As you can see, sometimes my plants grow into a mess. In the top left
hand corner is some Rotala rotundifola, in front is some unknown plant
i collected from the back, some hair grass, some glossotigma and some
chain swords. At the back you can see some darker red, that is Ludwigia
and nearby that is some Hygrophila polysperma.
The plants in my tank have been there since the beginning, except for
the Egeria densa, which i took out because it began to die, I wonder
if it was my acid tank waters.
The floating plants are made up of some wild collected water fern,
Azolla sp. and in the water there is microsorium pteroptus, which has
thrown out many a baby plantlet.
The plant is suffering a bout of hair algae, and it has worsened since
i fed the baby Kribensis some powdered fish food and forgot to do a
water change for a few days. I guess my phosphates must have shot up.
Otherwise I love the plants in my tank. They are growing well..
This is Rotala rotundifola. It is one of my favourite plants in the
tank, and i will detail what I know about it.
When I first received this plant from mail order, I looked like a green
round leafed plant, similar looking to a miniature version of pennywort.
It took about 2 weeks for the plant to settle in and begin growing,
and that is when you notice the beautiful growth as can be seen here
in the immersed form of Rotala rotundifola.
The plant benefits from strong lighting (for the pink), although it
is not necessary, and co2 injection is a must to see its growth. The
plant has quite an extensive root system, and will grow with vigour,
if some sort of substrate fertilisation is available.
Pruning of this plant should be limited to replanting the tops. I have
found that the point where the plant has been cut off does not tend
to regrow. To propagate, place both ends of a stem in the gravel. Each
leaf node will now become a new plant.
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