# Ludwigia sp. Rubin vs Ludwigia sp. Red



## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

Rubin has larger leaves.
But red will give you a better chance of it staying red under low light.

-Sent from my Samsung Note, a "Phablet"


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi kperera,

To the best of my knowledge they are the same plant. The current accepted 'official' name is Ludwigia sp. 'Rubin' but the common name is Ludwigia sp. 'Red'. Many plants have a scientific name and common name such as Pogostemon helferi is many times referred to as 'Downoi'.

Hope this helps!


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

I used to think they were the same, but then I've seen people selling them differently, so I think there has to be a difference. I feel like a side by side would be very much appreciated.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

they are not the same. ludwigia red has been labeled here as rubin

rubin has a more elongated leaf than sp. red. rubin also turns green and survives with less light

ludwigia sp.red with low enough light to change color will basically wither away and die
if its light requirements are met it will be orange, red, or purplish with enough light orange being the lower light levels


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi All,

Realizing that the photoperiod, light intensity, and nutrients may impact leave shape and color possibly someone could please provide photos of the two plants growing side by side in the same conditions?


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

I have both Ludwigia sp Red and Rubin in the same tank growing side by side. The 'red' has turned a deep red while the rubin has turned green ever since I planted it. It stayed light red when I floated it in my other tank. I'll take a pic later tonight when there is no glare from my window.


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## BriDroid (Oct 7, 2012)

I have some Ludwigia sp Red now. Under low light, it was still red, but more of an orangeish red. Now under my Ray 2, it's growing in dark blood red. I have some Ludwigia Rubin coming in today or tomorrow via the mail. 

I was also curious about this, that I why I wanted some Rubin. If there is still interest, I'll post some pics in a few weeks after the Rubin settles in. I'll be mad if they are the same LOL! The guy I'm getting them from told me that the Rubin gets a much deeper red than the sp Red gets. Marketing??


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## JeffyFunk (Jan 10, 2011)

IME, Ludwigia sp 'Red' will color up more in a greater variety of conditions. Ludwigia sp 'Rubin', although also a colorful plant, will show much a much greater variety in color depending on your tank conditions. 

The following links are very informative (although not at all conclusive as, apparently, new ludwigia hybrids are brought to market): 

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plant-id/78658-ludwigia-repens-rubin-another-hybrid.html

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plant-id/78984-another-ludwigia-hybrid-2.html

The first link suggests that L. sp. 'Red' is not 'Rubin'. The second link shows a great comparison among several ludwigia species (although sadly not w/ L. sp. 'Rubin')...


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## Tinanti (Aug 25, 2005)

They are NOT the same plant. The Rubin is much, much larger and has leaves that are usually, but not always, alternate. It may be a hybrid of some kind. Working on that...

The Red is apparently a form of L. palustris that's smaller, opposite-leaved and is very easy to keep red. Rubin can get more of a maroon if conditions are good, but intensity of color between the two can be approximately equal.


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## DeeJayA1 (Sep 23, 2011)

the "rubin" is the shorter, large-leafed red/pinkish plant and "red" is the to the left.

med/high light, co2 and consistent fert dosing.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

DeeJayA1 said:


> the "rubin" is the shorter, large-leafed red/pinkish plant and "red" is the to the left.
> 
> med/high light, co2 and consistent fert dosing.


Hi DeeJayA1,

I certainly agree the one on the left is L. sp 'Red' and the one on the right is certainly different. The L. sp 'Rubin' in your picture looks somewhat like the one pictured at APC although not as reddish, the leaves seem longer, and I cannot quite make out the detail of the leaf placement on the stems.

Thanks for the pic....worth a thousand words!


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## DeeJayA1 (Sep 23, 2011)

a closer look at the 'rubin'


















Keeping the 'red' as red as it is has never been an issue for me... but the 'rubin' on the other hand, this is as red as I can get it. the underside of the leaves are a deep red, but the tops are what you see... any ideas? and my ludwigia arcuata will only get to an orange/rust color


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## Lia (Aug 2, 2007)

I have found that the more light the redder the leaves and the leaves that do not get that much light stay greenish.


This is ludwiga repens (think that is what it is called) in 29 gallon high with two full length 6500k flourescent bulbs.

It grew like weeds with no co2 just 2 gallon weekly water change.

There is some jave fern here and there.


