Why Do My Plants Look So Terrible?

[Spishkey]

i have java fern and what i believe to be amazon sword in my community tank, and both look terrible.
the AS seems to be 'melting' away, it is full of holes and disintergrating at the edges. it used to be so big green and full looking but now has faded to a dull almost see through light green/yellow

my java fern was in a bad state when i got it (via mail order) it has dark brown patches all over the leaves, but keeps growing new leaves. these look so healthy at first a lovely green colour then within a week or too, they get horrible dark patches too or simply die.

im not quite sure whats going wrong? my plants used to look brilliant

they are in a 180L tank with sand substrate. lights are on anywhere between 3 to 8 hours a day, but the tank gets a bit of sunlight too. on a normal day the lights will be on 4pm till 11pm but if no one is around to turn them on/off then it differs depending on what shifts we're working. the lighting is the standard lights that come with a juwel rio 180. theres too of them (a natural and a higlo i think?)

i also use a plant food (plantamin by tetra something and have little pellets that are meant to pushed into the roots too)
any ideas?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

well for one i'd suggest getting the lighting stabilised, put it on a segment timer from a harware store for 8 hrs per day, if nothing else you can then at least start to cut down the things that could be causing a problem.

I've found amazon swords really appreciate the root tabs so definately stick a few right underneath it.

 

[Spishkey]

ok got some pics to show just how terrible they are..

can they be saved or should i just pull them out and start again?

they've been in the tank for about 6 months, as was fine for the first few months then after a 90% water change (big tank clear out) the leaves started dying. (the plant was kept wet during the change)


this is how healthy and big they used to be

i just cant figure out whats happened?

 

[agutt]

MW is right get a timer for lights so you dont have to worry about them

also it seems as if you have some sort of nutrient deficiency. my best guess would be potassium cause of your quality of the leafs. just a guess tho...

 

[Themuleous]

Poor lighting is probably also an issue. I would switch to plant tubes like the Arcadia freshwater and add a decent liquid fert, like the Aquaessentials trace mix, which comes as a powered that you mix with water and dose according to the size of the tank. Cheap too.

Sam

EDIT - am I right in thinking the plants are still in their pots? If so remove them asap as it restricts root growth and also stops the plants getting nutrients via their roots as the rookwool they are supplied in has nothing of value in it.

The java fern also wants attaching to something, like wood ro rock as the rhizome roots if left under the gravel for to long.

 

[Spishkey]

yes the amazon are still in their pots, the java fern are not planted they are 'free flowing' and seem to attach themselves onto whatever.
i shall remove the pots this evening and tie the java down to something!

thank you.