Dissolving Plants :(

[nurglespuss]

Hi all,

Well, i should have known better bu impatience got the better of me. It looks like the plants I bought from petsathome are simply dissolving in the tank... I'm going to give them some time to see if they manage to recover, but I don't hold out much hope, were expensive too....

When it comes to next time, as I'm trying to keep within a budget (plus want the tank ready for inhabitants), where would you all reccomend purchasing plants from (probably mail order)?

Thanks,

Gareth.

 

[Ashley1991]

i recommend this site everytime i got plants from this site they have always arrived very healthy and great size to!

ash

 

[chigwellhammer]

I bought mine from plantsalive.co.uk , good quality plants cheap and arrived quick

 

[RadaR]

Getting good quality plants to start with is a must but are you sure it's not your tank conditions causing the plants to melt?
There is also a possibility that the plants from petsathome were grown in emersed form (out the water) and are now simply adapting to submerged state.

 

[nurglespuss]

Hi there

well the tank is now at a stable temp of 25C (it was getting too hot beacuse of the room warming up but this has been resolved - befor eplants were added). The substrate is a dedicated aquatic plant substrate, topped with fine gravel... the plants were inserted gently, and the water topped up gently around them.

I'm not using CO2 (low maintainance) and the pH is 7.

the only thing lacking (for now) is filtration, as I am awaiting arrival of HOB filter (as internal provided with tank is way too strong).

I know there needs to be some surface agitation for efficient gaseous exchange, but plants do survive in standing water for quite some time......

If these do die, I'll be going back to java fern/moss and other definite hardies.

 

[BethK]

You can get some decent plants off ebay but it takes a good while to scope that site. This very site is good for plants and IMO LFS that are smaller known i.e. not the big chains, are better for plants.

Good luck x

 

[nurglespuss]

Thanks

Yeah, i must admit any plants i've bought/been given off this site always do great.

 

[nurglespuss]

Just a quick update, the plants look worse than ever, but are sending out lots of new roots?

Does this sound like adapting to a new tank? there appears to be fungussy/furry coating on the plant leaves... I'm adding some MTS and a HOB filter to the tank in the next 2 days.. hoping the MTS will clear away the dead plant material...

 

[RadaR]

It's bound to be due to the lack of flow because you have no filter.
I know you say that the other fitler was too powerful, but I bet the plants would have loved it.

 

[lljdma06]

What plants did you get? Some species, namely cryptocorynes, will disolve or "melt" when placed in new conditions. They will then bounce back after a couple of weeks.

llj

 

[nurglespuss]

Hi there, cheers, the filter was that strong it immediatly up rooted the plants. thankfully my HOB filter arrived in work today, so can attach that this evening.

To be honest, i'm not entirely sure what species they are!

Here is a picture of the tank (before the plants started melting)

 

[nurglespuss]

Well despite not looking too hot, the plants are definately growing, and rooting well.

I've got some liquid fert on the way, and can start adding that. I've considered CO2 but am not sure how safe it would be considering how hot the room can get, and also as i can be away for a few days at a time...

On the plus side, the Eheim HOB filter is a lovely bit of kit, that adjustable flow is a godsend!!