Had anybody kept this plant?

[mjfromga]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rotala-indica-Red-rotundifolia-Live-Aquarium-Plants-Buy-2-Get-1-Free-/172150190402

So I like... LOVE THIS PLANT!! My plants are doing pretty well (Boo Boo notwithstanding) and I do have some pretty nice light bulbs. I think I can grow high light plants, but would maybe have an issue with high Co2 plants.

Has anybody kept this plant with goldfish? I love wispy plants like Water Sprite, Water Wisteria etc and I really want this plant. Here's to hoping my Boo Boo won't destroy it.

[ChrissieA]

I had something that looked similar.. My guys are big plant eaters. I had little round leaves everywhere, but again, mine eat everything lol

[LisaCGold]

It's a beautiful plant.  Looks like this plant would do fine in medium light (you probably won't get the vibrant pink/red colors though). It also needs periodic fertilizers and something like Seachem Excel for CO2. I have medium lighting and I dose ferts and Excel twice a week for my anubias.

 

What kind of lights do you have?

[Daniel]

I've grown it before, had a hedge of the stuff. Rotundifolia is a nice rotala; fairly fast growing, does well in all light levels and can be pretty much neglected. You usually won't get the deep reds without ample light, micros and nitrate limitation though (unless you're an Amano or Tom Barr type that can do things with plants most can only dream of).

To be honest, I think the general consensus in the planted tank community nowadays is that there's no such thing as a high light plant, only one that prefers more co2 and ferts. A lot of people seem to keep plants that 10 years ago were thought to be high light dependent, in lower light co2 enriched environments. Everyone is always surprised when they learn ADA lights don't produce that much par per watt in comparison to say, Geissman, ATI or Maxspect. ADA never has trouble growing a nice carpet or thick bushy stems though. Light just drives nutrient and co2 uptake, if you have the skills, you can do a lot more than most with less.

Edited April 10, 2016 by dan in aus

[fantailfan1]

   interesting post Daniel.  

[mjfromga]

A Lady on another forum directed me to some T8 6000 bulbs on Amazon. I only bought one at the time, though. The other bulb is a slightly weaker one. Need to buy another one, but they're both pretty decent. I do have osmocote and excel as well.

[Daniel E.]

Hey quick question what's the difference between a 6500 and a 6000 as far as the plants are concerned? I personally have been using t8 6500k bulbs myself. But my plants are mainly anubias plants so it probably don't matter lol

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Edited April 10, 2016 by Daniel E.

[mjfromga]

From what I have gathered, your bulbs simply provide more light. Just better, you could say.

[Daniel]

Hey quick question what's the difference between a 6500 and a 6000 as far as the plants are concerned? I personally have been using t8 6500k bulbs myself. But my plants are mainly anubias plants so it probably don't matter lol

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Nothing really. The Kelvin is just bulb temperature, which plants don't really care about all that much so long as they're getting the spectrum they need. At the end of the day colour preference is really left up to you. My high tech tank, for example, has an 8000K light over it and I deliberately tweaked the balance (user programmable) so I have slightly higher blues than whites. The plants don't care, but my eyes sure do.

[Hidr]

I had them in a dirtied tank. No goldfish and never was pink but it was a low light tank with no ferts or co2.  It was still a nice plant and it grew fast.