Madagascar Lace...

[fischfan13]

I picked up quite a few plants during our auction. One of those plants was a Madagascar Lace.
Every other plant that I brought home is thriving, except for this one. I did place it in my 55g Mbuna tank, so before you ask the answer is "yes", the ph is high. The ML is losing full leaves. I know that some plants go into shock, and I am wondering if this is the case.
I am trying to find out if I did anything wrong. For instance, do you place the entire bulb underneath the sand?

[emartin]

No the bulb does not go under the sand. It needs to be exposed to breath (like the rhizomes on anubias) unless you have a gravel substrate.

Btw, Madagascar lace is a favorite for mbuna :-). Not kidding, even my herbivore haps wouldn't leave regular Apongeton boivinanus so I can't imagine what mbuna would do to a madagascar lace plant...

[fischfan13]

My Mbuna leave all of the plants alone...and this includes the ML.

[emartin]

Really? I always heard the opposite when it came to Madagascar Lace and Mbuna... I remember my taiwan reef would occasionally eat small chunks out of my A. boivinanus too...

Anyway from what I remember Apongeton do like cooler water and more acidic towards neutral I believe I remember reading about them. So my guess is yours is going into shock as well since they aren't found in that kind of water chemistry natually.

Edit: Here's a link about them: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/myplants/176-Madagascar_Lace_Aponogeton_madagascariensis.html

[Julie]

Bill,

Mine did the same thing.. @ pH 6.6 Pretty much shocked it, and it's losing a lot of it's leaves. I put it under lots of light for now, and it seems to be making a comeback. In talking with Mark, he said it's pretty normal for that to happen, and just give it time.

Time I got, lots of light I don't! :neener: