# looking for the name of this plant and how to take care of it



## carlos puron (Jun 9, 2013)

I did a thread asking for the name of this plant my gf bought it for my aquarium but she didn't ask at least for thw name of it so I'm looking with the experts in here it should be a low to medium light plant since it's been growing with led light but now I found out that if you pla t it in the sand the part in the sand dies but not the whole plant that part gets darken and rip off so now its floating so if any one knows please help me


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## Mo (Mar 15, 2012)

It could be Rotala Rotundifolia or Rotala indica, it looks like Rotala indica.. They have almost identical needs so here's a care guide about them that I wrote a year ago











Common name - rotala rotundifolia
Proper name - Rotala rotundifolia
Lighting needs - Moderate to high, but has been known to grow well in lower lights as long as it has proper Co2 and fertilizer additions 
Temperature range - 65 - 85
Category - stem plants
Growth rate - fast in higher lighting
Hardness - 2-15
pH - 5.0 to 8.0
Difficulty - some what easy, but beware when first adding it to your aquarium as it has been known to shed lots of leaves during the first week
Origin - Asia
Position - mid ground to backround, sometimes if it is even trimmed correctly it will look magnificent in the fore ground
Can be grown out of water - In My Experience it can be grown out of water so. yes.
Needs added fertilizers - No but will Benefit from it
Needs added Co2 - No but will most certainly benefit from it

Bio - this beautiful Aquarium plant is the best choice for almost any aquarium for lots of reasons but mostly because of its beautiful long, slender leaves that can even turn the loveliest shade of red. It is also very hardy for such a little delicate stemmed plant, It has grown in so many bad conditions for me, ive had it grow successfully in a 1 gallon, unheated tank. they help so much for quality, but dont depend on these for ammonia removers as they wont do the full job. From having this plant in my tank for so long i have found that it adds a layered look to the tank, it looks spectacular in the back round or mid ground for these specific reasons. If you can provide these every few requirements then you should definitely get this nice little plant here


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## carlos puron (Jun 9, 2013)

Sounds like it specially for the part of the red leafs but how do I place it in my tank because the part that I put in the sand gets black and peel off should I attached to a rock or something ?


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## Mo (Mar 15, 2012)

I just weighted it down and dropped it in the sand, never had a problem with it rotting so sorry, I can't help you with that


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## carlos puron (Jun 9, 2013)

Thanks at least I have a name to start doing some research could it be that they grew it up outside of water and that's why that's happening ? What do you think


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## Mo (Mar 15, 2012)

Hmm.., maybe, or it could be that there near the soil and getting an insufficient amount of light


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## carlos puron (Jun 9, 2013)

Yeah but it wouldn't keep on growing and it's growing now looks different and you can see the new leafs coming out and it's rotundifolia I just checked trough Google so I'll do some research on what's wrong with the plant thanks for the help


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

If I may ^_^

The leaves look too big to be of a rotala species. Additionally rotalas tend to grow multiple leaves from the same level of the stem in a fairly even fashion, whereas the pictures show a plant with leaves in more of a spiral staircase formation.... 

I'm guess it's one of the ludwigia or hygrophila species, more likely the hygro, judging by it's coloration....

By the way mo, you have a wonderful profile there, mind if I use it ? 

edit:
looked again and noticed that the leaves are paired  Rotala rotundifolia tend to have leaves in triplets~
Do google some images of Sunet Hygro and see if the it resembles your plant


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## Mo (Mar 15, 2012)

Could it be Hygrophila polysperma? Now that I take a closer look it looks like an older plant I used to have. And it's fine if you use it


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## Mo (Mar 15, 2012)

common name- dwarf hygrophila, hygrophila polysperma

proper name - hygrophila polysperma

origin - asia

category - stem

care level - extremely easy

lighting needs - moderate-high, it will turn a beautiful redish color almost like a sunset in higher lighting

temperature - -85

position in aquascape - mid to backround as this can get fairly tall, it grew from a couple of inches to 1 foot within a few months for me

pH - it is adaptable to most conditions so really doesnt have a specific range that this plant should be in

hardness - is adaptable to most conditions so really doesnt have a specific range 

propogation - small cuttings from the stem itself will grow very fast in the right conditions, but it may loose the base leaves when adapting after being cut

needs added Co2 - No, but this plant will thrive with it as will lots of other plants

needs added fertilizers - no, but this plant will certainly benefit from it as will lots of other plants, and if you do decide to add fertilizers, use liquid ones as with root tabs they will become useless because this plant is a heavy root runner feeder

bio - This species of hygro is probably one of the best "beginners" plants, as it can be grown in the most unfavorable conditions like low light, an imbalance in nutrients, minimal amounts of Co2 and extra nutrients, and low or high ph's. it is a most favorable aquarium plant that i dont see often here in texas..... other than in the lakes, streams and rivers. but it is easily obtained in other places so youll most likely have lots of luck finding some. this plant is very attractive and has been known to turn an almost sunset red in the right conditions. dwarf hygro is not the best plant for fry hiding unless you plan on putting it in a bush but still looks good either way. it will help with algae problems, and excess nutrient problems also as it will take away and suck up all the excess nutrients that are provided in the aquarium, meaning that there is nothing left for the algae to survive on. so for that reason i would recommend it for aquariums that always have algae problems as a result of lots of sunlight entering through the tank


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## carlos puron (Jun 9, 2013)

The sunset hygro that I found on google has lines well marked i n the leafs and in this plant it doesn't look ike those I just googleddwarf hygrophila and looks more like the one one from Wikipedia site I'm still wondering how to plant it in the aquarium without problem like the ine its happening now I'll post more pics once I get home from the rotten part


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## carlos puron (Jun 9, 2013)

This is what I told you about the plant still not sure on why and how to avoid that


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

the plant is most lukely adjusting to your water conditions. I do suggest to let it float until it grows healthy new leaves and maybe lose the old ones. It should send roots down towards the substrate, when it looks healthy and ready to be planted i would plant it in the substrate again


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## carlos puron (Jun 9, 2013)

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## carlos puron (Jun 9, 2013)

I'll let them float for a while then cause leafs are growing that means nothing is wrong with it
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## carlos puron (Jun 9, 2013)

As you said they're just adapting this one didn't have the rooten problem and it still growing I saw a couple of the floating ones and they have root so it's just time


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## peachii (Jan 6, 2013)

The stems look thick, I would guess it is adjusting from being grown emmersed (out of water) to the different submerged form. When you get plants grown out of water, more than half of them normally melt and rot away and sometimes take months to look as they should in an aquarium.

If you are buying from hobbiest, most times you have no melting or issues but buying from Plant stores / online 90% of the plants are grown emmersed and have to adjust to your tank and water when you get them.


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## carlos puron (Jun 9, 2013)

It is dwaft hygrophilia I went to the store and that's the name that they have for it on another question I just found snails in my tank should I leave them ? The biggest one is this one so the rest shall be the same kind right? I just don't want to have a snail infestation cause they seem to reproduce fast


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

i reallly love snails as they are essential to my picosystems ( pico tank + eco system), so it's up to you  if you dont like them take them out! you can also crush them and see if your betta will eat it....


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Sure, leave them. They don't do any harm.


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## carlos puron (Jun 9, 2013)

Ok and what If I get over crowded
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