Can't Keep Plants Alive!

[Meggie :)]

Hey all...I need a bit of help...in my ten gallon I cannot keep my plants alive! Well one java fern plant is doing okay, my other one is like it's been for a long time, no change...it's leaves are half brown and dying, and it's been like that for months with no changes, no new growth...my java moss is okay...not growing like weeds, like I've always heard is should....my banana plant has always had four healthy leaves but now it only has one and the other ones are dying, new ones keep growing in and old ones dying but there is only one that's healthy at a time and overall the actual "bananas" have worth of a brownish tint to them...my horwor, which is supposed to be one of the easiest things to keep, is turning yellowish, not healthy looking...some of it is falling apart...Pygmy swords look fine but don't seem to be growing/spreading...

Tank: ten gallon
co2: none
Lighting: t8 I think, 5500k, 15 watts I think, not sure
Ferts: pferts nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, micros every other day
Substrate: caribsea black sand

What am I doing wrong? What can I do?

Thanks,
Megan

 

[minnnt]

Remove all the brown leaves from the Java Fern and it should encourage it to throw new leaves. Also if there is any young plentlets growing on the ends of the leaves remove them and reattatch to some more wood. I would say invest in some Crypts, they are extremely easy to grow and after the initial melt as they get used to your water conditions you will be laughing! No experience of the bannana or the pygmy swords, so i can't really help.

Also, do you mean 15w rather than 1500? lol.

 

[Meggie :)]

haha wow yea 15 watts...I fixed it And forgot to mention, the light is on 6-8 hours a day...if I removed all the leaves on the java fern with brown though, there would be none left...and also forgot to mention, I have one little crypt in there (which the person at Pets Inc gave me for free) and it seems to be doing rather well...Any idea about the hornwort?

thanks for your reply

 

[minnnt]

Increase the Crypts ten fold. You will thank me for it

The Hornwort will do better as a floating plant rather than being planted in the substrate.

Maybe remove some of the leaves and split the Java Fern into two bunches. Mine did alot better once split. Stick with 8 hours and maybe look at increasing your fertiliser dosing.

 

[Meggie :)]

Okay I will start dosing with fertilizers everyday...What should I do with the hornwort that I have now then? and if I remove it, or turn it into a floating plant in this tank, what do you suggest I put where the hornwort is now? (This is what my tank layout looks like right now) ...what kind of crypts, how many, where do I put them? any other kind of plant or change in my tank you suggest?

Thanks for all your help!

 

[minnnt]

I really like that Meg. The way you have the Anubias tied to the wood looks excellent. You could replace the Hornwort with Cabomba Caroliana if your water isn't too hot.

As for the Crypts, they look far more effective in a big group. Something that was pointed out to me by Ian and Caz a few months back and i must admit they were 100% correct. They grow better like that also. Something like Wendtii Brown/Green would work great in your tank and will fill up the gaps nicely. A smaller variety would be Amicorum and a taller variety would be Bullosa.

 

[Meggie :)]

Thanks so much! What is a good temperature for the cabomba? It is freezing here right now...like a 50 degrees...so I can make the temp pretty much any temp necessary...Where should I put the crypts?

Thank you!

 

[minnnt]

Mine thrives at around 24-25 degrees celcius, but anything above and it suffers.

As for the Crypts i would fill the right hand side of the tank out with them, then plant around the rock and fill the back in too.

 

[Meggie :)]

Alright! Will do! Next time I go to pets inc I will look for them, but if they don't have many crypts there I will order them online

Thanks for all your help!

 

[minnnt]

Unsure if the US is the same, or indeed your LFS, but here in the UK they come in pots, and usually around 6-8 plants in each pot if choosing Wendtii for example. I bought 3 pots of the Amicorum and came out with 37 plants iirc.

 

[Meggie :)]

Thanks! So cabomba where the hornwort currently is, crypt wendtii brown around the base of the rock, and should I put something behind the rock (on the right)? And anywhere else I should put anything?

 

[minnnt]

I would get a nice big java fern, probably the narrow leaver variety and attatch it to the branch on the right hand side. Everything else sounds good. If you do leave the hornwort to float it may block some of your light, so just be aware.

 

[Meggie :)]

The branch on the right side? You mean the base of the large centerpiece wood or the small piece in the back right covered in moss?

 

[minnnt]

The right hand side of the main piece of wood.

 

[Meggie :)]

Like right a the base where the Pygmy swords are? Also my fertilizers say to dose every other day, every day if it is heavily planted...but my tank is not heavily planted...since it is just the hornwort that is doing noticably poorly, should I keep dosing ever other day or start dosing every day?