Why are my mangroves dying?

[karimwassef]

CN-39001 SW - Red Mangrove Propagule

 

[Fourstars]

These looked pretty bad when I got them. They love light.
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Hey, I figure out how to post!

 

[karimwassef]

Ok. I'm taking my CFLs down and replacing them with more LED strips.

 

[Fourstars]

Yeah, you need mangrove garden! Cool bush.

 

[ThRoewer]

I have one mangrove in my refugium and it's doing well for several months.
It primarily gets ambient light and so far I have never sprayed it with freshwater. It took a long time to get going with sprouting new leaves, but started growing roots pretty quickly. Another batch I got from another LFS isn't doing well at all.
If you have the chance to pick them out yourself at a store, pick the ones that have fresh roots over those with many leaves but no or only old roots.

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[karimwassef]

I'm going to try a transplant into fresh water with miracle grow in a sandy soil.

I hate giving up on them in my reef, but I need to do what's best for them.

 

[saltwater sam]

Mangroves will never thrive if they are not grown in substrate. They will not grow root hairs which they absorb nutrients with, they will only develop thick structural roots. Unfortunately Anthony Calfo's article has misled many people to think that this is a good way to grow them and it absolutely is not. Also, rapid shifts in salinity will cause osmotic shock and can kill mangroves rapidly.

 

[karimwassef]

Ok. So is it too late to put them in sand now?

 

[saltwater sam]

I would do still do it, they might still have a shot.

 

[fishfarmer]

I think your problem may be that they had already sprouted when you bought them. I've had good luck with unsprouted pods and once they sprout leaves/roots it's best to leave them alone.

I had one that was doing well for a while with several leaves and was attached to a rock. Once I moved it to another tank it gradually dried up and died.

The ones I have now I planted them where I wanted them and mist then every couple of days and have been training them with wire and trimming new growth. I've been doing this for a couple of years and haven't killed them yet.

 

[karimwassef]

I think your problem may be that they had already sprouted when you bought them. I've had good luck with unsprouted pods and once they sprout leaves/roots it's best to leave them alone.

I had one that was doing well for a while with several leaves and was attached to a rock. Once I moved it to another tank it gradually dried up and died.

The ones I have now I planted them where I wanted them and mist then every couple of days and have been training them with wire and trimming new growth. I've been doing this for a couple of years and haven't killed them yet.

Is there a remedy?