# Ludwigia Repens NOT RED



## Anthony (Jan 11, 2005)

I had the exact same problem with it in my tank. It was red when it was shaded by large lotus leaves, but after I removed the lotus it turned green. I could never get it red. I also had the same problem with r. indica.


----------



## pk-sd (Feb 16, 2005)

Same problem here. And its not due to lack of bright lights. I have almost 4wpg. Can't wait to hear from some experts. Mine is nice olive green. I like the color, but its not red.


----------



## Marc (Oct 13, 2004)

Check my signature- I was once a Repens farmer! :tongue: 
What are your tank conditions? What size are your tanks?

Mine were
3.4 WPG
30ppm CO2
KH 4
PH 6.6
Dosed N, P, and K every other day and dosed micros on alternating days.


----------



## Anthony (Jan 11, 2005)

I had 3.25 wpg and co2 higher (4.5, ph 6.4). I was even dosing 8 ml traces and 2ml iron in a 37 gallon 3x's per week.


----------



## Marc (Oct 13, 2004)

Anthony said:


> I had 3.25 wpg and co2 higher (4.5, ph 6.4). I was even dosing 8 ml traces and 2ml iron in a 37 gallon 3x's per week.


What bulbs or fixture are you running?


----------



## Anthony (Jan 11, 2005)

65 watts pc 6700k/10000k, 15 watss no 2800k, 40 watts screw in cf 6500k


----------



## Marc (Oct 13, 2004)

You may need more light- My friend has a 55 watt set up over his 10 gal tank and its still not enough to keep the glosso down. From my understanding- the WPG rule doesnt apply too well in smaller tanks. How small i dont know. Since your pretty good on ferts and co2, I'm going to bet more light.


----------



## sarahbobarah (May 20, 2005)

Hey guys, I've got the lud. repens growing in a 10g with only 30 watts on it (2 normal flo strips) And the usual CO2 and ferts regime. The difference is that I'm using flo strips with really high blue spectrum output. 

My logic as this - I wanted really red plants, and since the red plants would be reflecting the red spectrum instead of absorbing it, the leaves would have to be receiving energy from the purple/blue end. So far, this has worked. My red temple and other red stem plants have all been developing new leaves that turn corvette red. 

So Marc, I wouldn't say more light necessarily, but perhaps a different light temperature.


----------



## Marc (Oct 13, 2004)

sarahbobarah said:


> So Marc, I wouldn't say more light necessarily, but perhaps a different light temperature.


Your probably right- I'm sure light temps would also work well. Im running 67k's tho and dont have a problem with getting red out of most plants. Intensity of the bulbs may also play a large factor- Im running 2x96 watt bulbs.


----------



## Troy McClure (Feb 22, 2004)

I was doing a search on red plants, and I think Sarah might be on to something. For a long time, my 10gal had only 36W @ 10000K and the ludwigia was consistently a nice dark red. I was having a small problems with hair and thread algae which I ignorantly blamed on the color temp, not the fact my fert dosing sucked. So out came the 10000K bulb (it had cracked accidently) and currently under the hood sits 1x36W @ 6700K and 2x13W @ 6700K. More light, less red. The underside of the leaves are a beautiful shade of red, but under the 10000K bulbs the tops of the leaves were less green/more red as well. The Rotala indica is only slightly pink at the tips. Like Anthony, I dose macros on S days and T days, .5ml-1ml traces and .5ml Flourish Iron on MWFs.

I may order a 10000K bulb to carry out a three week ultra-unscientific experiment.


....hmmm I just noticed that I said my dosing sucked during the 10000K period. Could it have been the lack of nitrates that were the source of the redness as well as the hair algae? If plants exhibit more red at low nitrate levels, how low is low? 10? 5? 2? 0???


----------



## sarahbobarah (May 20, 2005)

My theory is that it depends on the plants. My Red temple grows super red with high nitrates, while the L Repens does not. Sounds like we SHOULD conduct some kind of experiment....


----------



## Marc (Oct 13, 2004)

well in my tank N levels were 10-15ppm and they were red.


