Neptune Aquatics

Can Mangroves grow in freshwater?

I'd like to move my mangroves out of my sump and into their own tank (or whatever) and replace them with chaeto.

Can they survive (or be acclimated to) freshwater? I could of course keep them in mature water-change water, but
then I have to watch the salinity and magnesium level (ie; dumping in a bit of epsom salts every once in a while), but
that's just one more thing to do.

Anyway, just wondering if they can live without salt or brackish water.

I recall riding a bus in Colombia and we hit a huge stretch of road where there were DEAD mangroves on either side for miles.
The government had built a road right in the middle of it. The mangroves on the ocean side didn't get enough freshwater
and the mangroves on the inland side didn't get enough saltwater! Though with my little mangroves, I could acclimate
them to fresh water a little more gently than just cutting it off.

V
 
Sorry Reefermadness... but I would say no. I found online that.... Mangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in tropical and subtropical tidelands throughout the world but only in areas that are frequently inundated with salt water due to tidal activity of gulfs, seas and oceans. Mangroves are able to thrive in salt water inundations because of specialized rooting structures (such as prop roots and pneumatophores), specialized reproduction (vivipary or live birth) and the ability to exclude or excrete salt. Mangroves grow exclusively in these tidal areas in large stands or groves to where these areas are referred to as their own ecological community, collectively called mangroves. In Florida, mangroves include four tree species: red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) and buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus). Each mangrove species has a different level of salt tolerance, which in part determines its location in tidal zones. They can take freshwater for a limited period - like when a swamp is flushed by flash water but this can only last a few eeks at most.... That is my understanding at least. I'm kinda guessing here but I'm pretty sure that Red Mangroves are what is commonly kept in fuges and such. There are a few people here on BAR that are plant "savy" and can probably speak with a little more assurity.
 
isee you copy and pasted from wiki answers...

this is from a mangrove conservation...
Do mangrove trees need salt to grow then?
No. They continue to grow with freshwater but more slowly. So, outside their specialised niche, they cannot compete with regular plants and are quickly overgrown.
http://itclub.vs.moe.edu.sg/competition04/entries/ynps2/adapt.htm

i knew that it can could survive...i was planning on going into the horticulture field of study awhile back...didnt work out as well as i had hoped
 
I have my doubts about them growing captively in freshwater.

I have seen them in the wild growing in brackish water and wouldn't doubt that over time they could adapt to a much more fresh water.
 
Well.... checking out a few more sights it is certain that not all mangroves are created equal ;)

Rhizophora mangle... specifically are known for their ability to survive in both Freshwater and Saltwater. Rhizaphora is most common in the Aquarium trade according to Jullian Sprung so that would be most applicable to this conversation. So I think the answer is Yes...
 
OK thanks guys. So basically they CAN, but will do better if I just use old-water-change-water (with some magnesium tossed in for their "salt pump"). I'll keep the salinity lower than regular saltwater.

Yes, it's red mangroves that I have. I think my problem with them is that I don't catch the leaves as they fall ... so the nutrients go right back into the water! I originally bought them to fight my hair algae, though they displaced some chaeto to do it.

However, they are still an interesting plant and not very common (I bought mine on eBay and a majority of them died :( but I still have a couple left...I'd like to preserve them so I'm not a complete eco-jerk for killing them all).

V
 
nice research...thats why i dont trust wiki answers...

using old water wouldnt b a bad idea either. didnt even think about that. just watch out though as the plant absorbs water than the salinity doesnt go sky high. mangroves have special pores than block out salt from being taken up. so you could risk hypersalinty.
 
I've kept them often over the years in my fuge and one thing that I have found that you must do is regularly rinse off any salt that builds up on their leaves... If you do not they usually die in my experience.
 
A fellow reefer told me a pretty cool trick for keeping these and not allowing the leaves to fall into the water. Basicly you just use a sheet of acylic with holes cut into it, stick the mangrove up through the hole and submerge the roots. the plastic keeps them upright and with the desired amount submerged, but also catches the leaves if they fall off so they never get back into the water.
 
[quote author=Roc link=topic=6547.msg84106#msg84106 date=1235520723]
A fellow reefer told me a pretty cool trick for keeping these and not allowing the leaves to fall into the water. Basicly you just use a sheet of acylic with holes cut into it, stick the mangrove up through the hole and submerge the roots. the plastic keeps them upright and with the desired amount submerged, but also catches the leaves if they fall off so they never get back into the water.
[/quote]

I like it....
 
yeah, sounds like a good plan! If I had a dedicated mangrove filter, I would try it. For now I'm going to try and keep them alive in their own tank or buckets. I have an old freshwater 37g tank with an "Eclipse 2" hood...so that hood would provide the lighting for them if I decide to haul that thing from the garage into the basement.

Is water temperature important? I know they are tropical, and currently they live in my nice heated tank...but if I put them in a tank/bucket with no heater, will they be OK? I mean it's not freezing, but it's not warm either.

V
 
ive setup it up before where they had a bin that would connect to the sump and keep the flow of water nicely in and out while keeping any possible leaf droppings from the tank itself. i might have picts somewhere if you want to see
 
I have several Mangroves growing in my freshwater planted tank for over a year now. Initially these plants came from a saltwater tank, and I just chucked them into freshwater. The plants protested by dropping all of their leaves and looking really sad. A month later, they all forgave me and sprouted new leaves.
 
Here at the store we have had over 50 Mangroves from Florida. We got them since they were sprouts and moved them to freshwater and some in saltwater! The ones we have kept in a rich soil and used our old fish water from our freshwater system we use to have setup. Now these things have roots on them I mean giant honking roots on them! They started just maybe 4 inches and now are anywhere from 14-24" trall with nice leaves. we got these over 8 months ago. They do need a lot of light though otherwise they get droopy! I brought about 15 upstairs for sale and some started to droop a bit due to light. So yes they will work in salt and fresh. The roots on the freshwater ones are about 8 inches long and they are super nice! :D
 
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