# I don't seem to be able to keep ludwigia repens red



## Vonzorfox (Nov 22, 2007)

Give it some more time, mine was the same way before fertilizing too. It should come around soon. I believe we are using the same fertilizers from Rex and have similar AH supply lighting. The only difference is all my lights are the 6500k witch isn't much of a difference.


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## pweifan (Nov 2, 2006)

Are you sure it's L. Repens and not L. Arcuata or L. Palustris? In my experience (which admittedly isn't all that vast), L. Repens goes red even when L. Palustris in the same tank does not. With your 220 Watts for a 75 gallon tank, I'd think you'd be seeing red even if yor nutrient balance is off a bit.


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## loachlady5 (Dec 9, 2007)

Yeah, it's repens. I suppose I'm just being impatient. I will wait and see what happens. Thanks.


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## bgoodwins (May 3, 2007)

nitrate starvation can make your plants red.


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## imeridian (Jan 19, 2007)

FWIW, My ludwigia in a similar setup is never what I'd call red, the bottoms of the leaves yes, but not the tops. It's red as compared to something like Stargrass, but not red (magenta, really) like the tops of my Rotala Rotundifolia. I'd really like to know the secret to keeping that plant magenta all the time, probably more like using 10 watts per gallon of MH HQI, haha.


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

Lower nitrate levels and high light seems to keep most red plants redder.

I keep nitrates on the low side, and my light on the high side and I have what I think is nice red/orange Broad Leaf _stellata_, as well as _Blyxa japonica _that is pretty darn reddish.


Mike


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## loachlady5 (Dec 9, 2007)

Momotaro said:


> Lower nitrate levels and high light seems to keep most red plants redder.
> 
> I keep nitrates on the low side, and my light on the high side and I have what I think is nice red/orange Broad Leaf _stellata_, as well as _Blyxa japonica _that is pretty darn reddish.
> 
> ...


I have heard this before. This thread is one example:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/plant-submissions/26213-limnophila-aromatica.html


Tom Barr might disagree based on this post, however:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/g...ssion/57667-ei-vs-lean-dosing-red-plants.html


Perhaps Tom keeps his red b/c of a lot of phosphates. I have heard that that is one way to bring out reds if you don't want to limit nitrates.


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## imeridian (Jan 19, 2007)

I think the whole low nitrate high iron thing is hokum. If it had to do with needing low nitrate then my plants wouldn't go uber red once they hit the surface, so close to the light. From my experience this is just a light intensity situation, provided nutrient needs have been met. If I take a cutting from the top of my rotala or ludwigia that is bright red, replant it, it'll turn green again. Once it grows back up to the surface, surprise... red again.


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

My ludwigia repens is a bright, olive green on the top of the leaves and a nice, bright red on the bottom. I believe this is the correct color form of the plant from descriptions I've read. If the tops of the leaves are red too, the plant is not getting enough light. Under high light, the tops of the leaves will stay green but the bottoms will be red. You will notice this moreso at night, when the leaves fold up exposing the bottoms.


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## imeridian (Jan 19, 2007)

Ludwigia growing at the surface:









Ludwigia growing mid-tank:









Red is lack of light? No. The bright red being natural or not is certainly debatable, but it's absolutely not from a lack of light.


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

Interesting. I've never let my ludwigia grow to the top like that. I think I'll let it do it this time. I guess I got my facts mixed up. Thanks for the heads up indiboi. Here's a blurb I took from liveaquaria.com on Ludwigia Repens



> Ludwigia repens, or Water Primrose, is a beautiful freshwater aquarium plant that originates from the tropical North and Central American waters. It is an amphibious plant that will grow either partially or fully submersed. In its fully submersed form, its spade-shaped leaves range in color from dark green to brownish-red. The top of the leaves are typically olive green in color, whereas the undersides are reddish-brown to deep red. The vibrancy of this plant depends greatly on the amount of light it receives. When poorly illuminated, the colors will fade


Just out of curiousity Indiboi, since you allow your ludwigia to grow to the surface like that, does it ever flower for you? I've heard that it does.


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## imeridian (Jan 19, 2007)

I've never had it flower, but I usually don't allow it to stay up there like that very long either. 

I do agree with you in that the generally recognized normal is not bright red like in my first shot, but more like olive green to 'blush' like my second shot. Now, if we were to figure out how to get it to be red when mid-tank height, like the red of the surface shot, I'd be one happy boy. In my setup the only way I can conceive of having that happen would be if I switched to Metal Halides.


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

I would be too.  The reason why I said low-light makes it redder is that in my 10 gal, which is a low-light tank (20W of light), the ludwigia there is not as green and the tops of the leaves are redder. I especially notice this in the lower parts of the stem where the leaves don't get as much light.


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## Alir (Jul 24, 2011)

For a bit of "colour" I would recommend any of:

Ludwigia repens "red"
Hygrophila corymbosa "red stem"
Hygrophila sp. "red"
Nymphaea sp "tiger lotus red"
Nymphaea rubra 
and/or any of the Cryptocorynes?

As you've probably noticed from the names the only other common option other than green is red, the new growth on a lot of plants growing in bright light is actually red, or reddish, but turns green as it matures. To get the best out of "red" plants it pays to plant them in the brightest light you can, then it's surprising how many "green" plants actually do start to turn red, or at least pinkish, at the growing tips anyway - Hygrophila polysperma, for example, has new growth of a fantastic salmon pink in really bright light, which I'd never have imagined until I saw it with my own eyes. so remember its only the light that matters.


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## Alir (Jul 24, 2011)

*Lights for Red*

For a bit of "colour" I would recommend any of:

Ludwigia repens "red"
Hygrophila corymbosa "red stem"
Hygrophila sp. "red"
Nymphaea sp "tiger lotus red"
Nymphaea rubra 
and/or any of the Cryptocorynes?

As you've probably noticed from the names the only other common option other than green is red, the new growth on a lot of plants growing in bright light is actually red, or reddish, but turns green as it matures. To get the best out of "red" plants it pays to plant them in the brightest light you can, then it's surprising how many "green" plants actually do start to turn red, or at least pinkish, at the growing tips anyway - Hygrophila polysperma, for example, has new growth of a fantastic salmon pink in really bright light, which I'd never have imagined until I saw it with my own eyes.


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