Straggly plants

[Lucy]

Hi all. My plants seem to do well for approx. 3 weeks and then go all straggly and weedy, providing little or no coverage for the fish to hide in. They grow very tall and I'm constantly having to clip them to stop them going above the water line. What's going wrong? The PH is 8 and it is a hard water area. Also, the tips of some of the leaves are going brown, almost as if they've been burnt.

 

[William]

What lighting do you have in your tank? and also have you tested for nitrAte ?

 

[Lucy]

Hi William - thanks for your reply. I've got a major emergency going on in my tank at the moment - and your question about nitrate (which I haven't tested for) kind of confirms what I think is the problem. Full emergency details are in the Emergency forum, but I think it is a nitrate problem due to rotting/decomposing plants. I've taken 2 plants out and left a new, perfect one, in the tank. Was this the right thing to do?

 

[Great Lakes]

Try a fertilizer/additive with iron and other nutrients. This can make a marked change in two to three days. At times, extreme lighting can make plants grow tall a little too quickly, What type of lighting and duration due you have/use?