[Ron Reefman]

I have 2 mangroves in the overflow of my frag tank for 6 months now and they are doing just fine with bare roots! I have one in my shallow reef tank and it has put roots into the sand. I had one tied up on the back glass about 6" off the sand and it grew roots down into the sand and looked like the typical proproot mangrove we see at the shore.

The red mangrove is very adaptive and will grow in just about anything. I assume (I know, a bad thing) that the better the soil, the better it will grow. But to be honest, unless you have a high mounted grow light, you may not want your mangrove to grow too fast. I let mine grow until the reach the light fixture and then start over. But then I get free mangrove propagules off the beach.