Mata mata water depth? Too deep?

[cwindless]

I'd be very interested to hear how you grew it from a cutting, sounds like something I may like to try in the future

Truth be told willow trees just need water to root and you can root cuttings as thick as you can find. I was reading a bonsai forum where a guy rooted a fallen branch as big as his arm. He cleaned up the broken potion (clean smooth cut) threw it in a 5g bucket of water and he had a good sized bonsai tree in a very short time. They are extremely mold and rot resistant and have medicinal properties.

I took some cuttings from a local tree, threw them in a Gatorade bottle with water and left them in the sun. When the weather started getting cold in October, I took it and put it in my sump. I took an outdoor flood light (38w) and placed it close to the cutting. I leave the light on 24hrs a day. I just looked at it last night and it looks like it has spider mites, so I'm gonna have to remove it in order to treat. They are thirsty trees and extremely fast growing.

If I had better lights and there was a little more nutrients I think it would have exploded. It was free to collect and start so I couldn't beat it. People use Mangrove trees all the time especially in SW applications for nutrient export. They die after a while in freshwater because they can't get some of the micronutrients that are found in the sea water. Willows are typically found on river banks and ponds all freshwater so I figured it was a better option to do the same thing.

 

[enjetek]

everything said in post 16 is spot in with my care for my mata mata before i sold them. had them in a standard 240 and they loved moving around for fish especially at night.

 

[enjetek]

 

[cwindless]

This was my attempt at capturing my girl floating across the top of the tank. She is trying to catch the last remaining feeder in the tank.

 

[Woefulrelic]

Very nice,thank you for sharing your photos.I have wondered why mata matas don't enjoy the same amount of popularity as the Fly River turtles.

Sub 6.5 ph would exclude a lot of us from keeping them.

 

[cwindless]

Sub 6.5 ph would exclude a lot of us from keeping them.

You have to figure out ways to get the pH down. I use catapa leaves(Indian almond leaves) and peat moss. My pH out the tap is around 7.3 I don't pre treat it but I keep the peat and catapa leaves in sacks in the sump. I add change peat at water changes and replace the leaves when they degrade alot. I just moved from Texas which the pH was 7.8. I used an RODI unit for water. I have read how it can cause problems by not offering a buffer, but I never had a problem, it is possible. You may need more peat or catapa leaves than I do or may have to age and prep water in advance, but where there is a will there is a way.

 

[enjetek]

use catapa leaves and driftwood. easy sauce. also you can use the peat moss granules (if i remember correctly) and just leave it in the tank.

 

[Woefulrelic]

I was trying to state that their requirements keep them from being as popular as FRT. Most of us keeping monsters can't feasibly lower pH nor do most of us have a reason. If one turtle enjoyed more success in a wider range of conditions, it's not exactly shocking. Add in that they come from a closer proximity to Asian countries so they are more available especially in the earlier days of the hobby. Playing with water chemistry tends to be fruitless when you drip a quarter of your volume a day.