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LUDWIGA ARCUATA help

A

Anderwrw

Member
Joined
8 Dec 2011
Messages
55
Location
South Wales
I bought some of this about 2 months ago the picture on the Internet made it look really pinky red colour which I thought would look good in my tank but since planting it growth has been really slow and it's all turned green. I have two 39w t5 iquatics tropical lamps, co2 at 2bps and I'm using tropica liquid plant food 5ml once a week as recommended on the bottle any ideas on how I can help this along and try to get some of the colour back thanks to anyone who can help
 
It's quite a tough plant.

To be honest i cant really help. It's the age old debate of 'red plants redder' with no confirmed answers.

This happens to me with rotala rotundifolia. All i can say is, if it's growing, then live with it. :?
 
I have no experience with Arcuata but I have found with my Ludwigia Inclinata, and rotala rotundifolia the higher the stem reaches the more vibrant the colour becomes. I can only put this down to lighting intensity. When I trim the stem and replant the top the colour intensity reduces.
The jury is out on the lighting issue though, many believe it has nothing to do with lighting intensity, just in my "short" experience this is what I`ve witnessed. 🙂

I hope someone comes along with a definative answer because I would love to know, but as Mark says it is a bit of a ?
 
There are many things which affect the color. Also many plants got deep red even with 30ppm Nitrate too or more and with lower light. So it's hard to give a good guide.

But some plants like Ludwigia Arcuata is challenging. If you have less light this plant die off. But even with more light if i dose high nitrate ferts the color is not that deep. It's a very sloooow grower plant.

We keep it currently in a tank with 12ppm nitrate approx 4xT5 tubes 7 hours a day. Soft water and CO2 injection.
The photo not tells the truth, the color of the plant is much more deeper than it is on the picture. It's just one way to the success, but i am sure there are more out there.

6653746665_8433828bb3_z.jpg
Green Aqua - Showroom by viktorlantos, on Flickr

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Green Aqua - Showroom by viktorlantos, on Flickr
 
I think high light and low NO3 in the water column is key. It's one of those species that are 'naturally' green, and turn red if you get the 'right' conditions, like R. rotundafolia and Nesaea pedicellata.

The only time I had success with it was when I started the hobby, and I never dosed NO3, and had high light (4 x T8 with reflectors). Even then it was more an orange colour. In the same set-up I had a deep red R. rotundifolia.

It's not the best photo but it's the only one I have of this tank (circa 2003). You can see a few stems of the Ludwigia in the bottom right corner, and the intense red R. rotundifolia. I suspect if I didn't shade the Ludwigia so much it would have turned much redder.

Top-20-Aquascapes-by-George-Farmer-110.jpg
 
After making a few changes to my tank recently with new lamps and reflectors also using tropica fertz (while waiting for my ei powders off the misuses for Christmas) I today noticed the tips of my ludwiga have started to turn a pinky red colour so I'm hoping I may get the red colour I was looking for after all thanks to every one for the help and suggestions :thumbup: 🙂
 
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