Reviews - Rotala rotundifolia/indica -

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Rotala rotundifolia/indica - Rotala rotundifolia/indica -

Reviews	Views	Date of last review
3	1469	Thu July 3, 2008

Recommended By	Average Price	Average Rating
100% of reviewers	$2.00	9.0

supersize	supersize	supersize

Description:

Common Name: Rotala rotundifolia (indica)

Scientific Name: Rotala rotundifolia (indica)

Light:Medium to Very High

Co2:Not essential to growth

Level of Difficulty: Easy

There is some confusion regarding the name of this plant. There are two very closely related plants, R. rotundifolia and R. indica and the average aquarist will have difficulty in deciphering between the two as they are remarkably similar in appearance, save for minute differences. Commonly, this plant is merely refered to as “Indica” but momentum is growing in making the distinction clear between the two.

This is a fast growing stemplant from Southeast Asia that gets its name from its emersed form: the leaves are quite rounded when emersed and “rotundifolia” (rotund foliage) implies the roundness of the leaves. When submeresed, however, the leaves become thinner and elongated.

Although this plant will survive in lower light levels, it will not display its vibrant pinkish red hue unless it is well lit. When light levels are not optimal, the plant becomes leggy with larger intervals between sets of leaves and will remain a greenish color. In higher light, the plant will develop a hue ranging from pink to orange to red, depending on conditions. Lower nitrate levels and higher iron levels will intensify the coloration of this plant. Co2 is not essential to growth but is necessary for growth to be optimal.

This plant is widely available, inexpensive, and makes very few demands on the aquarist. These factors make it an excellent choice for the beginner although this plant is largely used and appreciated by experts as well.

Propagation is simple. Use a pair of sharp scissors to cut the tops off of the stems. The stems can either be replanted in place of the previous bottom section, or they can be discarded or used in another area. The cut bottoms of the stems will regenerate many sideshoots where the tops once were. This method, of pruning the tops off and leaving the bottom portions intact, promotes dense, bushy growth. In time, however, the bottoms may become leggy and root-covered and it is best to replace them with the tops once this begins to happen.

Author

Balloon Fish
Super Fish

Registered: July 2004
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 3025

Review Date: Sat September 3, 2005

Would you recommend the profile? Yes | Price you paid?: $2.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	easy to find plant, great starter plant (if you have enough lighting)
Cons:	easy to stunt

This is a really popular stem plant and at first i didn\'t intend to buy it but i had mistaken it for moneywort because the leaves were still in their emersed form when i first bought it which resembled the leaves on moneywort a lot. Since i got the plant i just decided to keep it instead of returning it but i have found it doesn\'t really like hard water because it was stunted a few times and the new leaves stayed really small but not for long because this plant grows at a good rate and i just clipped off the stunted parts. Some people have told me that the stunting was caused by hard water which is what i have but it could also be because of a nutrient deficiency that i wasn\'t aware of which sounds more likely because all the new growth are healthy leaves.

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echoofformless
Large Fish

Registered: September 2005
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 749

Review Date: Fri February 3, 2006

Would you recommend the profile? Yes | Price you paid?: Not Indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	Grows quickly, very pretty to look at.
Cons:	Can become too thick.

This plant has been very good to me in terms of making for wonderful background to hide equipment, and look really pretty while doing that job. It grows swiftly under my 3wpg pc lighting, and I have been spreading the cuttings into almost all of my other tanks.

It does require frequent pruning in that its thickness shades out the lower portions of the plant and makes it a bit stemmy and leggy. But with each pruning I get a handful of new cuttings to plant and make my little jungle even more lush. Wonderful plant.

ishar
MFT Staff

Registered: July 2007
Location: Hamilton, ON.
Posts: 1180

Review Date: Thu July 3, 2008

Would you recommend the profile? Yes | Price you paid?: Not Indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	Easy, fast grower, can get quite pink
Cons:	Stems can get 'hairy'

This plant can grow in a variety of situations- ferts or not, CO2 or not, medium-low light to high light- but it really flourishes under good lighting, CO2 and good fert levels. With this optimum situation the leaves grow long and bushy and close together, and with a beautiful pink hue to them. They make a good thick bunch in the background of the tank, without being too dark a red as to draw your attention, but enough red to give variation to an otherwise green tank.

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