# CO2 plants (Rotala Wallichii) in NPT?



## mariannep (Mar 18, 2012)

Hello!

Has anyone had success in NPTs with Rotala wallichi? I've found I can order it, but I don't want to kill it, and the Plant Finder says it requires added CO2. 

Is generally such a requirement a no-go for keeping plants in NPT, in your experience?

Thanks!


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## xxbenjamminxx (Oct 18, 2011)

Typically yes. That is one that is known to be hit or miss for your tank. I have yet to try it but definately want too someday. From what I have read it is like Patanal, where some have the conditions for it some dont.


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## jeremy1 (May 6, 2007)

You need CO2 for this one.


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## mariannep (Mar 18, 2012)

Thank you both! I guess it's better to resist, then 

What's Patanal? A websearch brough up nothing useful... :/

Cheers!


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## xxbenjamminxx (Oct 18, 2011)

Sorry a little typo there its Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Pantanal'

Another plant I have on my wish list to use as an accent plant in my background.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/details.php?id=69


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## tantaMD (Dec 23, 2011)

diana walstad suceeded keeping rotala macrandra (usually considered as even more demanding species) in NPT. I tried but failed


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## mariannep (Mar 18, 2012)

*Benjamin*, that is a beautiful plant! When you do try please keep us posted on the progress!
*
Tanta*, thank you. That's great to knew. I think as with all plants there's usually subtleties and maybe some dose of luck involved. There are so many factors in ours tanks! The water, the light, the nutrient load,...

Maybe I'll try later on if things go well with other plants


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## ItsDubC (Jan 12, 2008)

I am currently growing Rotala macrandra successfully in my 4-gal NPT. It isn't super red like I've seen in some online photos but its growth is giving me a lot of confidence to try other plants that *supposedly* require CO2 injection.

I would say give the Rotala wallichi a shot. I probably will for my next tank


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## tantaMD (Dec 23, 2011)

@ItsDubC : nice to know that!!  how many watts/gallon of light do u use? Did u plant macrandra in initial set up or after the tank mature? i still have r. macrandra but in DIY CO2 injected tank, they seems to grow healthy there, but the tank has been mature for almost a year when i planted it. i wonder wether it is the CO2 or the maturity of the tank. because i red that for r. macrandra to thrive they need almost zero level of nitrit in water column


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## mariannep (Mar 18, 2012)

*ItsDubc*, thanks so much for the info. I think that's a very interesting field. But I think I'll wait as I'm still starting the tank - but I'll probably try in a few months if all goes well.

I'm also interested in the specs of your aquarium. I bet no two NPT's are really alike - there are so many factors!


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## ItsDubC (Jan 12, 2008)

Here is my exact setup. 12.25" x 7.5" x 10.25" 4-gal glass tank w/ the 26w 6500k bulb but w/out the filter (and of course, no CO2 supplementation). It's an awesome setup for the price, and my CPO dwarf crayfish and yellow shrimp are doing great in it. I've never considered watts/gallon to be an incredibly useful measurement, since tank height and light distance are important factors.

BTW the 26w cliplight is pretty strong for this setup. I initially set the tank up w/ no floaters to see if dense planting of rooted plants would be enough to fend off algae. Well, I had some nice murky green water after 2 weeks. In response, I floated some hornwort like I've done w/ all my past NPTs (which never had any notable algae issues) and the water was crystal clear in 2 days! So w/ this lighting, you will DEFINITELY need floaters to start off until your stem plants grow in. Never doubt the power of hornwort! 

Anyway, I planted the Rotala macrandra right from the beginning, along w/ Rotala sp. 'Green', Cardamine lyrata, Blyxa japonica, Staurogyne repens, and some Fissidens fontanus tied to some manzanita wood. As a background plant, I placed the R. macrandra in the center so that it gets access to the most light.

One of the tenets of el natural is to plant densely in the beginning, and I can now see how this can actually be a disadvantage for certain plants. Being my first experience w/ R. macrandra, I wasn't fully aware of how much wider it gets than R. rotundifolia and R. sp. 'Green', so I planted 3-4 stems close together. Well, R. macrandra is a much bigger plant and the bunch that I planted has effectively shaded out its lower portions, leaving them leggy and leaf-less at the bottom. This isn't an issue from an aesthetics standpoint since the portions of the plant that are visible have nice growth and the tops are a gorgeous red hue. Perhaps the entire plant would exhibit that same coloration if I gave each stem enough space.

Anyway, I had my NPT setup for about 3 weeks before adding my fauna, and in that time I noticed that the leaves of some of my plants started to develop holes. Then I realized that because I didn't have any fish/inverts in the tank yet, I hadn't been adding any fishfood to the system to fertilize the water column lol. Oops!  R. macrandra was one of those plants, and it along w/ the others are starting to perk back up again now that I'm feeding generously.


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## mariannep (Mar 18, 2012)

Thanks! That must a be a lovely nanotank. Mine feels enormous now by comparison...
You make me wonder about lights as I still have to get some to complement sunlight through the window. mmm....

I can't wait to get the lawn done (dry start) so I can flood the whole thing and finally plant the rest of it 


Thank you!


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## tantaMD (Dec 23, 2011)

@ItsDubC : u definitely give me spirits to try that again!!  could u share ur pics with another link, i can't open it here . also, could u give us the water parameters? the water here is very soft and acidic


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## ItsDubC (Jan 12, 2008)

tantaMD said:


> @ItsDubC : u definitely give me spirits to try that again!!  could u share ur pics with another link, i can't open it here . also, could u give us the water parameters? the water here is very soft and acidic


If you do a search for "finnex 4 gallon 26w" on your favorite search engine, you should see my setup. I haven't actually tested my water in this tank but Houston tapwater is liquid rock w/ a higher pH. I also add crushed egg shell to my soil underlayer.


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