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## Lia (Aug 2, 2007)

DeeJayA1 said:


> a closer look at the 'rubin'
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
The Rubin is very pretty looks like a flower


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

Lia said:


> I have found that the more light the redder the leaves and the leaves that do not get that much light stay greenish.
> 
> 
> This is ludwiga repens (think that is what it is called) in 29 gallon high with two full length 6500k flourescent bulbs.
> ...


very small leaves, definitely a sign of no co2.. ludwigia repens leaves are about the size of a quarter when receiving all required nutrients


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

Ludwigia sp. 'Red' on the left, Ludwigia 'Rubin' on the right. The Red took about 2 weeks to turn that color while the Rubin has only been in the tank for 2 weeks and only has orange under the leaves. It's still growing though, about an inch every few days. The tank has DIY CO2 and daily Metricide-14 dosing, EI dosing, and MGOCPM capped with Seachem Black Sand. The light is a 27 watt daylight desk lamp positioned 3 inches above the water timed for 6 hours with a 4 hour blackout then back on for another 5.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

the orange leaves in this picture indicate less than optimal light for the plant (ludwigia red)

orange is a common under leaf color for broader leaved ludwigia species


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

My other Ludwigia sp. Red in my tank are a nice deep red though.


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

while on the topic, I feel like sp. atlantis should also be discussed with these two
sure, price wise there is a big difference now, but appearance wise and size wise and all I think these three sp. are very similar.


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## Lia (Aug 2, 2007)

HD Blazingwolf said:


> very small leaves, definitely a sign of no co2.. ludwigia repens leaves are about the size of a quarter when receiving all required nutrients


 
Thank you very much, it grows great but what you have said about the leaves being quarter size with co2 makes sense because I see this plant growing by canals (that is where I got it) and the leaves on those are quarter size while mine are nickel size if even that.

I just assumed since it grew so fast that water changes were enough.

I have a second corckscrew val tank recently set up and was thinking of DIY CO2 , will try it in both tanks.

The water here is the best for no algae at all and amazing plant growth but as you know doesn't come with CO2 so going to try it with soda bottle and air stone in tank.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

here are two shots of it

the yellowish red repens is with low co2, low nitrate, low phosphate frm when i got first started

the bigger leafed bubbly ludiwiga is not red becuase i have it far away from the lights, but it has less co2 deficiency.. the curved leaf is still a good co2 deficiency sign


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

Monster Fish said:


> My other Ludwigia sp. Red in my tank are a nice deep red though.


was that one recently moved? if stressed they can turn orange. this usually indicates a co2 issue though.. with high enough levels the plants will not stress when moved or trimmed


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

HD Blazingwolf said:


> was that one recently moved? if stressed they can turn orange. this usually indicates a co2 issue though.. with high enough levels the plants will not stress when moved or trimmed


Yeah, it was a recently replanted top.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

Monster Fish said:


> Yeah, it was a recently replanted top.


Try replanting 6 inches or more of stem as this gives the plants more nutrient store. as it grows in and matures in ur tank, future replants will be less stressfull


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

I thought that Ludwigia sp. 'Red' was decided to be a red variety of L. paulustris. Making it Ludwigia paulustris 'Red'. I think it was Chad to was telling me this.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

orchidman said:


> I thought that Ludwigia sp. 'Red' was decided to be a red variety of L. paulustris. Making it Ludwigia paulustris 'Red'. I think it was Chad to was telling me this.


It is very similar in shape so is entirely believeable
palustris seems a bit mroe elongated in leaf form.
i woulnd't mind setting up a comparison grown under the same conditions if i could get my hands on some


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## vqfive (Nov 5, 2012)

I have both Rubin and Red. The Red I purchased looks like a mini Rubin but is always red color from top to bottom


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

I'm getting some Rubin in a few days, and I already have red, so I will try and compare once the rubin settles in as well.


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## tumbz (Dec 24, 2013)

I believe the Rubin is simply a well cared for Repens......

Therefore, the sp. Red and Rubins actually are the same plant. 

Ludwigia Repens turns green under low light and pinkish under high........


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## Tinanti (Aug 25, 2005)

tumbz said:


> I believe the Rubin is simply a well cared for Repens......


Nope. 'Rubin' has leaves that are opposite, sub-opposite or alternate. _L. repens_ has leaves that are always opposite. The former is probably a hybrid between something like repens and an alternate-leaved plant. 



tumbz said:


> Therefore, the sp. Red and Rubins actually are the same plant.


Very different. The 'red' is probably _L. palustris_; much smaller, always red.


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## tumbz (Dec 24, 2013)

Oh. Make sense. Without looking at leaf structure, it'll be very hard to tell the diff between rubin and repen. 

That's should be the real question instead of rubin and red.....


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## tumbz (Dec 24, 2013)

Could growing conditions affect leaf structure??


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

Two year old thread is two years old

And growing conditions wouldn't really be affecting the pattern of leaf growth, it might affect the color and size of the leaf itself but not the placement of the leafs


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