Plant Issue.

[Bigd5482]

Ok so not sure what the issue is with the plants in my tank. They're turning brown at times and just not taking for some reason. I have gravel and I use plant gro with iron enrichment. I'm starting to use that 3 times a week. My levels are good in the tank Amm 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 10 PH 7.4. However the plants don't want to take I've tried leaving some of the roots up out of the gravel a bit and having them completely buried. Not sure if its something I doing wrong or what but I've already lost one plant that just withered away to nothing really and I mean nothing it was just stringy slime basically from what it used to be. My concern is I just got some fine leaf java fern from online that is coming next week and I don't want to put it in there and watch it die too. If I can't figure this issue out will be going to fake plants

 

[OldMan47]

If you are growing java ferns and seeing them die like that, uproot them. Java ferns will die completely if you place the rhizome under the surface of the substrate. It is the reason that you will usually see them tied to objects rather than planted in the tank.

 

[Bigd5482]

Well what about the other plants in the tank should all plants in a gravel tank be uprooted in a sense and tied to something? I'm going to pull up what the exact plants are in my tank now and will edit this with what they are.

 

[Bigd5482]

Ok so here we go with what plants are in tank

Baby tears - this is the one that basically turned to slime and died (ticked me off I liked this plant)
Chilensis - this plant is having brown leaves on it which turn clear but I am seeing new sprouts at the bottom but still not looking good

Unfortuently i can't find the names of the other 3 plant species in my tank. but none of them are looking real great in my opinion. I would put some pictures up but don't know how to upload them.

 

[mancin]

Ok so here we go with what plants are in tank

Baby tears - this is the one that basically turned to slime and died (ticked me off I liked this plant)
Chilensis - this plant is having brown leaves on it which turn clear but I am seeing new sprouts at the bottom but still not looking good

Unfortuently i can't find the names of the other 3 plant species in my tank. but none of them are looking real great in my opinion. I would put some pictures up but don't know how to upload them.

I'm pretty new to plants myself (you may actually get more replies if this is moved to the Planted section of the forum), but I'll give my 2 cents for what I DO know and have read.

To my understanding Dwarf Baby Tears require high lighting and CO2. I think I remember saying that you got this tank from a friend, so I'm guessing it doesn't have CO2. What kind of lighting is on there right now? Take the total wattage and divide by 29 (the size of your tank) and it will give you WPG (watts per gallon). If the WPG is over 2 or 3, CO2 is likely needed -- but the opinion you'll get on that varies. It also depends on the type of plants and the type of lighting (T5 vs T8) in addition to the WPG. Almost all plants benefit from CO2, but there are many that will still grow without it, just not as quickly.

Based on what you are saying, it sounds like new leaves are growing, and the old ones are dying off? Are these new plants you've added to the tank, or did they come with the tank?

I have very low lighting on my 55 Gallon (less than 1 WPG) and ran into an issue with the leaves turning brown and tiny holes forming in older leaves. I had posted and it was recommended that I get a Potassium fertilizer in addition to the Seachem Flourish fertilizer that I was already using. I dose the Potassium daily and the Flourish a 1/2 dose every few days rather than once weekly. All of my plants are doing pretty well now. I have Amazon Swords, various Crypts, Dwarf Saggitaria (which I think is similiar to Chilensis, but I may be wrong), Java Ferns, Anubias nana, Java Moss, etc.

Anything that has a rhizome should not be planted in the substrate. This includes but is not limited to Anubias and Java Ferns.

If you want to upload pictures, get a Photobucket account or upload to Imageshack and then once you have the URL, there is a little icon when you post/edit that shows a picture (if you hover over it, it says 'Insert Image') and you can put the URL in there and it will attach the linked image to the post.

Hope this helps!

 

[Bigd5482]

I'm not sure what the wattage is on the bulb it doesn't say on it. Its a single florescent bulb. The plants I bought after I got the tank I should of done more research on them as I don't know much about aquarium plants . I don't even know what the rhizome is. Is that just the roots of the plants? Right now all the plants in there are impeded in the gravel I got some of the roots sticking out. Will the java fern grow ok if I somehow tie it to the driftwood or a rock? the pics are down below providing I did them right if you guys can't see the damage let me know and will try and get closer pics.

The only 2 plants that look like they're growing is the two back behind the driftwood. The 2 in the front left of the tank had leaves ont he bottom they fell off after turning yellow and have yet to grow anymore now when I got those they were rubber band together but seemed like seperate plants so I took the band off and planted separately there was a third but it failed too.

 

[mancin]

A rhizome is a horizontal plant stem. Yep, Java Fern will grow fine when attached to something, such as wood. Some have used fishing line to tie it down, others use rubber bands, I use a type of thread specifically made for aquariums that breaks down over time so by the time the Fern is attached to the wood, the string is gone.

This may also be a good read for you. It has all of the common aquarium plants: Common Aquarium Plants

If you have a single bulb, it sounds like (and looks like) it's the stock hood. IMO you're probably at about 1 WPG. From what I've seen, most have to upgrade their lighting to get more than that. When you buy the full 'setup' from a store, usually it comes with pretty crappy lighting.

How long do you leave the light on right now?

Also, for the obvious dead leaves, make sure you remove them from the tank. Once they die they will decompose and could cause an ammonia spike.

 

[Bigd5482]

A rhizome is a horizontal plant stem. Yep, Java Fern will grow fine when attached to something, such as wood. Some have used fishing line to tie it down, others use rubber bands, I use a type of thread specifically made for aquariums that breaks down over time so by the time the Fern is attached to the wood, the string is gone.

This may also be a good read for you. It has all of the common aquarium plants: Common Aquarium Plants

If you have a single bulb, it sounds like (and looks like) it's the stock hood. IMO you're probably at about 1 WPG. From what I've seen, most have to upgrade their lighting to get more than that. When you buy the full 'setup' from a store, usually it comes with pretty crappy lighting.

How long do you leave the light on right now?

Also, for the obvious dead leaves, make sure you remove them from the tank. Once they die they will decompose and could cause an ammonia spike.

Thanks for advice I may look for that thread for aquariums to tie it down with. So with me having that I guess cheapo light I wouldn't need CO2 then right? Right now I turn the light on at 9am ish and it goes off at 10pm there have been times when its been earlier and also a little later. I removed those dead leaves ya saw after I took the pictures I've been doing this and glad I have been now since an ammonia spike could happen. Just didn't want to remove them before anyone could see em Could anyone identify the plants in my tank by looking at them? I'm curious now so I know what to look up about em and such.

Oh forgot to ask are there other bulbs I can get to up the wattage per gallon or do I need a whole new top?

 

[mancin]

Could anyone identify the plants in my tank by looking at them? I'm curious now so I know what to look up about em and such.

Hmm not sure myself. Hopefully someone who knows more about plants will answer.

Oh forgot to ask are there other bulbs I can get to up the wattage per gallon or do I need a whole new top?

Unless you want to do high light plants and CO2, you are probably fine with the light that you have now. I think with the stock hood the only way to up the wattage per gallon would be a whole new top, at least that's what I found when researching upgrading the lighting on my 55 Gallon. You may be able to find new bulbs, but they would likely be the same wattage you have now. One option would be to get reflectors. After doing some research, and seeing my plants do fine with the little light I have now with reflectors (knock on wood ), I figured it wasn't worth the cost to upgrade because I don't want to do CO2.

Hope this helps!

 

[Geoff1991]

Hard to tell, but the "grass like plant" in front of the bogwood looks like it could be vallis rubra.

 

[lljdma06]

Is this a 20g?