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[APD] Re: Rotala & Nesaea sp.



> Rachel Sandage wrote...

> Can anyone tell me what plant this is, and what nutrient imbalance might be making it grow in this stunted & strange way?
>
> http://groups.msn.com/rsfish/problems.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=133<http://groups.msn.com/rsfish/problems.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=133>
> http://groups.msn.com/rsfish/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=94<http://groups.msn.com/rsfish/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=94>
>
> I think the plant might be Nesea pedicellata. The tank has a GH or 5, from adding CaCO3 and Mg.
>
> I feel like if I could figure out how to get this plant to grow unstunted I would really be a successful aquatic gardener!

The leaf shape looks like a Nesaea species. Leaf shape varies a lot depending upon conditions. My experience with two species is that they usually grow orange or red near the light, sometimes deep wine in colour. Leaves tend to be lost easily. Even using Kasselmann's book, I cannot tell the difference between the nesaea and the ammannia gracilis. The flowers also
look very similar. Apparently, she feels that she can tell them apart. A couple of people in the Ottawa Valley Aquarium Club do o.k. with it (ammannia?). It takes a while to root and get going.

>
>
> I have two varieties of Rotala, both of which were sold to me as Rotala indica. I used to think that the difference in their appearances was because they were being grown under very different lighting/CO2/substrate/water parameters. Recently, though, I moved some so that both varieties are growing in the same tank - and they do not appear to be the same plant.
>
> One of them I think is Rotala rotundifolia, as described in the Kasselmann book. It has much rounder leaves. In the high light, high-everything tank, it grows nice and reddish. In the other, low light tank, it grows bright green. Leaf size & shape is the same in both tanks. Here is a so-so picture of it:
>
> http://groups.msn.com/rsfish/problems.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=134<http://groups.msn.com/rsfish/problems.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=134>
>
> The other I think is really Rotala indica, which Kasselman says is a different species from Rotala indica. Its leaves are much more needle like. It too will go reddish under the higher light conditions. Here is another so-so photo, but at least you can see that the leaves are much narrower.
>
> http://groups.msn.com/rsfish/problems.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=135<http://groups.msn.com/rsfish/problems.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=135>
>
> Any Rotala gurus out there who can clear this up?

The second species with the more needle-like leaves is Rotala indica I believe.

Regards,
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