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Re: E. 'Red Flame' and java moss



>From: "Raymond Wong" <rwmw at home_com>
>1) Finally got a hold of the sword plant E. 'red flame' from tropica ( tried
>many times to order this plant from ym LFS's) besides typical sword
>conditions eg. good substrate (using clay in pots with 15-15-15 fertilizer
>pellets embed in the clay balls) and high lighting > 3 watts / gallon anyone
>have experiences with this sword? 

I dont know where you are located, but assume not USA. We cant yet get from
Tropica. For us in the US, red flame is available, but it may go by
differnt names (e.g. red ozelot, or what I call green on red ozelot). It
has been in production for many years by Florida Aquatic Nurseries, but
unfortunately is not in demand by many LFS, so it is still relatively rare
here. But that is another story.

I have been growing it for a few years in tanks ranging from 2-2.5 wpg
(19-22in deep tanks). It seems to do better in the higher light tanks, and
the baby plants are brilliant purple when close to the surface so I suspect
that needs the higher light intensity to display in full glory. My adult
plant's inner leaves show the nice dark red leaves, but the outer ones for
me turn green . I have seen one at a LFS under metal halides, and the plant
looks better than mine - more like my babies.

>I can't remember i believe when I got my
>e. ozelot to flower and send runners for plantlets the photo period was like
>10 hours on and 14 off


I keep all my tanks on a 12/12 schedule and this Echindorus may not care.
After all, it is a hybrid. It sends up flower stalks regular. Darn nuisance
:-)  

>The current tank i have this plant in also has co2 injection @ 2 bubbles

I dont grow it without CO2. I keep it at pH in high 6's and KH 2-3. Rubin
(Michael, not Echinordus) has recently said: bubble count does not say
much. KH/pH is needed. Otherwise, too many variables: plant density, light
intensity, nutrient level, minerals.....blah blah blah.

Neil
Neil Frank / Aquarian Subjects
Interesting old books and magazines (but most plant books are already gone)
http://www.mindspring.com/~aquaristics/aquarian.subjects/