Plant dying, any oppinions?

[douce101]

Hey hey everyone. The first plant I got for my tank (which i can't name, as the girl at my lfs who knows about plants wasn't working at the time, only the older girl who knows nothing about plants was there that day) is starting to die on me. It's been in for about a month, maybe a bit less. The stems are getting really thin and soft, if i squeeze them with only the slightest force, they turn to mush between my fingers. The plant was quite healthy looking when i brought it home, but it was kept in a tank without a light at the lfs. I have only a low light setup in my tank. The hornwort i have in my tank is growning extremely fast, and besides the few small patches of brown here and there, it looks quite health as well. I don't use any thing with the plants, since i have no money as of right now to buy anything thats not completely nessisary. Anywho, any suggestions as to whats wrong and what to do? The plant still has a few stems with leaves attached to the pot with healthy stems, so it may be salvageable. I think personally maybe the store had a non aquatic plant in the tank and kinda screwed me over. Think thats possible?

[country_boy454]

Can you post a picture of it. We can then ID it and also help with what it needs. It is probably lacking nutrients. Especially Iron. You did say the leaves have brown on them which is usually a sign of iron deficiency.

[korith]

I would check http://plantgeek.net/plantguide.php and see if you can find a picture of your plant there. Most likely your plant isn't getting as much light as it needs. Perhaps not enough nutrients as well. You could try adding a fertilizer tablet under the plant, and increasing the lighting in your tank. Usually using just stock lighting hoods and lights limits you to low light plants.

[douce101]

I can't get a picture of the plant unfortunatly, as my cam is out of batteries, and i've tried finding a pic of it, but have failed so far. Whether or not its the big problem, since both my plants have a bit of brown here and there, i'll make sure i get something to provide them with more iron, and see whatelse i can get as well. Our family is going through a rough time financially right now, and i just got out of surgury for my leg, so i havn't been able to work these past few months because of my condition, and still can't while i recover, so that certainly doesn't help. Who else hates being poor!? :19:

And yeah, i got my tank from a friend, so i don't know for sure how strong the light is. A light and some nutrients for my plants will be my next purchases though, as i want my plants to start lively and healthy, and i want to continue getting more in the future. Thanks alot though, if anyone else has any other ideas, i'd love to hear them.

[country_boy454]

If you want a cheap upgrade for lighting look into shop lights! I am using them successfully on both my 55g and my 75g planted tanks. Lighting for both the tanks only set me back about $75 as compared to some aquarium lighting fixtures that go for well over $100. Also, you could add some Fluorite to your tank. That will aid in the nutrient part. Should be about $25 for a bag 15lbs. At least it was last time I bought some 6 months ago!

[PUNISHER VETTE]

my first plants did that too. Basically a good sign of you don't have enough of something.

I'd say lighting as that's usually the obvious suspect.

But i had some pennywort do the same thing and i have a feeling it was due to lack of CO2.

[Ramdin]

I just went through this myself..... when you upgrade the lights then you need CO2 so you will try DIY types. Then you need to start mixing ferts and testing all that stuff... then you need to upgrade to pressurized CO2.

Just throwing light at a plant raises more problem from my recent experiences and it can become a hole to throw money at real quick.

Research some easy to care for low light plants such as java ferns or be prepared to drop some cash. You can spend alot of money trying to save a $5 plant if you are not careful LOL.

[country_boy454]

I just went through this myself..... when you upgrade the lights then you need CO2 so you will try DIY types. Then you need to start mixing ferts and testing all that stuff... then you need to upgrade to pressurized CO2.

Just throwing light at a plant raises more problem from my recent experiences and it can become a hole to throw money at real quick.

Research some easy to care for low light plants such as java ferns or be prepared to drop some cash. You can spend alot of money trying to save a $5 plant if you are not careful LOL.


If he stays with low-med lights CO2 is not required. It will benefit the plants as will ferts. I do not add CO2 or ferts to either of my planted tanks and they are growing great! Even in the 55g with sand as the substrate.

Here is a list of all the plants I have in my 55g and 75g tanks:

Anubias Barteri, Java moss, Java fern, Corkscrew val, Anacharis , Cabomba, Rotala rotundifolia,Willow Leaf Hygro, Dwarf sag, Melon sword, Amazon sword, Argentine sword, Crypt Wentii Bronze, Wisteria,Crypt Wentii Green, Ammannia Gracilis, najas guadalupensis(guppy grass).

[douce101]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I removed that first plant. It just kept falling apart, so i kept the stems with leaves and now having them hanging off the top sides of my aquarium, so they provide another place for fish to hide. My only other plant is this big thing of hornwort, which is growing well, it just has that brown ting to it in spots, so some of the needle/leaves fall off when its disturbed at times. I bought a chemical called Plant Gro, wich is an "Iron Enriched Aquatic Plant Fertilizer". Since it was said here the brown could be caused from a lack of iron, would this work to fix that? I've already dosed the tank, but would like to know if anyone has used this stuff before. It was the only product my LFS had for plants. I really doubt light is an issue for the hornwort, as the LFS i bought it from had no lights in the plant tank they had, and it still looked healthy when they got it, and they had the plant i got for a few weeks atleast in that lightless tank.

[country_boy454]

Hornwort, in my experience, like soft acidic water. It will grow in most lighting situations also. I am unable to grow hornwort at my apartment because of this. Also from my experience hornwort will partially die off when transferred from tank to tank but should come back. I had the same problem with my Cobomba. I have strands of Cobomba that are about 4 ft in length. Haven't done a trim of it in about a month!

Also, the Plant Gro you are talking about, I used that on my 29g planted tank. Works great! I dosed my tank once a week with it.

[douce101]

Alright, thats great, im glad to hear it works. I guess i'll wait it out then, and see if it improves now with the chemicals. Sounds like if i give it some time, it should be looking better. Thanks alot.

[country_boy454]

Not a problem!thumbs2:

[PostalPenguin]

Make sure that the plant you bought is truly an acquatic plant. My LFS sells several "acquatic plants" that upon further research I found would just slowly die and rot under water. The one I bought was called umbrella plant.

[douce101]

I really think that's what's happened to me. Over the time i had the plant, which is only about 3 weeks, the stems have all turned to mush and fallen apart, and the only fish that ever would cause alot of disturbance to the plant, my old angel, i gave away about 2 weeks ago.