----------



## YourPalCM (May 23, 2004)

Oh my GOD! That is beautiful. I can most definitely tell you that mine does not look like that. Mine is growing fine, but it's mostly green with a hint of red on the underside of the top-most leaves.


----------



## Marc (Oct 13, 2004)

if you look at the picture, the plants that are exposed to the light are very red. The ones that are deeper in the tank or shaded are less red.


----------



## bigstick120 (May 23, 2005)

Any other thoughts on this. I am having the same problem with my L. reopens. and my alt. rek. It is a deep red and the L. reopens is green. Like the ones in Marks photo in the bottom right corner. I didnt add any NO3 at water change today to see if lower levels bring out the red


----------



## YourPalCM (May 23, 2004)

bigstick120 said:


> Any other thoughts on this. I am having the same problem with my L. reopens. and my alt. rek. It is a deep red and the L. reopens is green. Like the ones in Marks photo in the bottom right corner. I didnt add any NO3 at water change today to see if lower levels bring out the red


I just pulled my Ludwigia out. Strangest thing. Everything else in the tank is growing fine, but the Ludwigia started rotting right where it enters the substrate


----------



## Fosty (Oct 17, 2003)

> I just pulled my Ludwigia out. Strangest thing. Everything else in the tank is growing fine, but the Ludwigia started rotting right where it enters the substrate


The same thing happened to me. I ended up getting rid of it because I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Everything else seemed to be doing quite well.


----------



## Marc (Oct 13, 2004)

Were the lower stems shaded? Ludwigia is know for melting away if its shaded.


----------



## YourPalCM (May 23, 2004)

Marc said:


> Were the lower stems shaded? Ludwigia is know for melting away if its shaded.


YES! That must be it. I was trying to grow it as a "corner" plant so the lower stems were shaded by a huge clump of "Red Temple" to the right of it, and then some lower growing plants right in front of it.

How do you keep light on the lower stems, though without putting it right in the middle of the aquarium with nothing around it?


----------



## vinnymac (Feb 28, 2005)

Mine is really red. I have a 65g with 2.95wpg and pressurized Co2. PH = 7.4. I dose ferts once a week and often double up on iron doses.


----------



## chance (Sep 1, 2004)

My Ludwigia was really red ,until after I started the EI method. My NO3 was <5 PPM,then I raised it to around 20 PPM. My Ludwigia got progressivly greener. Qouting from the Barr Report:
" Low stable
amounts of nitrate (NO3-) can influence color in a variety of
plants such as Rotala and Ludwigia genera. Chlorophyll is a
nitrogen rich molecule that requires nitrogen in substantial
amounts. The effect is that the low nitrogen (N) level influences
the plant’s ability to produce enough Chlorophyll to
provide the plant’s green color. The result is that the other
red pigments are more clearly seen and no longer masked
over by the chlorophyll. This is one of the “tricks” used to
get a lot of red out of plants (Aquatic Plants Digest, 1999-
2005). Adding NO3- will change the plant to back to green
and this can be done in both directions many times. Many
people hear this and then go too far and stunt their plants or
cause problems because they went too low and caused a
much more serious deficiency. The key is to have a stable
low level that fits your routine. A very red plant indicates a
nitrogen stress, many aquarist have assumed it means a
healthier plant in the past."


----------



## kamla (Feb 17, 2005)

i know this is off topic.. but..
you you guys have probs with air roots on the repens..
mine grow those air roots like no bodies business


----------



## Marc (Oct 13, 2004)

YourPalCM said:


> YES! That must be it. I was trying to grow it as a "corner" plant so the lower stems were shaded by a huge clump of "Red Temple" to the right of it, and then some lower growing plants right in front of it.
> 
> How do you keep light on the lower stems, though without putting it right in the middle of the aquarium with nothing around it?


Its a tricky plant. You have to give it it room for light to reach the bottom.
In my tank- i replanted the tops after about a month or so because the ones in the middle would rot.

Its kinda just the nature of the plant from what i experienced.



kamla said:


> i know this is off topic.. but..
> you you guys have probs with air roots on the repens..
> mine grow those air roots like no bodies business


Yeah same thing with me- i couldnt fight it- i just planted plants infront of it to hide the roots.


----------

