Plants dying??

[CoPz]

Well, here's my problem...My Cabomba Caroliniana is dying at the bottom of the step to almost the middle of the stem, it has no "leaves" or whatever you want to call them but then from the middle up...it is green as the grass. Why is this?

 

[aquamanis]

Hi, how long have you had the cabomba in there? When you put a new plant in the tank its bottom leaves normally die off. this is normal and its just going through a breaking in stage. I,ve read too that Cabomba does not grow well without enough CO2. I have been putting CO2 in my tank for a couple of weeks now and the Cabomba has really taken off.

 

[Tragic Avenue]

If they are bunched to close together light wont reach the lower areas
causing the plant to lose lower leaves.
Try spreading them out and avoid any floating plants above.
Good luck and let us know how it progresses.

 

[CoPz]

I haven't been able to add my fertilizer or my liquid CO2 to my tank because I've been medicating my fish from Ich so I guess that could also be why they aren't doing so well. What do you think? What can I use as a ground cover other than java moss that will grow with the equipment I have? (look at signature) My water has also been pretty dark because I have drift wood in there...can I stop it from doing that in anyway? I appreciate the replies!

 

[Alien Anna]

Cabomba really needs light and lots of it. If you have dark water because of the bogwood, and perhaps do not have sufficient light anyway (you need about 2 watts per gallon for a 12" tank), your plant won't do well. I have the same problem with cabomba - I like it, but I can't keep it alive.

 

[aquamanis]

Hi CoPz, the medication for itch probably contains either malachite green or methalyene blue(not sure of correct spelling) both of which are dyes and plants do not like dyes. My plants did not go so well while I was treating for itch but after cleaning out with carbon they did start to grow. Riccia grass is nice for carpet effect.

 

[Lateral Line]

2W per gallon even in a 12" deep is not enough really to grow Cabomba sp. well, they need LOTS of light, we're talking 3.5W per gallon and up. The behaviour you describe is typical, they bolt to the surface leaving useless baggage behind.

They also are not partial to floating matter/particulates, and are HEAVY CO2 users like most high light plants.

 

[bgraber]

THe plants using up the co2 like that hurt fish/grow algae? What effect does that have on the rest of the tank?
<--- Has smoke "not so great" Cabomba in a 20gal with a 15w bulb.. I need to go get a new bulb huh?

 

[aquamanis]

Hi bgraber, plants using a lot of Co2 are giving of a lot of oxygen so they are better for your fish. Fast growing plants also compete with algae for nutrients so they are good for algae control as well. Yes 15watts in not enough light in a 20 gallon. You would need at least 50watts of photosenthysis light spectrum to grow good cabomba but more the better.

 

[benzonar]

I would really not bother with Cabomba at all. It needs lots of light, gets dirty very quickly and is hard to clean. Plus when it starts to die and break up it clogs your filter quickly. There are loads of plants out there which look better and grow better under a wider variety of conditions, so ditch the Cabomba.

 

[bgraber]

Now how would I get 50W on a 20 gal tank?! Wouldn't what be bad for the fish? The bright light??

 

[aquamanis]

Now how would I get 50W on a 20 gal tank?! Wouldn't what be bad for the fish? The bright light??

A: couldn,t say without knowing your setup. Compact flouros probably the best. The light dosen,t have to come from a source above the tank. Its easy to put a standard lamp (lamp on stand) with a screw in compact flouro in front of the tank or to the side near the plant that needs more light. Use a 15-25 watt daylight 5000k bulb (equilvalent to 75-150 watts). As long as you,ve got hiding places for some of the fish if they don,t like the light it shouldn,t bother them. The only fish I see in your sig that might not like it is the oto.