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Re: stellata update/revision
Paul Krombholz wrote:
>If the increased P does not stop the stalling out of the tips, try heavy
>doses of iron. E. stellata seems to require high levels of iron.
E.stellata is one of the most fascinating plants. I just started to keep it
again. Paul's comment above reminded me of my very first experience a few
years ago. An interesting piece of anecotal evidence:
I got one "green" stem of Es from steve dixon. It was a very healthy stem
with long but green leaves; that was ~3-4 years ago, before the needed N:P
ratio was discovered (i.e. relatively low N, with measurable P). When I put
this Es in my low nutrient tank, it grew rather fast and it soon turned
red. As I recall, I did not change my fertilization routine (at the time,
weekly additions of 15mL of TMG; biweekly water changes which introduce
.06ppm P, 1ppm N. and very occassional supplements of 1ppm N. ) This is a
70 gal tank where my plants turn very red. The interesting thing is that as
the new Es turned red, my red Ludwigia repens turned green!! I commented to
Steve that the Es seemed to have sucked one or more of the nutrients out of
my water column. Soon afterwards, the Es stalled like it does for most
people. Our subsequent conversations centered on N and P.... and we
concluded Es was a PO4 sponge. At the time, I didnt understand the color
effect on the Ludwigia.[I didnt make any measurements, not that they would
have helped anyway at the low and transient concentrations that we are
talking about].
Paul's comments reminded me about the potential role of iron. We know that
iron can help turn a green plant red. My first iron sulfate dosing to a
tank turned Crytocoryne affinis leaves from green to a copper color. This
effect may be easier with low macros or when the plant is growing more
slowly. So, it could be P _and_ Fe for the Es. P to keep it growing, and Fe
to help with color?
Neil
PS. Hopefully, the artists are listening.... so that they can take
advantage of some technical stuff to make their tanks look pretty :-)