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The genus Rotala always offers us
some of the most attractive of aquarium plants. And
with their ease of growth not only the more advanced
aquatic gardener can enjoy many species of Rotala;
they are also ideal for those of you just starting
out with your first planted aquarium.
From the family of plants Lythraceae, the genus
Rotala has the most species cultivated from this
family for the aquatic hobby so far. Other genera
within this family that are also often seen
available to us are those of Didiplis, Ammania and
Nesaea.
A very popular specie of Rotala is that of Rotala
rotundifolia both original and green variety. These
are very undemanding in the terms of light and water
parameters, and are easily propagated.
Then there are slightly more demanding of species of
Rotala, these will generally require higher levels
of illumination and the addition of carbon dioxide
to get the best out of them. And some species
requiring more acidic water conditions.
Some of the most popular of these slightly more
demanding species of Rotala are those such as Rotala
macrandra, R.najean, R.wallichii, and Rotala Specie
“pearl”.
Once the demands of many of these species have been
met a fairly fast growth rate can be observed. And
so it is not long before cuttings should be taken to
keep these species in shape and to the desired
height within your aquatic garden.
Rotala wallichii “long leaf”
This long leaf strain of Rotala wallichii is as
equally if not a little more enchantingly beautiful
than that of the original. It still possesses the
very fine and almost filamentous needle like leaves.
The colours vary from bright green through to pink
and red on mature plants, again alike the original
strain. And just as the original strain the leaves
are set out unusually in a whorl formation around a
thin flexible stem. The whorled leaf sets are very
rare for a member of the Lythraceae family. As most
species belonging to this plant family have their
leaves in pairs of opposites.
At each node the whorl of fine filamentous leaves
are made up of five to seven individuals. And
measuring up to the original R. wallichii the leaves
are about double the length.
Nyctinasty
Another interesting point of observation of both R.
wallichii and its longer leaved cousin is that they
perform the act of nyctinasty.
During the photoperiod the leaves appear as normal
just like any other plant specie with there leaves
outstretched in a horizontal position, capturing as
much energy from light as possible. As the light
fades and the photoperiod comes to an end for the
day. The leaves can be observed to move to a
vertical position. These movements are known as the
sleep movements or nyctinasty.
Requirements
Light: high light full spectrum for best results
PH: 5-7
Temperature: 18-28c
CO2: very beneficial
Substrate: fine grade nutrient rich
Propagation: stem cuttings and via side shoots
Growth rate: fast once established
Aquarium position: mid to rear zones. Bush feature.
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