managroves

[kjswift]

ok ordered some red managrove seedlings. they said they are freshwater and have to be acclimated. can anyone give some info on this process/care? thanks

[BA]

errr.....aclimated???oops...the ones i got i stuck right in SW, but they've grown fine....or maybe the guy i got them form already had them in SW..

[wkopplin]

Sounds to me like you need a separate tank that you gradually raise the salinity over a week or two.

[Tim Marvin]

wkopplin is exactly right. You could put a 10 gallon tank in the back yard with a very low salinity partially cover it so you don't get too much evaporation and wait a week or two until your salinity matches then put them into the tank.

[BA]

hey cool, thx Tim

[jrhein]

Are you suppose to float these on top of the water? And also there are some on EBAY for cheap cheap. I think. WHat is the going rate for these?

[Ram_Puppy]

remember m angroves get rid of excess salt by shedding leaves, so if your losing leaves thruogh acclimation, that is to be expected.

[Tim Marvin]

They actually excrete the salt on the leaves so you need to spray them with fresh water routinely.

I have floated them, but they seem to grow alot better if you can stick them into some substrate. You will need to keep the plant tip above, or close to the top of the water.

[RobertG]

What do you do if they are growing to tall, is there a way to make them root? Or say make a clone of them?

[Tim Marvin]

You can trim them, but you have to spare a few leaves. They will make clones once you let them mature. Problem is most people can't keep a mature 30ft mangrove in the tank.

[MikeP]

Mangroves grow faster in freshwater. They expend a lot of energy extracting fresh water in high salinities. If you want the cool looking prop roots you can use a tall stake to keep the stalk and top 2/3 of the roots out of water and as the roots grow down slowly raise the plant further up out of the water. They will also grow rooted of course but the coolest part is seeing the giant prop roots.