bedazzled Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 I have a 75 litre tank and I have some plants that I have had for quite a while that are growing ok, not very fast but they are not dying on me. I recently bought some new plants ( sorry I don't know the names) and they started off with a hiss and a roar and now they are dropping leaves and look like they are dying. I have a couple of questions... Do I have to have an aquatic mix type base or is it ok just to have gravel? I am using florena once weekly when I do a water change, should I up it and see if that helps or will it make no difference? I am thinking I might remove the sick looking plants today as I am sick of going fishing for leaves lol Any advice will be greatly aprreciated Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 Hi there - don't be too alarmed - most plants offered for retail sale are grown hydroponically and so have 'air' leaves which the plant must drop and replace with 'water' leaves once submerged in a tank. If they have already done that and are not growing well, then it is most likely a heat (excess) or nutrient related issue. Flourish Excel seems to be a good fix for most plant problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted February 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 Hi there - don't be too alarmed - most plants offered for retail sale are grown hydroponically and so have 'air' leaves which the plant must drop and replace with 'water' leaves once submerged in a tank. If they have already done that and are not growing well, then it is most likely a heat (excess) or nutrient related issue. Flourish Excel seems to be a good fix for most plant problems. Oh crap, so I should just let them loose all the leaves and see what happens after that? Perhaps trim them right back and see if they recover? LOL too bad about the ones I chucked out a few weeks ago because they did the same thing :oops: My tank sits up around 26 degrees most of the time, should I try lowering it a bit? The plants were fully submerged when I got them at the lfs and looked nice and healthy. although they could have just come in I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 Oh crap, so I should just let them loose all the leaves and see what happens after that? Perhaps trim them right back and see if they recover? LOL too bad about the ones I chucked out a few weeks ago because they did the same thing :oops: My tank sits up around 26 degrees most of the time, should I try lowering it a bit? The plants were fully submerged when I got them at the lfs and looked nice and healthy. although they could have just come in I guess Most shops restock weekly or fortnightly, so they could well have been new. Your temperature sounds fine - so just wait. Watch out for brown soft 'rot' at the base of leaf 'stalks' - if you get that, pull that leaf off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted February 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 Most shops restock weekly or fortnightly, so they could well have been new. Your temperature sounds fine - so just wait. Watch out for brown soft 'rot' at the base of leaf 'stalks' - if you get that, pull that leaf off. Thanks heaps for your help Off to do a water change and tidy up some plants :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/thinki ... 18044.html Have a read of that. it may help you out, or it may be totally useless, who knows. Feel free to ask more Q's about plants if that doesnt answer anything :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 You stated that you dont know the names of the plant, Is it possible to get some pics of the plants in question. Or go here http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php and see if you can id them. It is possible( very likely, for the uninitiated,lol,) that you have been sold non aquatic plants.These plant will appear to do well at first then start to rot and die because the are not true aquatic plants. HTH The other situation is that mentioned by the others above,Submersed and emersed growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted February 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/thinking-of-going-planted-read-here-vt18044.html Have a read of that. it may help you out, or it may be totally useless, who knows. Feel free to ask more Q's about plants if that doesnt answer anything :lol: Thanks for that evil, My set up is more about fish than plants lol I like the look of the plants but I don't really have the budget to set up better lights etc. Although I have a good fish load in a fairly small tank (75L) I only have gravel as the base and I do fertalize. I will investigate what types of plants I have and let you guys know to see if you can give me more detailed help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted February 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 I appear to have a Bacopa australis or a Giant Bacopa (I am leaning towards the giant) , that one is growing quite well Something that resembles a Cryptocoryne walkeri, but the leaves on it turn a bronzey kind of colour after a while, new leaves are bright green. This is the plant I have had the longest and it dosen't grow fast but it does grow lol and a couple of other plants that I can't identify lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Crypts are well suited for lower light tanks.they do grow very slowly and will eventually send out runners with smaller plants. they dont like their roots being disturbed.If disturbed Crypts are prone to "melt" where the leaves start to turn to mush and become transparent or brownish. this can also be caused it the plant is exposed to colder temperature. Give it time and the Crypt will usually recover and once the do they usually grow back bigger and faster.even if the crypt has almost gone,the rizome will shoot out new growth so long as the conditions are stable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 There are two types of giant Bacopa around (I think they are caroliniana). They are normally grown emersed so will need to convert to submersed growth. I haven't grown them in years but one has smooth leaves and the other has leaves with fine hairs on. The smooth one converts to submersed growth more readily. Most plants do better with good light when converting to the submersed state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted February 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 There are two types of giant Bacopa around (I think they are caroliniana). They are normally grown emersed so will need to convert to submersed growth. I haven't grown them in years but one has smooth leaves and the other has leaves with fine hairs on. The smooth one converts to submersed growth more readily. Most plants do better with good light when converting to the submersed state. ahhh yes, I have the furry variety lol I have given it a big haircut and taken off any old leaves so hopefully it will come away again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted March 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Just an update, my plants were obviously just losing the air leaves and are now taking off and looking fab :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 good to hear :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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