mangrove questions

[taureandragon76]

Just picked up a couple of small mangroves for the brackish setup they are about 12 inches long. Right now I have them sitting in a cup of water.

Here are the questions

1. should I acclimatize them to the salt first?
2. whats the best way of positioning them in the tank?


I know that the main body of the tree shouldn't be in the water, I was thinking about either using suction cups to attach them to the side of the tank with just the bottom couple inches are in the water or suspend some fishing line from the ceiling(no canopy) and hang them so that again only the bottom couple inches are in the water.

Any suggestions and ideas would be greatly appreciated on mangroves:D

[Nick]

The main advice I can give you is to make sure the roots don't get too dense once they're established, apparently, they will get so dense over time they can bust tanks. Shouldn't be a problem for quite a while with them that small though.

[taureandragon76]

Ya a buddy of mine informed me of how you gotta watch the roots to make sure they don't bust the tank. I have also heard that they are pretty slow growers.

[Pufferpunk]

I believe they need a great deal of light.

[Jase]

I've heard of people putting them in their filter too...
you just have them for aesthetics, right? do the grow the big cool roots in tanks too?

[taureandragon76]

yes they will grow the big roots in the tank, not like in the wild but they will.

I did some research on them and it appears they only need a little light.

[Jase]

cool. well I'd like to see what you decide.

[taureandragon76]

I picked up two on the weekend, kinda small at about 12" now gotta figure out a way of getting them in the tank without the main plant touching the water.

[edmlfc1]

I have a few in my 28 gallon, only the leaves are out of the water and they are doing great. They are tall enough that I just set them down right on top of the gravel. Also on my saltwater tank I have some in an HOB filter and they are doing great, My 160 they are in an HOB filter and doing great. I don't have any floss or sponges in the filters with the mangroves. The only light they get are from the tank, I leave the lights off in the room about 22 hours a day.