Red plants and fertilization!

Tyska

There is always a controversial debate about "reds" ...

So let me comment quickly here - what your friend told you is very commonly reported. Thus you will often hear people argue that to keep "reds" you need to maintain nitrates at a significantly lower level ...

So if you want a "simple" answer - then what your friend told you is commonly true.

However it is true only in the context of the "effect" - but not necessarily the cause.

It is also not universally true from one plant species to another ...

As you have demonstrated yourself - you have ammannia senegalensis growing well with developing reds in the coloration ... and I suspect that is with a strong fertilization routine.

There are so many variables in tank environmental conditions, water quality, water characteristics, light, and fertilization - that if you are having success, keep up what you are doing.

There are quite a few threads here in the Barr Report on keep reds ... but you need to read them closely to take into consideration other factors in the tank.

I think you will find that the general recommendation is to create an environment that limits NO3 ...

However, for many plant species, I attribute the "effect" more to the slowing of the growth rate. I can usually turn new growth bright green for any red plant by simply cranking up the light and CO2 to stimulate rapid growth.

In my personal opinion, this is why so many of the traditional "stem" plants that grow more rapidly are harder for most people to maintain in a brilliant red quality and still keep them healthy...

I prefer to study what the water quality conditions the particular species prefers ... then maintain that water quality (some species prefer software water) and a light level that maintains slow to moderate growth ... I've never *not* been able to keep red plants using this approach. Now that isn't always optimal for other plants in the tank, so there are always tradeoffs ...

Greg