# Problems with Rotala Wallichi (sp?)



## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Probably CO2.

Seems about all that's left.
R wallichii grows 3-4" a week for me.
Seems to like low KH.
L granulosus is easy if you have enough light and CO2.


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## illumnae (Dec 27, 2007)

I have R wallichii that shows amazingly fast growth (3-4 inches a week as Tom shared), but it remains green. I have ADA Amazonia 1 with pressurised CO2 and 3x 11w PL lights over a 18 x 12 x 14 (about 13 gallons) tank.

The tank is still in its 2nd week, so I haven't started dosing ferts yet. Anyone know how to turn my rotala red?


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## roccov12345 (Apr 9, 2009)

plantbrain said:


> Probably CO2.
> 
> Seems about all that's left.
> R wallichii grows 3-4" a week for me.
> ...


Thanks for the response Tom, I had took a stab at CO2 being an issue a few weeks ago but still no luck. I need to get my hands on a drop checker, I've never used one. The CO2 is probably pumping 2-3 bps through the checker. I know the concentration is up there because I can see the fish breathing a little heavier around mid cycle. You may still be right........


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## roccov12345 (Apr 9, 2009)

illumnae said:


> I have R wallichii that shows amazingly fast growth (3-4 inches a week as Tom shared), but it remains green. I have ADA Amazonia 1 with pressurised CO2 and 3x 11w PL lights over a 18 x 12 x 14 (about 13 gallons) tank.
> 
> The tank is still in its 2nd week, so I haven't started dosing ferts yet. Anyone know how to turn my rotala red?


What's your Nitrate like? I heard these prefer a lower nitrate content......just a possibility....


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

roccov12345 said:


> What's your Nitrate like? I heard these prefer a lower nitrate content......just a possibility....


My NO3 is about 30ppm here:










regards, 
Tom Barr


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## roccov12345 (Apr 9, 2009)

plantbrain said:


> My NO3 is about 30ppm here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Very nice...If you don't mind me asking, what are your stable GH, KH, PH levels in that tank....?


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

plantbrain said:


> My NO3 is about 30ppm here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


sorry to be off topic but tom is that l cuba on the left or l pantanal?

i remember you posted a pic of your l pantanal and it was beautifully red.
and also how do you keep the bottom parts of the stems healthy with all that growth on top?


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

roccov12345 said:


> Very nice...If you don't mind me asking, what are your stable GH, KH, PH levels in that tank....?


I do not measure pH.
GH is about 4 degrees 
KH is about 2

CO2 is about 40ppm

Things might change (1/2 degree) or 5ppm for each but not too far from there.

MR: that is L cuba, not pantanal. Good growth and water changes, dosing, good CO2 tweaking, good flow, good filtration, good biomass, no magic.

Good light seems to help and R wallichii seesm to love good gentle flow.

Regards, 
Tom Barr

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## roccov12345 (Apr 9, 2009)

plantbrain said:


> I do not measure pH.
> GH is about 4 degrees
> KH is about 2
> 
> ...



Thanks Tom, I measured by gh/kh last night and I'm dead on with your readings 4 / 2 and 44ppm CO2. Believe it or not the Rotala seems to be making a slow come back.

I'm not sure what the fix was, I'm not even sure if the fix is permanent, but here's a list of the recent changes.

- I added 1 and a half tablespoons of seachem equilibrium on Monday's water change.

- Plumbed by 9W Turbo Twist to run 24/7 with Eheim 2217.

I'm leaning towards the equilibrium.......

Before Pic:









After Pic: You can see the orangish pink is finally starting to make a come back :bounce: Not quite there yet and not the best of pics, but I think you can notice a difference.....I hope it keeps up....


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## roccov12345 (Apr 9, 2009)

Hear me out on this one. This tank is stocked with 3 fish about 7 and a half inches in size. They are messy eaters (piranhas) so for the past two weeks I had been skimping on my ei dosages. Its difficult to maintain the EI efficiency without these fish throwing off the params unknowingly. I was only dosing half the amount of nitrates as per the schedule, assuming that bio load would care for the rest. I had also read that the rotala was a little sensitive to nitrates prior to this post and figured I'd give it a shot. I do not dose any potassium since my tap is always at 3ppm. 

I decided to get back to the normal dosing regiment and it looks like things are looking up. So again, either equilibrium or normal dosing..........


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Probably both.

If you do EI and do the 50% weekly, or 2 x a week etc, then there's no issue with high bioload and feeding with predators, discus etc.

So there's not a lot of contribution really, I'd ignore it and think of it as icing on the cake. I had whimples for a year and they did fine at richer EI levels.

They always hide, chickens. My tetras are more aggressive and vicious.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## j66213b (Jun 12, 2008)

i love planted piranha tanks..... but mine ate my co2 line when i had a disk defuser and my thermometer probe lol little monsters.... 2x pygo caribe and one RBP aound 7-8"


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