Limnophila sessiliflora

[Matty24]

Hello guys so I've noticed only 3 white tips on the limnophila sessiliflora it's been in the tank around 3 weeks started lovely and green I've trimmed a couple times as the growth was crazy first bunch I planted and trimmed has turned slightly brown but today I've noticed some of the tips have started to turn white if this something I need to worry about? Picture isn't the best you can make out the slight brown colour and the 3 white tips, I'm using aqua soil and co2 not 100% sure on the light it's the standard one that came with the aqua one horizon 130 (26w from what I can find online) any other questions just ask, thanks in advice, recently started dosing from 2ml a day of flourish to a dosing schedule which is along the lines of el dosing from what I believe using the sechums products I'm none of the wiser but one way to see if it's any good.

Cheers for looking.

 

[Colin_T]

The brown looks like algae.

Never seen white tips on Ambulia before.

Are the plants pearling (producing little oxygen bubbles during the day)?
If not, there might not be enough light. Having lots of nutrients (including CO2) but insufficient light can cause algae, and plants can produce some unusual growth

 

[Matty24]

Yes they do pearl from time to time I mean I don't actually sit there and watch but I do and have seen them Pearling, what wattage of lights are people using I'm still very new to planted tanks I'm just kind of winging it and asking for advice along the way

 

[Colin_T]

Most people use LED lights now and they come in all sorts of wattages that don't make sense to older folks like me that grew up with fluorescent lights. But it comes down to the height of the tank and the intensity of the light.

I get people to put their hand just under the surface of the water while the light is on. If there is a good shadow of their hand on the bottom of the tank, then there is good light. If there is no shadow, then there is low light.

If the plants are pearling, then the light intensity is good. Aquarium plants generally won't pearl in low light.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

This does look odd, I'm afraid I don't know what's happening there, but I'd trust Colin's advice! Just adding that limnophilia sessiflora does change colour as it reaches the surface too, showing some nice reddish/purple, and sometimes paler. Mine is in a low-tech tank though, still grows like stink. One of my favourite plants since I first got it, and the fish love it too.. especially fry needing a good place to hide.
See the top left with a cherry shrimp perched on it? Paler white with some purple tones developing as it hits the surface. When I've left mine to grow taller than the surface (it doesn't grow above the surface, just flops over and keeps growing) but it looks great when a big bunch of it is just reaching the surface, and the tops are whiteish/purplish. I bet it would be even better in a CO2 tank.

 

[Matty24]

I will keep an eye on it as co2 as been running around 3 weeks now and I don't have a proper dosing schedule in place, as of this week I've started 'el' dosing using sechums products so maybe it's a nutrients based thing I will keep and eye on it see what happens its all a learning curve for me and also the light I'm using is an LED light, I have also recently propagated my reinekii mini and have replanted some stems is it normal for some leaves to melt back after a few days or have I killed them

 

[Matty24]

This does look odd, I'm afraid I don't know what's happening there, but I'd trust Colin's advice! Just adding that limnophilia sessiflora does change colour as it reaches the surface too, showing some nice reddish/purple, and sometimes paler. Mine is in a low-tech tank though, still grows like stink. One of my favourite plants since I first got it, and the fish love it too.. especially fry needing a good place to hide.
See the top left with a cherry shrimp perched on it? Paler white with some purple tones developing as it hits the surface. When I've left mine to grow taller than the surface (it doesn't grow above the surface, just flops over and keeps growing) but it looks great when a big bunch of it is just reaching the surface, and the tops are whiteish/purplish. I bet it would be even better in a CO2 tank.

