How to Grow Red Mangrove Sprouts in My Saltwater Aquarium

Acquire red mangrove sprouts from a local retailer or online source. Ascertain the salinity of the water where the sprouts have been growing. Match the saline levels in your marine aquarium with those of the sprouts' origin. Place a couple of inches of fine sand or mud as substrate in the bottom of your tank. Ensure your tank is well established for a couple of weeks before introducing sprouts.

Tie your sprouts gently to a small PVC pipe about halfway up using soft, flexible gardener's tape. Submerge the end of the PVC in the substrate in your aquarium so that approximately one-third of the root end of the sprout is submerged in the water. Gently slide the sprout up the pipe little by little as the root systems begin to develop. Over several months you will see strong supporting roots begin to develop above the water, creating the distinctive aerial prop roots that red mangroves are known for. Planting the sprout directly into the substrate will not allow these roots to develop. Leave the tank lid off the tank to allow the sprouts to grow up and out of the tank. Any size aquarium will work when starting sprouts, but you will have to replant in a larger aquarium as they grow if they outgrow the beginning aquarium.

Mist the leaves of the sprout with a spray bottle daily with clean, fresh water to allow the plant to purge the excess salt in its system. Do a partial water change every couple of weeks using overflow water from your refugium or protein-skimmed tanks to provide nutrient-rich water to feed the mangroves.

Provide lighting 12 hours a day using bright, daylight-spectrum bulbs from a source outside the tank such as a lamp or overhead light. Trimming and pruning of the sprouts is unnecessary because they grow so slowly. You can trim the mangroves when they reach the height you desire. Reef-safe fish can be kept with mangroves.