Need Some Glosso Advice

[mikey12421]

Hi -

I've tried growing glosso a couple of times and it never seems to take. The first time I removed it from the rockwool and planted it as a bunch. It slowly deteriorated until there was just one tiny plant hanging on. Then that plant died.

My lfs then suggested I try growing it in-pot because the roots are too fragile to be removed. I've heard that leaving rockwool in your tank can lead to algae problems, but I figured it was worth a try. The plant didn't die - but it didn't really spread either, and it collected a ton of hair algae.

So now I've removed the plant from the rockwool (very carefully of course) and planted each of the plants a few centimeters apart along the substrate. Mollies and algae eaters took care of the algae quickly once it was less dense - so the pieces look pretty good. I also removed the apple snails that were busy on tank cleanup because, while they did not eat the glosso (or any other plants), they did try and eat the algae off of it and seemed to be breaking the fragile stems. The few ghost shrimp I have seem to have a more tender cleaning method. The plants look okay, but seem to be staying put - no real growth.

The tank is a 20 us gallon community, heavily planted, with onyx sand substrate. The lighting is very high (4.75 wpg with one coralife aqualife c.f. 6700K, 65 W and one VHO 10000K 30W) I use DIY fermentation with two canisters and Nutrafin ladders. I dose occasionally with flourish, but it always seems like that causes algae to spike (in a tank that barely needs cleaning its so clear and algae free most of the time). The other plants grow like crazy - I have to prune every other day.

So my question is, is this going to work this time? Is there something else that I should be doing that I'm not? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Mike

 

[Castellop123]

It sounds like you've got every covered... bright light, co2 and rich substrate...

 

[mikey12421]

It sounds like you've got every covered... bright light, co2 and rich substrate...

yeah I think so too - but when I have it bunched up and/or in-pot it doesn't make it. When I separate it out I find half of it floating on the top of the tank the next morning. I might just temporarily move any fish out that will disturb the substrate until it roots more effectively. Thanks for the response!

 

[JamesC]

I'd say your problems are down to a lack of ferts and possibly low on CO2 as well. Firstly measure your pH and KH to see what your CO2 levels are - not the most accurate method but will give us a good idea. You have a lot of light above your tank with very little in the way of nutrients - onyx sand is pretty inert. A classic sign of an under fertilised high light tank is when you add traces and get an algae outbreak, as you have found out.

You are currently running your tank lean which your current 'robust' plants (what are they?) can deal with. Glosso is a bit more fussy which is why you are having probs. Look at the pinned EI thread for more info on dosing ferts.

Your tank is in the realms of the super lighted. Is there any reason you want so much light? The more you have the more difficult is is to maintain. I run at 3wpg which is more than adequate to grow anything.

James

 

[wei0204]

What I did is I will take out a small plant of it and stuck it into the gravel, one by one. From time to time, some will float, some will die, and some will grow too... By have a few growing, very soon, it will cover the empty space...