mangroves?!

Mo2

Mo2

Member
I saw mangroves in the garden department at target. 3 beautiful stalks for 10 bucks plus vase. Anywayz, I was wondering, how do you acclamidate mangroves to saltwater? Can you just put them in saltwater? Do I have to slowly add salt?
 
If they were planted in potting soil or similar, then they will take some time to acclimate to saltwater, not to mention water in general. Do they have leaves yet? are they forming bark?

If you get them when they are still propagules (no leaves or bark) then they are easily adapted to saltwater.. that's were they are from. But as a mature tree, they take longer.

I would start off adding little amounts of water, but don't submerge the leaves. Slowly add salt to the water. TAKE YOUR TIME! over the course of months!

It is not uncommon for mangroves to go dormant when introduced into another environment...they look dead, but they aren't...they may come back eventually.

If you want propagules fresh out of saltwater, PM me in september and i will have some for dirt cheap!
 
I've actually bought some from Target and I just rinsed the soil off really well and plopped them into brackish water (1.004-5). Should probably have done it more slowly but oh well, they are still doing great months later.
 
I purchased 3 mangrove propagules about 2 months ago and placed them in a 10 gallon with 6 inches of substrate and incorporated the tank into my refugium/filtration system. One of the plants is just starting to grow something out the top. The other two have developed about 2 to 3 inches of darkened skin near the top. The stalk under and just above the water still looks the normal green color. Is there anything I should do about the darkened area?

Also, until yesterday my the lighting for the 10g was just an 18 inch "daylight" bulb. Probably 5500k or something. I just replaced the light with a 55 watt power compact, with 1 actinic and 1 10k tube. I have read that mangroves need reasonable lighting, but VHO's and MH lighting is far too much. Anyone with lighting opinions would be welcome. I have two spare VHO ballasts, caps and bulbs if more lighting is recommended.

Thanks
 
Ah, native Floridian diver to the rescue!. Mangroves are slow-growing trees. The propagules need patience. The bottoms are green, not brownish? Are they "fatter" than the tops (should be)? (no insult intended - just wonder if they are upside down) Assuming these are reds, not blacks, correct? Either way, raise them up a little out of the sand and see if you've got root growth. As long as they don't shrivel, just give 'em some time. Raising them out of the deep sand puts them in a more natural position for starting out; they don't generally get plunged deep into sand when dropping off of parent plants.
 
Another Florida Diver to the rescue!

the bottom of the Red Mangrove is brown and fatter than the top. the top part is green with a small point sticking out of it.. this is where the stem and leaves grow from.

<img src="http://www.goodmorningheartache.com/ebay/mangrove.jpg">

<img src="http://www.dannesdjur.com/bilder/rhizophora_mangle_1.jpg">
 
M'ellen. Just how deep into the sand/mud does the end goe when the pod drops from the tree?

I am about to pick up a couple of pods and was pondering how to plant then. I figured the shalllower they are planted, the sooner they will start to fall over and develop prop roots.

Fred.
 
Reds get knees, with a little encouragement. Blacks put up neat "snorkels". Either way, don't put em any deeper that the dark area. If you gently prop them up so they are kinda shallow in the sand, that will encourage reds to grow knees. Blacks sent up root "snorkels" regardless, so just deep enough so they don't fall over. Low flow in mangrove sump at first, then up it to encourage props. A tide effect (low/high) is the best for both, if you can manage that with timers and valves.
 
Cool, thanks. Why does flow encourage prop roots. I always assumed they were to hold the plant up. Sure looked that way from the mangroves I saw when I was in OZ.

I don't think it will be practical to set up a tidal system in the tank I want to set up.

Fred.
 
Props are defensive reaction structures to secure the maturing tree sapling against tidal surge. It can be further encouraged with light scoring (shallow and not long) in a couple places on the stem just above average waterline. Wait a few or 6 months for basic root development before attempting a couple scratches/scores or increasing 'fuge flow to any great degree. A lot of these puppies just plain don't make it in the wild, so you want to pamper them with little tricks like that. In the wild, they usually get washed up high and dry or way the heck out to sea, where they die either way...The mangroves you see out there are both very "lucky" and very old (40 footers can be a century).
 
