# rotala rotundifolia Growing sideways



## pennfisherman (Jan 18, 2011)

Good afternoon everyone,

I added some rotala rotundifolia to my 10 gallon tank a few weeks ago and I have been getting good growth however the stems aren't growing up, they are bending to the side. Is this common with rotala? Is there a way to get them to grow straight up? 

My lighting is pretty much directly above them. So they aren't reaching for the light.

I attached a picture below.

Thanks 
Matt


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## im.running (Jan 18, 2017)

Hi matt,

My rotala rotundifolia too are growing the same way after it reaches a certain height. What i notice is that my rotala will grow straight up when green and will start growing sideways when then top shoots turn reddish. 

Maybe its because i receive much light it needs just like why plants will grown tall towards the light. 

But again i might be wrong....

Hope others could help!

Regards,
Im

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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

It is because your light intensity is high enough that it starts to attempt to run along the tank. Pretty normal with R. rotundifolia. Maybe if you trim them you could train them to be more vertical.


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## H2O Life (Dec 31, 2016)

I am also experiencing the same issue but really good growth. I noticed roots growing from the stems along with new shoots growing upwards from the bend. I had just clipped and plugged this stem into the substrate...about two hours ago. Only the roots were covered with the substrate and the new shoots have already grown considerably before I clipped it. 

My guess would also be too much intense lighting.


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## pennfisherman (Jan 18, 2011)

Awesome I guess that's a good issue to have! The plants very healthy so I won't worry about it to much. I was more or less just curious. 

I think it's my favorite plant I own.

Thanks for all the replay!


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## RobnSonji (Oct 6, 2013)

Mine are also doing this.... I have a 125g with a 6 foot BML light but I forget the specs on it.

I replanted some trimmings and they never even got close to the height of the original plant before they started going sideways. So the replantings are much
shorter then the original and further from the light....yet they are almost laying flat on the substrate. So it cant just be proximity to the light....?

Could this condition also be caused by the light being on too long?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

The flow of your tank, if strong, can also cause them to bend.


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## MtAnimals (May 17, 2015)

I had one stem of do that along the substrate,where I have dwarf sag growing.it sent up new plants all along the stem,now it's kinda cool with stems growing out from between the dwarf sag.I could never have planted it like that! I should go get a pic after my wife wakes up.

EDIT:got a pic,look in the lower right hand side


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