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Re: Ludwigia

> I got difficult to rise plants like Limnophila aromatica, bolbitiis
> hedelotii,glossostigma
> elatinoides, M.umbrosum, Didipils diandra and they all look great.
> 
> The red ones never been so red but..

You can blame some of that on higher NO3 levels. If you keep the NO3 levels
at 5ppm or so then the colors will come out if the other nutrients are in
good ranges.
 
> 
> Ludwigia arcuata is growing, very big red leaves,  but when it gets close to
> the surface
> the new leaves get even redder ,cup and get shorter.

I would suggest doing a more frequent dosing routine of K+. K will help your
tank greatly actually. TMG has it but you need more than what's supplied
there. Another thing that could be happening is that as the plant gets
closer to the light it grows faster and uses up all the the nutrients in the
water and it gets stunted(say K+). Also as Lugwigia establishes a good root
system it grows faster than it does after a pruning. You may be able to keep
up with it's nutrient needs when it's growing slower but as this increases,
it needs more or else it will stunt. It may also form roots near the tops
right before it stunts and the new growth after this is smaller since some
of the growth is now going into root formation. The lower portion of the
plant will often send out new side shoots since the old tops are now almost
a separate plant with it's own roots etc. Your tank sounds K limited. You
have a lot of light on this tank also. Plants grow faster and use up
nutrients faster so you need to respond quick also.
> 
> At the same time the plant starts producing side shoots close to its top.
> The new shoots show the same sintoms as the motherplant and stay little.
> 
> If i cut the stem and replant it, it starts growing again untill is free of
> surroundig plants and gets full light.Then the process starts over.
> Tank parameters:
> 
> 95*55*55h cm
> 2*75w mhl lights+ 3*32w fluorescent bulbs *10hrs/day
> Ph 6.9
> Kh 7
> Gh 7
> NO3 10mg/l
> PO4 .5mg/l
> T 26*C
> Fertilizer: Tmg 6mg/l *day
> Fish population and food to keep NO3 and PO4 values where they are.

Sounds good but no K+(a little from TMG). What kind of test kits are you
using for these measurements?
Try adding K2SO4. I would add K2SO4(about a rounded beer cap's full-4 grams
or so) weekly. Do water changes weekly. Prune the plant more often also. It
_might be_ too far to transport trace elements all the way through the
length of the stem from the roots in order to keep up with all the light and
growth. If it's getting more of it's iron from the substrate, this _might_
happen. It does grow better in rich iron substrates. Try adding a iron
tablet/ball under the plant. I always pull the plant up and cut off the
ratty lower root portion and replant the nicer tops. It is a beautiful plant
though. Both the K2SO4 and the iron tab under the plant will help no matter
what and not hurt anything. Try those and see what happens. K2SO4 is called
Potash of Sulfur here or potassium sulfate.
Regards, 
Tom Barr