What's Wrong With My Monosolenium Tenerum?

[ulster exile]

It's going brown. I was given to understand that this was a relatively undemanding plant in every way and it has done very well since i added it - it has grown pretty fast.

Here's a couple of poor pics

'Scuse the flash, but it's the only way I could zoom in and get a semi-decent pic

For info it is in a tank with >2WPG lighting, CO2 addition, but my fert regime is, well, not so much of a regime - just flourish weekly, for the time being.

 

[SuperColey1]

Looks great to me, I should think there are a few sprigs that are maybe dying for some reason but otherwise looks very healthy

Andy

 

[BHornsey]

Does it rub off? It looks like it might be a little dusting of brown algae.

 

[nry]

Re you sure that is MT? I had some and it was much much bulkier, that looks more like riccia et-al?

 

[zig]

You do not add phosphate or nitrate and run 2 WPG, I would imagine this is where the problem lies.

 

[ulster exile]

Thanks for the replies. I am sure that it is not algae - when separated the mono has little veins that run through the centre of it all and it is these 'veins' that have started to turn brown.

I am very sure it is mono - I got most of it from AE as a Tropica plant (Tropica also have an excellant article on it on their website) and I had some sent to me separately from a forum member. I did notice that the stuff sent to me from Tropica had also started to turn brown (I left it a day before planting and I think it had started to dry up) but I discarded all of the bits that had the brown 'veins' through it thinking that they were less likely to survive.

I used exactly the same method of attaching it to rock as per the java moss thread so I know when it went on there that it wasn't overloaded.

Not sure about the ferts though - if it is such an undemanding plant which, from all accounts I have read it is, would it require specific ferts to survive?

PS for those that think it's algae perhaps because the the bit of slate to the bottom left of the first picture - the slate must have iron in it as it does have rsuty coloured bits throughout it. The only algae I currently suffer from is green spot algae.

 

[zig]

Not sure about the ferts though - if it is such an undemanding plant which, from all accounts I have read it is, would it require specific ferts to survive?

The only algae I currently suffer from is green spot algae.

You are phosphate deficient thats why you have the spot algae, add phosphate and it will not reoccur. If you are phosphate deficient this can lead to problems with nitrate uptake also.

I dont know how big the tank is but if you add 2WPG and CO2 injection to a normal sized tank 10+gallons you will more than likely have to add macro nutrients or the plants will have problems as you are now experiencing. Add more light and CO2 and undemanding plants become more demanding in their needs.

 

[ulster exile]

I appreciate the explanation zig.