Strange Things Happening To My Crypts

[Zikofski]

okay i honestly don't know how to describe this but my crypts where flourishing almost tripled in size until about 3/4 days ago when i noticed something looking like melting but it dose not look the same i am trying to get a picture but its hard to get a picture, it seems to be only effecting the crypts, it looks similar to blue green algae but its strictly on the leafs but i don't think its blue green algae, but then it looks like a disease or something but again i don't know just guessing here, one thing that may cause it i have lotus bulbs i was told they release some chemical in the proven plants grown in the vicinity so i am questioning if they are to cause or some of my plants to stop growing.
 
photobucket is not working for me yet il haft to post a pic up later


 

 

 
any ideas anyone?

 

[DrRob]

I've grown wendetii alongside lotuses with no trouble, although I'm sure it's not impossible.
 
Personally, it looks like melt, unless something is taking bites out of them, but crypt leaves aren't the easiest plant to predate.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Hmm, could be something like Cyprtocoryne Disease perhaps.
 
Have a look at this site and see if you think could be Cyrptocoryne Disease -
 
http/badmanstropicalfish.com/plant_problems.html
 
This is quite a useful link, i have saved this in bookmarks as references for any problems.

 

[DrRob]

That hadn't occurred to me as an option in this tank, particularly if they've been growing so well recently, but if there was a stir up of any organics by the replanting around the lotuses (loti?) going in then it could have set something off I suppose. I was more thinking that the increased growth and new plants have changed either the flow or the CO2 availability in the tank and a melt has ensued.

 

[Zikofski]

hm okay it does look like melting but the melting i know of is the leafs become clear and grey like but thisx(melting) looks same sort of soft ness and looks similar in structure but the leafs go a dark dark green like the aglae i mentioned the only thing i can think of with my tank regarding major change is water temp last few weeks the temp has been close to 30 now its dropped to 25.5 and i do odealy want it close to 24 but struggling to get there at moment could the instable water temp be doing this?

 

[Ch4rlie]

Hmm, an intriguing problem this isn't it?
 
DrRob, I would agree with you about that normally but since its just affecting the crypts, nothing else and also does not really look like melting leaves to me, more of a disease type look imo.
 
And if it was the temp fluctuating in past as Z says, would that have not affected other plants too?

 

[DrRob]

Not really, crypts are a pain for growing perfectly and then all melting for their own reasons, it's actually unusual to only get one melt, as it's conditions based they tend to all go together. On the bright side they tend to come back with no trouble when they do that, but it does appear a bit like devastation when it happens.

 

[Zikofski]

hmm okay il keep monitoring it and importatnly look for nee growth the only other thing i can think of thay may effect the tank is i got fish last week and its now fully stocked so maybe nitrate has rissen and would that cause melting?

 

[Zikofski]

okay did a huge 90% wc today maybe that will help also removed my Bulb plants, maybe if they are the cause will allow my plants within this area.
 
plants are still (melting) and i have managed to get a good picture of what is happening
 

 

 
can anyone tell me what exactly 100% is going on >_< my crypts are almost non existent now

 

[Byron]

I would suggest that your light may be too intense.  I cannot remember off-hand, but from other threads I believe you have four T5 tubes over this tank?  If I'm mixing this up with another member, my apology.  But assuming I am correct, this is going to be far too much light directly over crypts.  In the first set of photos, the "black" looks to me like algae.  The last set of photos is crypt melt, one form anyway, and I have seen this (and the former too).  If this is determined to be the issue, reducing the tubes to two, plus floating plants or somehow providing shade, should help.  If the light is too intense to start with (for the plant species), reducing the duration is not likely to solve the problem.  Duration impacts things when the intensity and nutrients are relatively in balance for the needs of the plants, but not when the intensity is significantly under or over what is needed to balance.
 
Another possible is too many nutrients.  Again if memory serves me correctly, you are dosing EI in this tank?  Plants can take up excess nutrients to some level, depending upon the species.  Slow-growing plants, such as crypts generally are, will do less of this because they do not need the high level of nutrients.  The result is that the excess nutrients can cause the plant to shut down assimilation of other nutrients.  It can get very complicated, and I am not a botanist, so I can't really explain it further.
 
Crypt melt can occur with any change to the environment.  Different species react differently, but a change in temperature, GH, pH, nutrients, light can all trigger a melt.  Any one of these here might have been the cause.
 
Byron.