Red Mangrove Question

[CodeToad]

I'm planning on keeping a few red mangroves in freshwater for a while to grow them up a bit before my tank is setup. I've read as much literature as I can find and I know I need to fertalize them since they will be in fresh water. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what type of fertalizer, also should I use distilled water?

 

[sjvl51]

Have you read this article? http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/ac/feature/index.htm

I don't think starting mangroves in fresh water would be a good thing because it will take months of gradually increasing the salinity to switch them over to salt water.

For fertilizer, I find Macro Algae Grow (from - http://www.florida-aqua-farms.com/ ) works for most of my plants - phyto, ulva, tang heaven

Distilled water has even less nutrients than tap water. I would just use the old salt water from your reef tank.

Vickie

 

[CodeToad]

I've been reading quite a bit. The mangrove seedlings I will be receiving have been acclimated and kept in fresh water, so like the artical said switching over to salt should be done over weeks/months.

I figure since they are already acclimated to fresh I will let them take hold and grow some roots before I start to slowly switch. I don't have a FW aquarium to use old nitrate/posphate filled water for, so I may try out some type of fertalizer. That site sells a 'plant fuel too' which seems to have the nitrate/posphates along with trace elements, that may be a good solution.

 

[saltwater sam]

I don't think it is supposed to take more three weeks to acclimate them to saltwater. My acclimation guide told me to acclimate my mangroves to saltwater over 16 days or maybe a little bit more, removing and then adding 1/8 of your containers freshwater and then adding proper salinity saltwater. As for fertilizer goes I use dirty water from someone who did a water change on their freshwater aquarium.

 

[brovo2zero]

Mangroves in the wild live in brackish water where they can have large amounts of fresh water or salt depending witch way the current was running and if there is any excess rain they can live in boath fresh and salt but i think the idear of swiching them from one to the other would be stressfull to the plant and it may drop all its leaves and die then again it might not ..

 

[jnb]

I gathered some pods and gave them away two years ago for xmas presents and with them gave some little fertilizer pellets

Long Story short and also based on my always having several vases growing Mangroves in fresh Water - just use tap water which has enough food for them - anything more and your water turns too green. When you get ready to put them in your tank you need to slowly - over weeks bring in salt till you get it to your salt water tank - Mangroves do not like much changes and will drop their leaves but will come back - still need the slow change or will die