Mangroves: Would you like a tree in your tank?

[skydirt]

This is great information. I'm thinking about buying a large Lagoon style tank and was pondering the idea of putting mangroves in it. In lieu of deep sand, I am thinking about some type of clear plastic container to plant the mangroves in, surround by rock to hide it. Haven't seen anyone attempt this in a display.

Thats what i actually done. i used plastic bucket and built and cemented rock wall and sand, filled the middle with sand and planted mine. I do spray they leaves with RO water and it's growing great. Starting to get prop roots. I'm about to redo it with 2 other mangroves out of my frag tank. the one it's in is a waterbox 105 frag thats tied into the main 400g system. Forgive the terrible photo, if this gets much attention i will get better pics when i get home.

The tree is about 30 in now i believe. This is when i was in the process of changing things around

 

[Eric R.]

I would love one, cant seem to source them around where I live

Getting propogules are relatively inexpensive and they handle shipping well. I got 4 with roots and some leaves off of ebay, they were delayed a couple days and not packed well, so one didn't make it, but the other 4 did, and 1 of the 4 is doing incredibly well still.

 

[Eric R.]

I have a little forest in a pot plumbed to my reef tank. Started with propogules July 2019 (3 years 4 months ago)

Never once sprayed the leaves off, from what I’ve read it’s not needed for the red mangrove tree. A TikTok video tour of it I put together just now for this discussion: Love my mangrove soooo much!

TikTok - Make Your Day

www.tiktok.com

Nice looking mangrove! I also like all the other critters you have living in the pot with them. What's that floating red sponge looking thing in the video?

 

[Eric R.]

Thanks for sharing! Haven't been able to answer these online so I appreciate that. When you say no leaf prop, you're talking about picking one up that has not created the bud and leaf on top?

Very new to this and just trying to understand

Yup, in case you didn't pick this up yet, prop is short for propagule which are the seed like pods mangroves grow from. If you get them without any leaves sprouted, they are supposedly easier to acclimate, which makes sense to me as they haven't been grown out in freshwater yet, they were probably just collected on the beach and then sent to you or your supplier. I've been growing mine out for 2 years in FW and plan to try acclimating slowly when the time comes.

 

[Eric R.]

I have a classroom reef system that I’m running with no ‘filtration’. Just a lagoon tank featuring 4 mangroves, manatee grass, turtle grass, and Halimeda.

There is a lot of natural light/direct sunlight, so they are doing pretty well and growing about as fast as I would expect mangroves to grow.

Very cool! I'm also a science teacher, I have mine is a bucket at school in the moment, they had been in the greenhouse until recently. This is along with a 29g FW planted tank and a 13.5g mixed reef tank in the classroom. I'm going to setup a macroalgae pico this week, along with a 4g pico for the mantis shrimp that's currently living in the 13.5g tank

Impressive work with the seagrass! I have yet to see anyone really do this successfully long-term.

 

[Eric R.]

Good to hear, I never tried as I had ready you had to spray th leaves.

That's for black mangroves, which excrete salt through pores in their leaves. Red mangroves, which are the species most people keep in their reef tanks, exclude salt from entering through their roots, but they do need magnesium for this.

 

[Pridedcloth3]

I tired it with no luck at all. Bought 3 and they all just withered evens though I followed instructions about showing the leaves and only submerging the roots. Would've loved it but didn't go my way.

 

[Eric R.]

I tired it with no luck at all. Bought 3 and they all just withered evens though I followed instructions about showing the leaves and only submerging the roots. Would've loved it but didn't go my way.

Did yours have roots/leaves and did you put them right into full salinity saltwater?

If so, could try starting with propagules without roots or leaves and seeing how they do instead.

 

[bladeshadow]

Nice looking mangrove! I also like all the other critters you have living in the pot with them. What's that floating red sponge looking thing in the video?

Thanks! Lol it’s literally a nylon scrubby pad. It’s purpose you would ask? I dunno, I was cleaning the pot a few years ago before critter/algae balance happened… and I just left it there? I guess I’m afraid if I take it out now there will be a disturbance in the “force”!