This does look odd, I'm afraid I don't know what's happening there, but I'd trust Colin's advice! Just adding that limnophilia sessiflora does change colour as it reaches the surface too, showing some nice reddish/purple, and sometimes paler. Mine is in a low-tech tank though, still grows like stink. One of my favourite plants since I first got it, and the fish love it too.. especially fry needing a good place to hide.
See the top left with a cherry shrimp perched on it? Paler white with some purple tones developing as it hits the surface. When I've left mine to grow taller than the surface (it doesn't grow above the surface, just flops over and keeps growing) but it looks great when a big bunch of it is just reaching the surface, and the tops are whiteish/purplish. I bet it would be even better in a CO2 tank.
View attachment 159639View attachment 159640

That looks really nice maybe I'll let mine grow to the surface and see how it looks? What's the surface plant you have in there also that looks really nice I did buy some duck week and place it in a separate tank while I decided what to do with it and my golden apple snails ate it 1 night

 

[itiwhetu]

Mine just grows, No fancy lighting just a couple of Discus for fertilizer.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

That looks really nice maybe I'll let mine grow to the surface and see how it looks? What's the surface plant you have in there also that looks really nice I did buy some duck week and place it in a separate tank while I decided what to do with it and my golden apple snails ate it 1 night

Ah, the floating plant is amazon frogbit The roots can grow very long and trailing, which looks pretty, but can also get tangled and untidy during maintenance, but can be easily trimmed when that happens, and they just grow back.

I think your apple snails might have done you a favour! Duckweed takes over everything and gets everywhere, and once you've got it, you cannot get rid of it! I hate it with a passion, lol! Only because I added some to my tanks and I'm still battling it back when it reappears every six months or so. Much prefer frogbit, water lettuce, red root floaters, or salvinia!


Definitely let your l.sessilflora grow to the surface and see what you think! You can still lop the tops off and replant them afterwards

 

[Matty24]

Ah, the floating plant is amazon frogbit The roots can grow very long and trailing, which looks pretty, but can also get tangled and untidy during maintenance, but can be easily trimmed when that happens, and they just grow back.

I think your apple snails might have done you a favour! Duckweed takes over everything and gets everywhere, and once you've got it, you cannot get rid of it! I hate it with a passion, lol! Only because I added some to my tanks and I'm still battling it back when it reappears every six months or so. Much prefer frogbit, water lettuce, red root floaters, or salvinia!


Definitely let your l.sessilflora grow to the surface and see what you think! You can still lop the tops off and replant them afterwards

Do the surface plants actually cut that much light out to a point the other plants may suffer?

 

[anewbie]

Do the surface plants actually cut that much light out to a point the other plants may suffer?

They can - depends on density. I have frogbit and red root floaters in my 40 and have to remove 80% of it weekly to prevent too much shading.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Do the surface plants actually cut that much light out to a point the other plants may suffer?

They can - depends on density. I have frogbit and red root floaters in my 40 and have to remove 80% of it weekly to prevent too much shading.

Agreed with @anewbie , when the floating plants get too out of control, I just end up removing and binning a load. But I haven't had any plants suffer from being shaded out either, even when there's a lot of floating plants, since in my tanks at least, that aren't huge, there's still plenty of light from my cheap Nicrew LED light bars makes it's way through to them. Plus there are plants like the slow growing ones, anubius, mosses, buces etc, that benefit from the shading and would grow algae if in full light.

 

[anewbie]

Agreed with @anewbie , when the floating plants get too out of control, I just end up removing and binning a load. But I haven't had any plants suffer from being shaded out either, even when there's a lot of floating plants, since in my tanks at least, that aren't huge, there's still plenty of light from my cheap Nicrew LED light bars makes it's way through to them. Plus there are plants like the slow growing ones, anubius, mosses, buces etc, that benefit from the shading and would grow algae if in full light.

In case you are curious - i measure the different with par meter from dense floating plants and no floating plant - at 15 inches the par changed from 80 to 20

 

[Matty24]

Whatever the white tips on the plant were they have now gone there for a few days and today gone how strange

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Whatever the white tips on the plant were they have now gone there for a few days and today gone how strange

Maybe just some damage on those particular leaves? Odd! But hopefully nothing to worry about