Plant Assistance Please

[ian]

wow some cracking advice in this thread...lol


OP, Dazzler his the nail on the head way up there. As llj states, in a non injected C02 tank airstones really need to be off as the equilibrium isn't going to be correct - To much 02, as this is obviously more present in our atmosphere. The C02 will not then be present in the water.

Agree again with llj, that if Helferi, and it takes an age IME for this to actually become to it's full aquatic form. Give it time.

 

[JasonMichael]

The first plant doesn't look aquatic to me, looks like a marginal plant so the roots can handle being soaked but the leaves wont so I'd take it out, the second obv the same plant and the 3rd is a sword which is fine but how long has it been in your tank as these have a habit of melting and re growing leaves to adjust to the new conditions.

They have only been in for around 3 weeks now.. they should be all aquatic, don't aquarium shops only sell plants to go in tanks? lol

 

[Ps3Steveo]

No mate they sell a number of plants that are non aquatic so keep an eye just in case, if the pots of plants in your lfs have tags telling you what they are then have a look on the tropica website first and check if its listed on there first or google it before you buy if your unsure. Also some people that work in lfs's will tell you its aquatic even if its not.

 

[JasonMichael]

The first plant doesn't look aquatic to me, looks like a marginal plant so the roots can handle being soaked but the leaves wont so I'd take it out, the second obv the same plant and the 3rd is a sword which is fine but how long has it been in your tank as these have a habit of melting and re growing leaves to adjust to the new conditions.

It's Cyperus helferi. Aquatic. Up the daylight bulb photo period to 8 hours, turn off the air stones. While you need some surface agitation, having run many non CO2 planted tanks in my time, you don't want water breakage, that's for SW, but ripples that don't break, if you know what I mean. Under the surface, however, it can be Hurricane city to get the nutrients evenly distributed, which is, IMO crucial.

The amazon and the helferi may well be going from emersed growth to submerged growth. Having taken tours of several aquatic nurseries in the South FL area, I can let you know that most plants in the trade are grown emersed. Easier and cheaper. Only the stemplants destined for very quick sale are actually grown submerged.

Remove the dead leaves and keep the tank "eat off the substrate" clean. What is the water change regimen?

EDIT: Increasing motion is typically done with filters and powerheads. Aim for about 20x turnover.

I am slightly confused with all this information haha, in my previous tank I had plants on driftwood and they were fine (had them for a year) and now I've bought these new ones to go into my new tank and this is happening. I don't have any airstones just the external filter which is sending a ripple on the top of the water for agitation. I've taken your advice and am now leaving the daylight period upto 8 hours

What would be the best way to remove the dead leaves, just trim them at the stem? Thanks for letting me know about the submerged growth, was kind of freaking out!

At this time - should I not use any sort of CO2 or ferts? Just keep trying with the upping the light time and if not, try the alternative?

No mate they sell a number of plants that are non aquatic so keep an eye just in case, if the pots of plants in your lfs have tags telling you what they are then have a look on the tropica website first and check if its listed on there first or google it before you buy if your unsure. Also some people that work in lfs's will tell you its aquatic even if its not.

Thanks for the heads up!

What type of plants are they? Some plants are not meant to be submersed fully in an aquarium so all the light & fert in the world wont help them!!
I would trim off the dead leaves & roots then re-plant & use some form of fert.
To me your lighting seems perfectly adequate tho if anything id maybe up the day cycle to around 8 hours.
Also maybe consider if you have/run a lot of air ornaments turn them off during the night to allow CO2 to build up which helps the plants when photosynthesising .... I think?!
Dont get me wrong, im no plant guru (to say the leadt!!) but just tryng to offer suggestions!! .
Maybe worth this being moved to the plant section too for more specific advice!!

I've added some photos above I forgot to write the names down before I bought them, silly me. I've just started today to up the day cycle for lighting around 8 hours and I don't actually have any air stones at the moment - going by everyone's suggestions, it's not good for the plants to have them?

wow some cracking advice in this thread...lol


OP, Dazzler his the nail on the head way up there. As llj states, in a non injected C02 tank airstones really need to be off as the equilibrium isn't going to be correct - To much 02, as this is obviously more present in our atmosphere. The C02 will not then be present in the water.

Agree again with llj, that if Helferi, and it takes an age IME for this to actually become to it's full aquatic form. Give it time.

No airstones in the tank, I was going to get some but obviously it's not good the plants?

 

[Ps3Steveo]

The light time should be fine 8 hours using 2 bulbs, if the plants have only been in there 3 weeks then the immersed growth dying back is a possibility as most are grown immersed and need to change to submerged. If this is the case then usually as it dies back you should see some new shoots coming through, they might be tiny but keep an eye out for them then you'll know. You don't really want to start dosing CO2 as it will up the growth rate meaning your going to need ferts containing nitrates and phosphates. It never hurts to dose a little trace mix fert, have a look online as I have no idea what ferts are available in Australia, just a trace mix with no N&P.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Just out of curiosity,how many plants are in your tank? Got a full tank shot?

 

[JasonMichael]

The light time should be fine 8 hours using 2 bulbs, if the plants have only been in there 3 weeks then the immersed growth dying back is a possibility as most are grown immersed and need to change to submerged. If this is the case then usually as it dies back you should see some new shoots coming through, they might be tiny but keep an eye out for them then you'll know. You don't really want to start dosing CO2 as it will up the growth rate meaning your going to need ferts containing nitrates and phosphates. It never hurts to dose a little trace mix fert, have a look online as I have no idea what ferts are available in Australia, just a trace mix with no N&P.

Great thanks I'll keep my eye out. How about 'API Leaf Zone' do you know if that is any good? As I've never used ferts before I don't know what I should be looking for etc.. (obviously as you mentioned, no N&P).

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Should be fine,never used it but pretty sure it contains all the trace elements. I wouldn't go rushing in just yet tho as you may not need it depending on plant mass, hence me asking for a full tank shot .

 

[JasonMichael]

Just out of curiosity,how many plants are in your tank? Got a full tank shot?

14 plants (some on driftwood and 2 java moss) just took a pic

Should be fine,never used it but pretty sure it contains all the trace elements. I wouldn't go rushing in just yet tho as you may not need it depending on plant mass, hence me asking for a full tank shot .

Awesome, thanks! I won't go into it yet as they seem fine apart from like 3 leaves.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Look healthy mate just bare with the browning at the moment, it'll pass, what stock do you have planned?

 

[JasonMichael]

Look healthy mate just bare with the browning at the moment, it'll pass, what stock do you have planned?

Thanks at the moment I have a Black Ghost Knife, Bristlenose, Albino Bristlenose, Peppermint Bristlenose, Ram, Pakistani Loach, Glass Cat and 4 Neon Tetras, want to get more fish and plants in a few weeks though...

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Sounds good mate, with a reasonable stock and plant mass you might not need the ferts.

 

[JasonMichael]

Sounds good mate, with a reasonable stock and plant mass you might not need the ferts.

Awesome, i'll keep my eye on it, if i see anything weird I'll get in contact, thanks again!