Help with Mangrove Fuge

[hubris007]

So, let's say i get a pot with 4 seedlings from the grocery store. They are potted in dirt/rock when i buy them.
Do i go home, and remove them from the soil as gently as i can? Perhaps remove them from the pot and submerge the roots in ro water to remove the dirt? Then i lay them out on newspaper and lightly spray them with water from my tank for a half hour or so and they're ready to go into the fuge?
I can then suspend them so that the roots are below water and the stem above. In that way, it should grow the roots down into the dsb and away we go, right?

 

[ScubaRaven]

Hubris... sounds like a plan to me! Where are you purchasing these mangroves from? Are they red mangroves? Keep in mind that more than likely, they will lose all their leaves as they adjust to being in saltwater. Just keep misting them every day to remove salt export, provide a light source and be patient. It might take as long as a month or two to see growth, but once they start, they will continue growing at a steady rate.

Rich Valentine

 

[Reefrunner262]

Sloooowwwwly acclimate them. They are very sensitive i have heard. Just be careful. I would at least put them in some sort of dish and water them very little with tank saltwater for a week-2 weeks to get them ready for the HUGE jump! BTW Ive ran into a brick wall with my design. But my Calcium Reactor arrived yesterday. Ill probly be back soon with more questions lol

Thanks for the Macro info.
Travis

 

[skylsdale]

ScubaRaven, do you have any shots of the 'groves beneath the surface?

 

[PRC]

I've also heard that mangroves are very sensitive to changes in salinity. I guess if I had to pay for them I'd probably acclimate them for a week or so just to be on the safe side. IME, however, red mangroves are very tolerant of changes in salinity. I've had several growing in pots in my backyard for close to a year now. Over the summer they get rained on almost every day so I don't bother to water them. When the rainy season ended in the fall I started watering some of them with straight old tank water and others with diluted salt water. I never saw any difference in there growth. They all continue to grow at a rate of about 3-4 leaves pre month. It makes sense if you think about it. In their natural estuarine environment these trees will experience significant swings in salinity throughout the course of a normal day as the tide changes and the fresh water influx increases or decreases.
I haven't moved any from soil to total water immersion yet but I'd expect Reefrunner's plan to be very safe. You'll also want to know what species they are since not all mangroves tolerate immersion. If they're Red's your safe otherwise it's probably a risky proposition.

 

[ScubaRaven]

hmmmm...shots of the root growth? No, but I'll try to take some this evening. Might be tough considering my mangrove refugium is behind my macro refugium but I'll see what I can come up with.

Rich

 

[ScubaRaven]

I have kept mangroves at salinity of 1.032 and all the way back down to fresh water. I honestly don't feel they are all that sensitive to changes once they are established. I also don't think that acclimating them is such a big deal. If they are fresh or brackish water derived, you can count on them going dormant no matter what you do. Atleast for a month or two. (bare minimum a few weeks)

 

[ScubaRaven]

I have kept mangroves at salinity of 1.032 and all the way back down to fresh water. I honestly don't feel they are all that sensitive to changes once they are established. I also don't think that acclimating them is such a big deal. If they are fresh or brackish water derived, you can count on them going dormant no matter what you do. Atleast for a month or two. (bare minimum a few weeks)

 

[ddoering]

I got some of the mangroves from the guy in Hawaii who sells them on Ebay, he was very prompt in responding to an email request about getting some mangroves, and they showed up fed express and all showed up with leaves and the roots starting.

My understanding is he gets them to sprout in freshwater, so you would want to acclimate them to full strength sea water so as not to shock them. I think they are a little more vulnerable to shocking when they are just sprouting, and have heard of people who just plunked them into full strength saltwater and they turned black and died after dropping all their leaves.

Mine are all growing, and alive, even under less than ideal conditions at the moment. They could probably use more lighting than I am providing.

Red mangroves export salt from their tissues by excreting it from their leaves, by accumulating it in old leaves that they then shed, and by preventing uptake of salt by means of magnesium pump in their roots. Watch your magnesium levels as the mangroves grow I think they will deplete it from the tank water.

Cheers,
Doug

 

[ScubaRaven]

Doug, you are away that more than likely, the leaves will fall off as the mangroves settle in, right? Oftentimes, the mangrove stalks themselves will begin to look quite sad which may last a month or two, but do not throw them out in any case. They will recover.

Sorry about not posted the pics of my mangrove root growth as promised guys... I have been working alot lately and havent had a chance to clear out my macro refugium (it's piped directly infront and to my mangrove refugium blocking the view) so I can take some pics. This weekend I'll have them up. If anyone else has shots of their extensive mangrove root development, please post a pic!

Rich Valentine

 

[PRC]

I'll try and get some picks of my mangroves' root growth up in my gallery. I don't know if you'd call it extensive but it seems pretty good since they've only been growing a few months.
And, like Rich says, definitely don't throw them out if they start to look a little sad. I've had some sprout leaves after being black and dessicated for weeks.

 

[ddoering]

Hi,

Yeah, I had one where the terminal bud turned black and it wasn't putting any more leaves, but the green stalk thing was still green.

So I pinched the top off and kept it misted and in light, and now it is sending two buds off the sides of the top of the green stalk part. It is growing a lot slower (no leaves), and there is noticeable difference between growth based solely on the amount of light. All other things are pretty equal in my case, and I have one that is sitting directly underneath the minimal lighting I am providing (that and they are by a window), and the ones that get the least light are of course growing painfully slow. The one with the most lighting is growing much faster. I can't see root growth, as I put them into sand substrate.

Once I get out of this apartment and can set up my 75g I will be making the mangrove sump and transferring all but a few of these guys to saltwater.

Also, not sure, but I wouldn't light the sump 24/7. I thought that plants needed a dark period for synthesizing some proteins etc. Maybe mangroves don't care, but I would probably go for a 16 hour light/8 hour dark cycle. If nothing else it will save me on electricity... just will need to go with opposite light cycle to the display tank to keep the oxgen level and ph from fluctuating.

Cheers,
Doug