leaves. The difficult part is maintaining an algae free tank with more light. Alternanthera reineckii are slow growers and very susceptible to algae. The real test in growing them well is often maintaining an algae free environment long term.”

what they're saying is, it won't die immediately, and it will never look healthy unless you provide it with very high light, injected CO2, extra fertilizer, etc
you'll never see a plant with red leaves that is undemanding

 

[anewbie]

I’m such a newbie that I don’t even know what a soil based substrate is. Mostly I use playground sand. Is that ok? Also have gravel in some tanks.

They are fine but they are also inert and plants like Reineckii will likely struggle.

 

[FishHobby99]

what they're saying is, it won't die immediately, and it will never look healthy unless you provide it with very high light, injected CO2, extra fertilizer, etc
you'll never see a plant with red leaves that is undemanding

Not true! The plastic one asks for nothing.

 

[FishHobby99]

They are fine but they are also inert and plants like Reineckii will likely struggle.

We shall see. They’re on their way. Poor unfortunates. Will a cold tank make them even more miserable?

 

[anewbie]

We shall see. They’re on their way. Poor unfortunates. Will a cold tank make them even more miserable?

Questions like these should be more precise. What is cold to one fish might be hot to another.

 

[FishHobby99]

We shall see. They’re on their way. Poor unfortunates. Will a cold tank make them even more miserable?

I’m talking plants not fish. By cold water tank, I mean room temperature, 64-78F, seasonally. Heated tanks ~78F

 

[anewbie]

64 is going to be a bit of an issue with some of these plants.

 

[FishHobby99]

64 is going to be a bit of an issue with some of these plants.

That’s the lowest the room gets. Often higher.

How is the CO2 usually injected into the water? Is it steadily dispensed or done manually? I saw some terrible online reviews for the small Fluval CO2 tanks.

 

[anewbie]

At this time you do not want to get into co2 - it can create a lot of issues you are not prepared to handle. Also you would need a significantly stronger light to take advantage of co2 as well as a warmer aquarium. I would say just accept what you have ordered and see how it goes. You can do quite well without co2 and the right plants.