 

[bladeshadow]

This is great information. I'm thinking about buying a large Lagoon style tank and was pondering the idea of putting mangroves in it. In lieu of deep sand, I am thinking about some type of clear plastic container to plant the mangroves in, surround by rock to hide it. Haven't seen anyone attempt this in a display.

I think that’s the way to go (a deep pot inside the tank). Gives the tree the best health and isolates the root system from your glass. I don’t know this for sure without X-ray vision, but I’m pretty certain the deep sand under my mangroves is completely riddled from top to bottom with roots (much like you would see in any potted plant after a while) making the deep sand bed immune to the issues of a stale deep sand bed in a non planted aquarium. I don’t really see my mangroves as a part of my coral layout but rather an additional ecosystem add on attachment to the reef display.

 

[Moomee]

After reading through this thread, I decided to check on my propagules that have been in my sump for about a month. I was recently thinking they might be dead since I haven't seen any shoots since I bought them in early October. I had two pleasant surprises when I pulled them...really nice root growth and what I think are shoots about to pop out!

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Very cool! I'm also a science teacher, I have mine is a bucket at school in the moment, they had been in the greenhouse until recently. This is along with a 29g FW planted tank and a 13.5g mixed reef tank in the classroom. I'm going to setup a macroalgae pico this week, along with a 4g pico for the mantis shrimp that's currently living in the 13.5g tank

Impressive work with the seagrass! I have yet to see anyone really do this successfully long-term.

The turtle and manatee grasses are pretty new, so we’ll see. The plants are the only nutrient control, so maybe that will help the grass. I had some going last year and it was doing well but crashed over the summer due to my own neglect.

I also have a 170 gal river tank featuring native/local fish, turtles, tadpoles, crayfish and plants. It’s a fun tank, and the plants grow like crazy:

Sept:

Nov:

As is the case w/ the reef, the plants are the only ‘filtration’

 

[Pridedcloth3]

Did yours have roots/leaves and did you put them right into full salinity saltwater?
If so, could try starting with propagules without roots or leaves and seeing how they do instead.

Yep had leaves and roots I was told told was the best way to get them

 

[DonutKing]

My tank is based around the interplay where a fringing reef meets the mangrove swamp and encroaching beach. The tank is imperfect, there’s a lot of turf algae which the massive urchin is slowly eating away, but the SPS and mangroves are happy!

 

[Piscans]

My tank is based around the interplay where a fringing reef meets the mangrove swamp and encroaching beach. The tank is imperfect, there’s a lot of turf algae which the massive urchin is slowly eating away, but the SPS and mangroves are happy!

this is a really well done tank, i would keep it just the way it is!

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

After reading through this thread, I decided to check on my propagules that have been in my sump for about a month. I was recently thinking they might be dead since I haven't seen any shoots since I bought them in early October. I had two pleasant surprises when I pulled them...really nice root growth and what I think are shoots about to pop out!

Do you have those growing hydroponically in a filter sock?

That just gave me an idea.

 

[Moomee]

Do you have those growing hydroponically in a filter sock?

That just gave me an idea.

No, they were in solo cups full of sand, which seemed to work fairly well (if a little janky lol).

Curious to hear your ideas.

 

[Doglips56]

I've always loved the idea of keeping a mangrove in your tank or at least in a frag tank or refugium. I actually have kept one in a fuge before. I just like the look of it!

My mangrove was in my tank but I just upgraded to a taller tank so it’s in the Refugio section. Growing like crazy down there, guess it likes the cheato light

 

[vinvinaa]

I wanted to try when I built my new tank in the summer this year, but I cannot find mangrove propagules in Hong Kong. I dropped the idea eventually.

 

[Rocketfish]

I have no idea the value, but on an impulse I bought a piece with roots and the beginnings of a leaf poking out at Petco of all places.

I put it in a bookshelf tank near a window that I use to quarantine corals and fish, but the urchin keeps picking it up and dragging it around the tank!