# Secrets to alternanthera reineckii???



## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

What is the deal with this plant? I have them (4 stems) for 3 weeks now and showing little growth. The leaves have these fuzzy look and some are already have GSA on them. However, there are side shoots. Much of the leaves are all twisted. The plants aren't dying but I am not seeing any major growth. I am pretty heavy on the EI dosing and medium high lighting. Dirt tank. A lot of CO2, above 40ppm, and borderline gassing my fish too.


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## THE V (Nov 17, 2011)

When I got mine it was grown emmersed. It's took6 weeks to start to grow. All of the emmersed leaves fell off an it budded new growth at every node. It also set out tons of roots. I've since been cutting it up into smaller pieces and it is growing but slowly.


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## jfynyson (Apr 15, 2013)

Took mine more than a month to truly take to my conditions. That's from both tissue cultures from pet smart as well as some in a trade from someone local. I've trimmed and given away more than 30 stems now and have way more than I can use.

As for the algae I've not seen these to act any different than other slower growing plants. Once they started growing faster I have noticed some very minor BBA forming on lower older stems, this is common as we'll especially when I messed up my CO2 delivery at one point and also up rooted too many plants and created an ammonia spike (my best guess). Since then I just pinch off any older leaves or ugly ones but they are far and few between.


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## samee (Oct 14, 2011)

My minis are turning pink and dying out. I dont know what it is.


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## du3ce (Jan 26, 2013)

mine is growing a little i got the package from petsmart, the leaves are turning a dark red color looked like its rotting but its not kinda weird


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## Subtletanks91 (May 29, 2013)

Generally when you buy the tc plants from petsmart it takes about 3 weeks to establish and another 3 to stunt new growth. I've had myne in a low tech invert tank for about 3 months now and it's doubled in size with only Amazonia for ferts.


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## Krispyplants (Apr 15, 2014)

Transition always take forever but the wait can save you a lot of money in the long run. Would you rather have 2 stems or a whole batch?


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

I have one acting weird on me also. Has four stems/w three small ones coming rom one main one. Started growing almost imediately. Got one set of leaves smaller by far than the growth from where it came. Then the next set came out a bit larger but not as long as the original. Then the main stem stopped growing and put out the next layer ofnew leaves all deformed and very stunted. Now the next layer is coming in but also stunted/deformed but these are stil growing today so I'll let it go for a while longer.
The three smaller stems have kept growing all along, but slowly. All the older leaves
have some GSA on them. The color is not 100% as red as the old...yet. I was told
that they need time to adjust/grow into yur tank. Strongly tempted to just cut off that main stem as the other three smaller ones are doing fine. Have noticed that on the smaller ones the spaces between the leaf layers is equal to the old growth on those stems. However...on the main stem each layer of leaves has gotten closer or less distance between leaf layers till now they are only 1/2" apart instead of the original 
1-1.25" apart. Seems like a sign the plant is getting more light than where it came from.
In this tank I have @ 12.5" from the sub...one T5 6700K and one T5 650nm(red).
The tank also gets daily 2x normal Excel doses.
So what is causing the deformaty and only on the main stem ?
Almost forgot. I got two stems and put the other one in my T8 tank.
2x T8 bulbs @ 10.5" from sub/no Excel. This plant is growing much slower but this latest layer of leaves is coming in almost red...fairly dull actually but better than the last layer of leaves which were almost brown. Both layers are stunted but the second one is better.
The date on the PM letting whom I got them from know they arrived is dated 4/3/14 soplanted in my tank on the 15th of April.


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## Krispyplants (Apr 15, 2014)

Most of my plants had to do a lot of growing, trimming and throwing away until it looked normal :wink:


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## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

Krispyplants said:


> Most of my plants had to do a lot of growing, trimming and throwing away until it looked normal :wink:


Same here. Got to stay in the tank :hihi:


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## aclaar877 (Feb 19, 2014)

I have been trying to grow this for a year - there is a chance the plant I have is A. Sessilis, which is supposedly not an aquatic plant. A month ago I bought a pack from Petsmart and its starting to grow, but slowly. I have been bringing my nitrates down from 40 to somewhere between 5 and 10, trying to replicate Kekon's experiment where he got much better growth with low nitrates and low KH which I have (2). I have read a lot on this plant, and I believe it likes steady conditions and lots of CO2. I have a lot of CO2 (over 30 ppm) blowing right on the plant and growth is still very slow. It may be easily outcompeted for CO2, so I may try turning off some lights to slow everything down (including some hair algae I get on lower leaves). I've seen evidence of this plant growing OK in lower light so turning some bulbs off shouldn't hurt it. First I'll see if steady, lower nitrates help out at all.


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## MeCasa (Apr 22, 2014)

I just bought some mini's from Tropica and some Cardinalis from the states

I was hoping for fast growth and you guys/gals are ripping my heart out :icon_sad:


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

My mini died, but I have some new ones on the way.

My variegated finally started taking hold and growing though.


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## aquarist (Aug 29, 2012)

Sorry to see so many people have had problems with these! They grow pretty well for me, I even have some in a low light no co2 tank and they are doing well. What I have found is they really like red light, the red light also brings out some really good color on the top side of the leaves.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

After I neglected the tank for 10 days, and the CO2 ran out:




I do not uproot, I trim and pinch old ugly leaves off, top the taller stems and the dense side shoots fill in and grow out nice. Takes some work to do it this way, but the plant is very manageable this way.


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## MeCasa (Apr 22, 2014)

Tom, how tall are those mini's and how long does it take to get there once they root. 

I have 2" of organic soil and I originally had covered with quartz sand, after I saw how small the rooted mini's were I thought about changing over to a Eco-complete cap, is this a good idea to help with rooting?

Fine or course?

I'm new to plants and expected the plants to be large enough that I could push the sand aside, push the roots in the soil and push the sand back to seal. I bought both the mini and tall version but both stems (while healthy) are only an 1 1/4 long. I don't feel I can just push them in quartz sand.

Thank you


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

1-2 months to get a nice thick stand growing I suppose. 
I would think soil would be okay. Clay loams are best for planted tanks IME. 

Still: good light, plenty of CO2, current, Filtration, dosing routinely, lots of good sized water changes in the 1-2 first months and thereafter if there's issues.

Folks seem to look for silver bullets, there are not any.
Sometimes, folks overlook or assume way too much about something, typically CO2.

Plants ought to be fine if you plant roughly 1/2 way in.


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## MeCasa (Apr 22, 2014)

I added plants to my aquarium as an afterthought and now I understand that they are a hobby unto themselves. I enjoyed the challenge of adding plants to a large cichlid tank and I still believe it feasible if special efforts are made.

But I was over enthusiastic that I could choose rare varieties, buy them and have them get to size and root structure before introducing fish. I asked a lot of questions because I tried to hurry a process that can't be hurried because it starts with education.

I'm not changing my goals, but I am simplifying my current desires/needs for my current tank and purchasing a plant only tank to give me time to learn. 

One step at a time

Thanks
MeCasa


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

MeCasa said:


> I added plants to my aquarium as an afterthought and now I understand that they are a hobby unto themselves. I enjoyed the challenge of adding plants to a large cichlid tank and I still believe it feasible if special efforts are made.
> 
> But I was over enthusiastic that I could choose rare varieties, buy them and have them get to size and root structure before introducing fish. I asked a lot of questions because I tried to hurry a process that can't be hurried because it starts with education.
> 
> ...



Gotta ask, what large cichlids?

And yah, this is a hobby unto itself and can be quite the learning experience.


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