dead mangroves?

So i ordered 5 red mangroves from reef cleaners a long time ago. They looked great along with the rest of my coral shipment. I have had all 5 in my tank for months now. Only 2 of them have roots that extend about 3 inches from the plant. The three other mangrovees have no roots and in addition to this they are somewhat softer, brown/blackish. They have all been receiving light from the side of my 150 metal halide. The two with roots are very green still however none have sprouted any leaves.

Should i dump the three without roots or leave em in the tank like they are?

 

are u testing mag or dosing mag. often when mag is off the plants take in salt and become limp and growing stops. putting them in fresh water for about week has always got them healthier
then slowly adding salt to the fresh water be4 putting them back but ne who check ur mag levels

 

hmm... i have never heard of this. And im not testing or dosing mag. Just freshwater room temperature?

 

Mangroves need Magnesium. They use it for their "salt pump". This allows them to take in saltwater and strip the salt out. Without enough Magnesium in your water, they will not be able to pull out the freshwater from the saltwater.

 

so should i occassionaly just let them sit in a freshwater container for a few days during the week?

 

No, they're saltwater mangroves. Misting them with ro water (fresh water) can help them look better, but what he was saying is that your magnesium levels need to be close or at sea water level (which I think is in the neighborhood of 1350 ppm). Mangroves need the magnesium to grow as well. And when they sprout, u will see that the magnesium consumption rate will raise.

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well.... what are other benefits of dosing magnesium. This is going to require me buying a test kit/supplement. Considering im not dosing anything right now except occasionally calcium.... all my tank inhabitants are doing fine. Should i even be worried at all?

 

You don't really need to dose magnesium if u use a good salt mix and do regular water changes. By keeping your magnesium level stable, you also help to level calcium and alkalinity. All 3 ingredients are essential for good coral growth. But like I said, if u do regular water changes and don't have a huge amount of corals that demand higher levels on these 3 components, u should be fine. Usually sps corals or stony corals will use them, but so do other things like coralline algae or as mentioned before, the mangroves will use magnesium, nitrate and sillicates as far as I know.

On a side note, I just wanted to give u advice as far as the test kits go.... get the most important ones when u can. I would consider them in the following order: nitrates, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, phosphate and pH. They're good to have when problems come up, since usually other than your light fixture being too strong or not strong enough, most problems will be water quality related.
Also, be very careful if you're dosing calcium without testing. U should always test for whatever you're adding or trying to get down.

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Also remember that mangroves are very slow growers. It also helps to regularly rinse off there leaves with fresh water because they export salt through them. I always just dump my topoff water over them.Good luck.8)

 

and red mangroves dont need to be in saltwater they grow just fine in fresh water but i would not keep switching them in between the 2 that can harm the plant i only do it when mangroves become limp or sentt to me in bad condition .fresh water for them for a reef is only for last option for me