Plants Dying!

[N30n T3tr4]

I'm having trouble keeping my plants alive. Although they seem to be still growing, even when I trim them, they still look droopy and unpleasant.

Just two days ago now I bought a piece of drift wood which had a plant growing on it. probably around 20cm in height, about 15cm in width - quite a nice and neat little piece. I have noticed today though that a few leaves are starting to droop and I'm worried that it is going to end up looking like the rest - which wont be very nice.

It is a rather light colored plant (nice green leaves on it) which I believe needs more/brighter light then say a plant with darker leaves. I have the light on from 10:00am till 10:30pm everyday (it's on an automatic timing switch).

All the pH, Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite and Hardness are great. In fact, I don't think I have ever had the water quality so good.

What could be slowly killing my plants? I'm kind of new to this, especially planted tanks so any advice would be great.

Thanks a lot.

 

[nry]

Some plants will die back when put in a new tank and then begin to shoot new leaves. May not be anything to worry about long term. Do you know what plant it is?

 

[Sibelius]

There could be a chemical in your water that your plants don't like. Also, it could be a lack of lighting (spectrum/power) that isn't high quality enough for your plants. If you don't run CO2 this is almost always a good idea as well.

 

[BigIan]

I copied that from aqua essentials....

its a list of deficiencies there diagnosis and cure.

Plant Deficiencies

Making sure your plants have the correct balance of nutrients is essential for good, strong growth. When plants are growing well, your tank looks good, has little if any algae problems and on the whole, probably doesn’t cause you much stress. When your plants aren’t doing well, keeping a planted tank can become frustrating, particularly if you can’t work out why. This section will help guide and work out what needs to be added to your aquarium to get your plants back into tip-top shape.

Sometimes you can’t pinpoint exact deficiencies but only over time, and experience will this become clearer. It’s also worth noting that if your plants are deficient in one nutrient, it can sometimes stop the plant from absorbing another nutrient – a bit like the human body and vitamins.

Here’s what to look out for in plant deficiencies and the appropriate remedy:

Lack of Iron

Leaves become brittle, slightly glass like and normally look like they are rotting. They also look slightly less green and take on a more yellow appearance

Lack of Nitrogen

Leaves become yellow and older leaves die off. Sometimes leaves have a slightly reddish appearance and growth is slow

Lack of Phosphorus

Often quite similar signs to lack of nitrogen but look out for stunted growth and leaves becoming darker than normal. Root growth will also be under-developed

Lack of Potassium

Pinholes in leaves which slowly become larger over time. Leaves begin to curl, become yellow from edge inwards and also lose resistance to disease

Lack of Calcium

Unusual leaf shapes, which are slightly bent or twisted. Leaves are often yellow on the edges – treat with additives to increase General Hardness such as Kent Gh+

Lack of Boron

Similar problems to calcium deficiencies – but also stems are delicate and new shoots appear dead - treat with trace elements

Lack of Magnesium

Leaves become yellow but have green veins; they may also develop brown spots. If your plants are short of magnesium, they will be unable to absorb iron - treat with trace elements

Lack of C02

Plants grow slowly and remain small. Calcium deposits on leaves and a pH rise – increase C02 and minimise surface agitation

Lack of Light

Plants are weak, spindly and leaves are small. The distance between leaves increases and plants become bushy closest to the light. Lower sections eventually become bare – add more lighting (i.e T6s or T5s) or increase the strength of lighting. Make sure stem plants are not planted too closely together.

 

[nightlite]

ferts?

 

[N30n T3tr4]

Lack of Iron

Leaves become brittle, slightly glass like and normally look like they are rotting. They also look slightly less green and take on a more yellow appearance

Lack of Nitrogen

Leaves become yellow and older leaves die off. Sometimes leaves have a slightly reddish appearance and growth is slow

Lack of Potassium

Pinholes in leaves which slowly become larger over time. Leaves begin to curl, become yellow from edge inwards and also lose resistance to disease

Thanks for this info BigIan. The above, especially the Lack of Potassium is very similar to what my plants are doing.

Are there any Iron/Nitrogen/Potassium additives that can be purchased from a Fish Shop that can help the plants? If so, will these cause any problems with the fish?

I'm unsure exactly what the plants are called.

Thanks!

 

[BigIan]

all the addetives can be purchased from aqua essentials,
a good quality fert such as seachem flourish may well hwlp

 

[lym]

I've got a similar problem, I got some new plants a few days ago and now a couple of them have a few droopy/brown leaves. Do I cut them off or just leave them?