Ah, gocha. Hmmm, gonna have to think about getting an extra pod or two and setting up a tidal tank as well.

Thanks again.
Fred.
 
tide emulation

tide emulation

If you want to plan for a tidal sump, Reef Madness makes a 2 sensor top off/evap controller that you might like. Mangroves would actually "appreciate" the fresh water input from a top off system to their sump/'fuge, especially if you "over clock" the return pump (with a timer/controller) a little to give a big sump/'fuge water level varience along with setting the "on" and "off" top-off sensors pretty far apart. Things are just darn handy anyway, and fine for mangroves and other salinity change tolerant speceis of plants when set up for normal operation mode....mention this one 'cause it's clever, affordable and close to bullet proof against accidental oveflows. (check sponsor page for link - sell them at Inland Aquatics, too, and some other good sites). DIY forum's got all kinds of neat ideas, too...
 
mellen said:
Ah, native Floridian diver to the rescue!. Mangroves are slow-growing trees. Assuming these are reds, not blacks, correct? Either way, raise them up a little out of the sand and see if you've got root growth. As long as they don't shrivel, just give 'em some time. Raising them out of the deep sand puts them in a more natural position for starting out; they don't generally get plunged deep into sand when dropping off of parent plants.
Click to expand...

When my plants arrived, they looked exactly like the 3 mangroves pictured in xcreonx's post. They did have some root growth when I received them. While two are doing great and have started some new growth, the other plant is starting to shrivel at the top. It has about 3 inches of shriveled area and seems to be gradually increasing. Anything I can do? What would happen if I cut the top shriveled portion?

Thanks,
Doug
 
Unless the shriveled portion is a rapid occurrence and mushy inside (take a shallow core sample with a cocktail straw or pipette), this one is just having a harder time acclimating.

As long as it is not real soft and has good root growth comparable to the other 2, just give it time.

If the shriveled area is- from your sample core- really mushy, gently wrap 2 layers of coarse weave plain cotton gauze to act like a moisture wick around that area on the outside - this is to discourage fungus. The saplings grow so slow anyway, it may heal over a semi-necrotic area with a little help like that and eventually catch up with its mates. Reluctant to say remove a mushy crown completely cause that may destroy the leaf generating cell mast;...a cut below that juncture in the stem, and you've beheaded the plant, so to speak. Better to discourage infection by wrapping gauze loosely around the damage, instead. Keep changing the gauze out for fresh until it dries out. Adding a small clip-on fan to the sump wall for air circulation will make this process fairly quick.
 
The fan alone may suffice, then. Your evap will go up, but tank temp will be better for these hot months. These little guys like lots of fresh air (like in the wild). If you have a top off system, they will definitely appreciate the influx of fresh water to their sump (another habitat emmulation method). Either way, definitely do your top off into their sump if not already doing it that way. I would point the fan across the sump and out the back, up as high as you can mount it (where the warmest, dampest part of the air column collects, in other words).

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=371205&highlight=mangrove

Sorry - can't believe I haven't posted this link yet here...
Just a suggestion for anyone wanting to do mangroves long term. With the above linked set up, they can grow tall and faster - they are attractive houseplants to display and much easier to care for out in the open. You'll notice margaritaman has a boatload of baby mangroves in there (I think they are a "black" Hawaiian species). This could be done very cheaply and attractively with a plastic houseplant tub, too, but the glass lets you see all the 'pods and other little critters you put in there. Mangroves are a good plant for 'fuges, but are slow growing and therefor slow nutrient exporters unless they are large or you have lots. If you just have room for a few, conside adding Magrita Grass (semi-emmersed species) or other marine vascular grasses like turtle or manatee grass (must be kept fully immersed). All of these grasses take patience to allow them to adjust to your 'fuge - might appear to die back at first, but root stock remains viable and new shoots will spring up in a few weeks to months. Otherwise, good ol' Chaetomorpha macro algae for more efficient nutrient removal.
 
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