# How to make blyxa japonica turn red?



## mr_convitbau (Jan 7, 2009)

Hi,

How would we make blyxa turn red? I heard someone saying that with a lot of light and sufficient amount of iron, we would be able to turn blyxa to red. Is that correct? If yes, how much light and iron are needed? My tank is 45 gallon with power sand and aquasoil amazonia II as substrate. I use 260W (4x65W) power compact lighting system (6500K) for my tank. 

Also, would that amount of light be sufficient for growing glosso horizontally?


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## gooey (Dec 12, 2007)

hi,

with your current lighting, you may have a bit of a problem with algae unless you can somehow offset it with increased fertilization and increased C02 application which will lead to a overdrive in plant growth.

i used to have a 50 gallon tank that is lit by just 3 55w compact fluorescents and the blyxia had a reddish hue and the glosso was growing horizontally. it just had regular river sand as substrate. ferts was PPS-pro method. 

hope this helps.


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## mr_convitbau (Jan 7, 2009)

gooey said:


> hi,
> 
> with your current lighting, you may have a bit of a problem with algae unless you can somehow offset it with increased fertilization and increased C02 application which will lead to a overdrive in plant growth.
> 
> ...


Thanks for Gooey's advice,

I have one more question. What would be the main factor that determines the reddish hue of blyxa? The high lighting or the addition of iron? If high lighting happened to be the main factor, then how long would you keep the light on daily?


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## gooey (Dec 12, 2007)

i would say its a combination of high light, CO2 levels and fertilizers. iron.. i just added a homemade brew (5ml chelated iron solution in 95ml dH2O) of around 5ml per week, if i remember correctly. i also dosed a couple of drops of fleets enema once a week. i dosed the iron and the fleets several days apart.


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