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Echinodorus Reni - healthy, but VERY small.

Wisey

Wisey

Member
Joined
19 Jul 2014
Messages
1,062
Hi All,

My aquarium has been up and running for 4 months now and my Echinodorus Reni is extremely small. It was planted on day one and although it was at times shaded by the Limnophila H., I have trimmed that back and it has made very little difference to the height of the plant. It seems healthy, it's just really small, so I can't even see it as it is at the back behind the wood. According to the Tropica site, it grows from 15-40 CM, so I thought it would be ok.

This is mine:

ecdbc983e8a557eaac06ec3f02ebdc4f.jpg

And this is the pic on the Tropica site:

3.JPG

Pretty big difference!

I have a good layer of Tropica plant growth substrate, I have also added some flourish root tabs as I know it is a big root feeder and thought that might help. On top of that, I am dosing EI levels, the only deviation from EI is that I have divided my dosing out evenly through the week as that is the way that my dosing pump works. I therefore dose Macro every day at 17:00 and Micro every day at 05:00. It means I waste a little on Sunday when I do the water change, but I tend to add a bit extra in after the change.

My light did start out very low, a TMC AquaRay 1500 tile on at 20% intensity. I did have plant growth issues with it that low and have now built it up to 70% for 7 hours a day. My tile is quite high though, about 25 cm fro the water surface and therefore about 65 cm from the substrate. The tank was open top, but in the last couple of weeks has had a plexiglass cover added to stop jumpers, so that has probably reduced light levels getting through due to water on the cover.

Does anyone have any idea why this plant is so small please? It's only about 7-8cm high which seems really small even for a Reni. I'm about to have a change round at the back and get rid of the Limnophila H. and replace with something else, probably some bigger Echinodorus, so wondering what to do with the Reni, whether to keep it there, get rid completly, or maybe move it. The only place it could go where I could see it would be the foreground and that would be fine at its current height, but if it took off after the move it would then be too tall for its position.

Your thoughts and comments would be appreciated! Thanks.
 
Ech. Reni is one of the smallest, red Echinodorus. This is actually why it was chosen for Tropica stock-list (there are soooo many huuuuuge Echinodorus).
It is also a very toletant plant; thriving and developing colour in quite low-tech conditions but ofcourse benefitting from added CO2 and more light. In low-tech conditions it will develop slower and generally stay smaller - colour will be less bright, too. This is why hight specifications have such big interval.

The plant at Tropica-pic. was grown in medium or advanced conditions, If memory serves me. This means added CO2 and relatively much light.

Colour of your plant indicates, it is actually doing well, though the shading from Limn. probaply didn' really do it any good. I would really expect new leaves to slow and steadily grow taller as time passes. Final hight will then depend on your tank-conditions. It's
 
Thanks for the information, Mick.

The Limnophila was coming out anyway, so to give the E. Reni it's best chance I have moved it in to a more open position with no competition and now no shading from other plants. I'll give it a few weeks to get its roots established again and see how it gets on.

4b923fee1fd4de0fc1b16d6aadf4d3d2.jpg
 
- Just to add; some root-fertiliser will really make a difference to the plant. Like you said; Echinodorus are heavy feeders 🙂
 
I have Tropica plant growth substrate under the sand, quite a decent depth of it there, maybe 3 cm as the sand is deeper towards the back. I'm also supplementing with Flourish Root Tabs, I put another one in there right next to it this afternoon when I moved the plant.
 
What was the root growth like on it?

Unfortunately it's nigh impossible to pick up & move these types of plants without doing in the existing root structure so that plant needs to re-develop roots, so may need some patience.

I've got some E "Red Diamond" in another tank, not paying attention to the Tropica site information, I stashed it in back, expecting significant height/size 😳
Considering the level of shade it's doing alright but rather needs a rescue mission ... it's definitely not showing the degree of red/pink it's capable of.
 
Ech. 'Red Diamond' is actually also one of the smaller types of Echinodorus - but given very good conditions tbis one can grow quite big (60+ cm.). In lower light and no added CO2, hight and colour will be less, though.

Please realize that placing a plant in the "Easy (green)" category means the plant can grow in these conditions - not that it will develop its full potential. Most of the "Easy" plants will benefit from more light and added CO2 (not all, though).
 
alto said:
What was the root growth like on it?
Click to expand...

The roots were pretty good, some up to 7 or 8 inches in length. It was not going to be easy to replant the long roots, so I trimmed and will leave it now to get established. I realise I will need patience, something I don't have in abundance, but I will give it an opportunity. In its original position it was intended to be a transition between the hydrocotyle and the stems. In it's new position it is now the background plant, so I need it to get to a decent height or it will still be invisible behind the wood. I'll see how it gets on now it has no competition, but if its still tiny in a months time then I think I will replace with a larger Echinodorus.


Mick.Dk said:
Please realize that placing a plant in the "Easy (green)" category means the plant can grow in these conditions - not that it will develop its full potential. Most of the "Easy" plants will benefit from more light and added CO2 (not all, though).
Click to expand...

I do feel that my tank needs more light as my Alternanthera won't turn red, the Limnophila H. grew, but slowly and stayed green and the Echinodorus is really small. I hear of some people running the tile I have at a really low intensity otherwise they get algae, I'm up to 70% now, but I do have it pretty high, so it may be worth me either increasing the intensity further or dropping the tile closer to the surface of the water. I'm also considering putting my skimmer on to a timer rather than having it run 24/7, maybe run it in the night to off gas CO2 and also have it come on a couple of times in the day to remove any surface film, but try to keep more CO2 in water. I also have my spray bar causing quite a lot of ripple, so think I will drop that too. Now that the Aberdeen winter is on the way and the room is not so bright, I may also try to turn the CO2 on 2-3 hours before the lights rather than having it running from 08:00.
 
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