Rotala Indica how do I get it pink

[Anthony]

What lighting are you guys using to get rotala indica to turn pink. Mine turned green so I added 40 watts of light right above it to my tank to give me 3.25 wpg. Now the plant is just growing horizontally and staying green.

[Wasserpest]

What is your NO3 level?

Low nitrates and good iron/micro supply is what makes pink plants even pinker.

[Anthony]

Nitrates 5-10 ppm. I added 2.5 ml Flourish 2 days ago, 4 ml Iron 1 day ago, and all I got was hair algae.

[Momotaro]

I changed the title of this thread.

Rotala indica "Pink" implies that there is another variety of Rotala indica. I am pretty sure there is not.

The plant you have Anthony is Rotala rotundifolia. According to Kasslemann, Rotala indica really isn't very common in the hobby at all.

Mike

[Anthony]

It was red to pink when I got it. What wattage gets it that color? Why would growth go horizontal?

[Buck]

Anthony, that is another stem plant that seems to respond to elevated iron levels for coloring. Personally I think that this plant grows with a nicer look in lower lighting from my experience.
As far as the sideways growth... dont ask me why but it seems that some stems do this to propagate itself. I have maybe 8-10 stems of it and 2 out of the bunch are growing sideways and putting out new stems from just about each set of leaves, where as the stems growing upwards are not.
Also the sideways stems are throwing out roots like crazy from the entire stem, the others are not.
Same light, different growth habits in the stems so I dont think it is the light causing it.
Are you seeing lots of new shoots growing from your stems ?

[shalu]

Originally Posted by Momotaro

I changed the title of this thread.

Rotala indica "Pink" implies that there is another variety of Rotala indica. I am pretty sure there is not.


Mike

Sure there is I have two varieties of rotala rotundifolia in my tank side by side, they are distinctly different. The one Anthony mentioned(I think) is normally green, with pink tips depending on nutrient, this one is by far the most common in the US. The other one is kind of the opposite, the old growth turns orange/red while the new growth might be green depending on nutrient. It is the latter that might be the one that Ammano uses a lot in his picture book, where it can be very red. I bought this from a very good LFS, it is very red in his tank. I am not trying to manupilate nutrient levels, just keep everything high, so it is not as red in my tanks.

Another difference that I see is, the more common rotundifolia likes to grow 3-4 leaves per whorl for the most part, the redder one often has only 2 leaves per whorl, but I have some stems with 3 leaves per whorl as well. This can be variable depending on conditions.

[Momotaro]

Sure there is

Prove it.

I am really tired of hobbyists creating different varieties of plants themselves by just adding a set of quotation marks and a color. That is not how science works. We need to be far more responsible than that. Those who are serious about the culture and propagation of aquatic plants should really know better.

Please provide a link or some real, scientific reference.

Mike

[Anthony]

Iron just seemed to help algae. It is, however, growing new stems from the plants that are growing horizontally just like Buck had mentioned.

[Momotaro]

I don't think dosing iron alone created your algae problem.

How soon after your lighting upgrade did the algae appear? Did you adjust your CO2 and other nutrient dosing to compliment your lighting upgrade? Upgrading your lighting also requires a rethinking of your nutrient fertilization. The added light boosts your plants requirements for NO3, PO4, CO2 and micros. Take a look at what you were dosing and try and figure out what you need to dose since you've increased your lighting.

Mike

[Anthony]

Yes, DIY Co 2 (2, 1 gallon jugs) is at 25 ppm right after lights out. Nitrates 7.5 ppm. Also dosing potassium nitrate(Grant's Stump Remover), Flourish Potassium, Flourish, Marc Weiss' Natural Aquarium Vital. My phospahtes are kinda low at only 0.5 ppm.

[jwholmes]

I have 260 watts over my 75g and my Rotala Indica stays green until it nears the top of the tank. Then the tops turn gold and if I leave it they turn pinkish-red. Once they have the color I like, I pull them, cut off the top and replant. The color fades out a bit but as it grows near the light it colors up again. Just cutting off the tops usually gives me thin, weak stems after a while but replanting the tops keeps them thick and healthy looking.

[shalu]

Originally Posted by Momotaro

Prove it.

I am really tired of hobbyists creating different varieties of plants themselves by just adding a set of quotation marks and a color. That is not how science works. We need to be far more responsible than that. Those who are serious about the culture and propagation of aquatic plants should really know better.

Please provide a link or some real, scientific reference.

Mike

I was not saying there is a plant with the proper name r. rotundifolia 'pink', not at all. I was just saying there ARE more than one variety/cultivar of r. rotundifolia. At least there is one r. rotundifoia 'colorata', according to Carlos(tsunami) in the LAST post here
I believe I have this one because I saw it just as red as in Ammano's pics in the store. It is currently not as red in my tank, but at any given moment, the two plants are DIFFERENT. I have had both for more than 6 months, so any initial difference due to different conditions would be long erased. I can show you some pic later with the two side by side, but there are some pics in the link above, still not as red as it can be. On another note, I also have Rotala rotundifolia 'green'(AKA, rotala sp. 'green'), which is used a lot by ammano as well, but is either one the proper name? I don't know, few know I guess.

[Buck]

I have to agree wholeheartedly with Shalu here on the different varieties... proper names of course are up in the air but I I have personally seen and grown both varieties Mike. They are different and were in the same tank with same light and nutrients. One very red and then a different batch purchased at a different time that would not get the same coloration or growth patterns in the leafs..
Which is which I couldnt tell you but I will and have to agree that there are "varieties"... now I just call them all pretty!
Great plants...whatever you call them.
Someone straighten this out please....

[Momotaro]

is either one the proper name? I don't know, few know I guess.

That is part of the argument I am trying to make. We really shouldn't suppose a name. By doing that, at times we (ourselves here on the board) are creating varieties on our own.

Because a certain specimen of a certain plant appears redder than another specimen of that particular plant doesn't mean that plant should be labeled Xxxx xxxx "Red" by us. Who are we to just create varieties of plants. I argued this point in another post a while back when the individual had labeled a plant on their own and actually created their own Genus.

There are people who actually study and achieve PhD. degrees in the science of plants. Botanists! We should look for new plants. We should strive for newer cultivars. We should be observant! We should leave the actual naming of plants to the people who know best. The botanists!

I am not disputing the fact that you folks have some really interesting specimens of R. rotundifolia. I am disputing calling a plant Rotala indica "Pink" when no such cultivar exists in any scientific literature.

Mike