Just My Bad Luck Or Potential Advice To Noobs ?

[waterdrop]

It is the same when you introduce new plants which have been grown emerged, it can take up to 2 months IME for them to completley die off and reproduce new leaves again.

You know, this is huge, from the standpoint of many beginners in the beginners section. I've stumbled across this info before, I think when I was discussing Tropica with some UK visitors at the AGA conference and some other reading... but I tend to forget this and and its really a big deal. I'd guess that there are just lots and lots of beginners we get who are struggling with all the things of a new tank and perhaps a fishless or fish-in cycle and on top of everything else their plants die. Now, with beginners there could be a ton of things being done wrong, but since so many of the plants they are buying were probably grown emerged, what you've just said there could easily be a very widespread contributor to their problems.

~~waterdrop~~
PS. Thanks for your many other comments up there.. am absorbing a number of them.

 

[aaronnorth]

aquafleur: http/www.aquadistri.com/en/companies/aquafleur/

 

[Dave Spencer]

Now, with beginners there could be a ton of things being done wrong, but since so many of the plants they are buying were probably grown emerged, what you've just said there could easily be a very widespread contributor to their problems.

~~waterdrop~~
PS. Thanks for your many other comments up there.. am absorbing a number of them.

I have never had a plant melt on me when I introduce the emerged growth in to a new tank. Not even with notorious Crypts. I now strongly believe that it can be avoided with good CO2. Not every beginner uses pressurised, but those that do should whack the CO2 up beyond the yellow of the drop checker, then add their emerged plants, and watch them grow. Stems such as Rotala sp will change their appearance, but there should be no die off. The old leafs may be replaced with immersed ones, but the stem should stay healthy and show new growth within a day or two.

For people taking the time and trouble to invest in CO2 and ferts, die off shouldn`t necessarily be accepted. I believe it is wholly avoidable. Having Crypts (or others) melt could set the scape back a month or three, so try to avoid it.

Let us all join in the fight against dying plants and algae. Neither are a certainty.

Dave.

EDIT: I forgot to mention Aaron, I saw your tank in PFK at Graeme`s at the weekend. Nice one!

 

[aaronnorth]

Thanks, Dave

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, my comment (probably in one of the SlyT threads somewhere) about my experience of my crypts melting was unfortunately another one of those cases, which I'm sure we all get, where I didn't really document well enough to be able to go back to my aquarium logbook and dig up some useful data for the discussion. Its entirely possible that any of the various things discussed could have been happening. The plant may have been new enough that it was just reaching the point of reacting to having gone submerged in my aquarium. It could have melted in response to my sudden new addition of Excel. It could have reacted to changing from some sort of good high-growth nursery environment to suddenly being emerged in my 1 w/g that may not have been yet getting ferts or excel yet, can't remember the dates (ie. getting thrown in a sterile, nutritionless environment!)

I'm struck by how extremely useful it is to log all sorts of things, even things you might not think you'll ever need at the time, so that later you might go back and learn things from them. At least it would make for more interesting discussion and little uncontrolled experiments like we all hope we're doing sometimes when we play in the hobby. So I'm disappointed in myself for losing one more chance to perhaps tease out some insight into an event (my crypt melting.) But the truth is, I guess, there are too many possibilities for it to say anything. I didn't even have much luck when I tried to "re-dig up" what I thought were many threads going back where people in the planted forum were discussing their plants "melting" from various dosings of excel or easycarbo (or now there's the new one from a uk store.)

~~waterdrop~~