# mangroves



## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Ok, won't make those of us biotopically correct people happy, but has anyone attempted using mangroves in a viv/paludarium with their frogs? They are the new thing for FW planted tanks, and of course work great for brackish and saltwater.


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2007)

I saw a set up where half the tank was freshwater terrarium/vivarium and the other half was sand and brackish water with mangroves. Astounding. This was about 3 or 4 years ago. I don't see how you can safely keep poison dart frogs with brackish water about.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

But the point of this is that many people are using mangroves in full freshwater planted tanks. So why not with dartfrogs if you want something unique?


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## Corpus Callosum (Apr 7, 2007)

What size tank..


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## sdrbball22 (Dec 26, 2007)

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/a ... /index.php 

Doesn't go into detail about what you're looking for but does mention it's possible for the red mangrove to be acclimated to freshwater. Of course I would think that means having to start it in a saltwater environment and slowly dropping the salinity. The tank would also have to be fairly large and allow for large roots. My input is all from reading though. I've never tried them with my reef tanks because of size. Hope that helps a little.


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## a Vertigo Guy (Aug 17, 2006)

Ive grown mangroves in straight freshwater before from seed pods from the start.


























However, once they begin to grow, DO NOT move them or disturb the root system AT ALL! I rearranged all of the plants above to maximize space and within a week all the plants I had moved withered and died. 

And as you can see, they do not neccesarily need bright lighting at all. Thats a single flourescent tube thats past its spectral prime.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

And I think the other thing to illustrate is that they get big (I mean, come on... they are TREES) and they aren't exactly slow growers either...


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## rain- (Jul 28, 2006)

As already said, mangroves can be grown in fresh water too. _Rhizophora mangle_, red mangrove, is one of those and you can find it from eBay and other places. And as also said and shown, they grow big and actually seem to grow faster in fresh water than in brackish/sea water. They are really cool in open aquariums and paludariums (or in a glass jar), but not good for small closed vivs.


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## Guest (Jan 1, 2008)

Well bless my green thumb, mangrove is pure freshwater. Cool.

Whats the likelyhood that one of those roots will rip your tank apart? Glass pane from glass pane.
If the root system is kept small, can you keep the plant small as well?


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

I understand in the fishkeeping hobby trimming is used to keep plants small, and to protect them from burning their leaves on the lights...or they are allowed to grow out of the tank.


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## rain- (Jul 28, 2006)

They are relatively sensitive to root damage, so it's not recommended to trim the roots (trimming a root now and then from an older specimen might not kill it though, but extensive trimming probably would do some damage).

This is how the roots look like after growing for a few months (the pink/brown parts were grown above the substrate, white parts inside the substrate), so they do tend to spread sideways, but I'm not sure if the roots are strong enough to penetrate the silicone. And even though the top grows relatively fast (or should I say that they get tall rather fast), the roots aren't as aggressive in my experience, it would take years and years for the roots to grow big enough to do some damage, I guess.

I usually keep them only half buried in the substrate, so it's easy to move them around. They also look prettier that way with some of the root system showing. I haven't had any of my mangroves die when I've moved them from one spot to another, even if they roots had been buried in the substrate. I've also accidentally cut some of the roots with no ill effects, but I do recommend being nice to the fragile new roots. 

Mangrove is a huge tree and even the seed pods are large (7-12 inches or so), so I don't think it's that easy to keep it small. At least not the regular bonsai-size. I've read that you can shape the mangroves much like bonsais by trimming the growth tip. I measured one of my mangroves and it's 24 inches tall with about 6 leaves and still growing straight up (and it's a young one).


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

They will do very well in freshwater. To be able to survive in saltwater, they actually 'perspire' (not sure of the proper botanic term here) the salt through pores in their leaves, which is then washed away by rain, etc.


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