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I think my plants are all dying.

8K views 41 replies 14 participants last post by  Inga 
#1 ·
Well I got all my new plants in on Thursday, gave them some fertilizer and the new lights on Friday but they are not looking good at all. I would say that I am down by 1/3 of them already as I have had to throw so much out. My Amazon Sword and Camboba which have been in a few extra weeks are getting brown now too.

I understand that the new ones are stressed from the move and temperature changes and everything but I was hopeful that they could bounce back. Any suggestions as to what to do?

I had to do a partial water change again today because my favorite fish "little Blue" was dead when I came home today. :-( :BIGweepy: I didn't want to leave toxins in the water so I did a 25% change but as careful as I was taking out and putting in water, I think damaged the plants even more. A lot of the dead pieces fell off from the water movement and are now floating about. Is there any hope for them?
 
#2 ·
Fist thing Inga, three days is not sufficient for plants. I reset my 70g two weeks ago, and added plants on the Tuesday [12 days ago now]. Some were crypts. On Friday one of the crypts had melted; the other of the same species only did so (partially) this past Wednesday. I fully suspected this, crypts usually do melt when moved. My point is that it takes several days sometimes for adjustments. As for the other plants, they are no different yet.

Your plants had the added stress of being mailed (I bought mine in stores) and that takes its toll. Be patient.

As for the sword, how long have you had it? And was it from the store new, or elsewhere?
 
#3 ·
I figured I had better add a few pictures so you guys might better be able to tell what is going on.

Here is the Amazon Sword. It went through a yellowing stage but it had gotten greener and seemed to be doing well. Now it has big brown patches on it. I don't think it is algae as my algae eaters (otto's) tend to ignore those spots when they are cleaning the leaves.


The Pennywort seems to be almost melting. The leaves and even some of the stem is getting sort of soft and clear. It is almost impossible to pick out the leaves that come off because they just squish in my hands and break into tiny little fragments in the water. It doesn't' show well on here but it almost looks white in spots then they get soft and fall off.

Pennywort from the top


The Java Fern

self explanatory as to what is going on here.

Rotala is kind of like the Pennywort, it gets soft and squishy, though not nearly as bad yet. Some areas are getting real yellow in color.


Here is the Ludwigiaas you can see, it is flipped over and looking worn out.


The Vallis has all but disappeared and the Hydrophilia and Narrow leaf is yellow, soft and sort of withered looking.

I am still hopeful these plants can sort of bounce back. I don't know what else I can do for them. :-(
 
#4 ·
Oh yeah, I figured the stress was the issue but I was concerned that the damage would be so sever, they wouldn't bounce back. It sounds hopeful that they might then, even if they are melted.

I bought the 2 Amazon Swords and the Cabomba at Petsmart.
 
#5 ·
That Java Fern looks fine. Mine seem to do that all the time, especially after I tie them on. After a few weeks, I bet you'll start seeing tiny fronds start appearing and "rolling out."

By the way, may I suggest fishing line or brown cotton string to tie those on with? It's much more aesthetically pleasing. :)
 
#6 ·
That Java Fern looks fine. Mine seem to do that all the time, especially after I tie them on. After a few weeks, I bet you'll start seeing tiny fronds start appearing and "rolling out."

By the way, may I suggest fishing line or brown cotton string to tie those on with? It's much more aesthetically pleasing. :)

LOL Yeah, I stupidly thought it would blend better then fishing line. I also thought I would be able to take it off after the fern was "stuck on" so I thought it would be easier for me to get to. I might change it but honestly, I am afraid to touch anything right now, It is all so fragile and falling apart. I was afraid I was losing everything because it all looks pretty rough.
 
#7 ·
From the photos, I agree the Rotala and Ludwigia don't look good, but these are stem plants that are fast growers and undoubtedly this ordeal has taken a toll. Give them some time in their new home, with good light and nutrients, and they should bounce back.

The Java Fern doesn't like bright light, so it does best in shadier spots, if there are floating plants over it it will be fine. It is a fairly slow grower, so don't expect a lot in a few weeks ever. I have two attached to wood that I got almost a year ago, and they have not grown much in all that time.

Echinodorus (swords) are mainly amphibious bog plants, spending half the year emersed in marsh/bog soils and the other half submersed (the rainy/flood season). All adapt very well, some extremely well, to fully submersed conditions which is why they make excellent aquarium plants. But the leaves the plant produces when emersed are quite different from those when submersed. The outer leaves that are yellowing is probably the emersed growth, and now that the plant is submersed these leaves will all in time yellow and die; remove them once they begin to yellow, pull them off right at the base at the crown. I use my fingers to bend the leaf back and down, and the stem usuaslly breaks apart fairly easily.

However, I do see the "clear" patches on several of the plants, and that is a nutrient issue. But I need to know more; what is your pH and hardness, and temperature? Are you using a liquid fertilizer and which one and how often? How long is the tank light on daily?

Byron.
 
#8 ·
Ok, The PH level is 7.6, I don't know the exact hardness but I have soft water. (without a softener) The lights are on for about 12 hours a day, I just added Root Tabs (API brand) and Flourish Comprehensive. It said to do that 2 times a week, which I intended to do.
 
#9 ·
Ok, The PH level is 7.6, I don't know the exact hardness but I have soft water. (without a softener) The lights are on for about 12 hours a day, I just added Root Tabs (API brand) and Flourish Comprehensive. It said to do that 2 times a week, which I intended to do.
That sounds good, they should start to show improvement in a couple weeks.
 
#10 ·
Inga, my gardening experience is terrestrial, I'm also new to aquarium plants. Byron or someone else who knows better than I do can correct me if there is a difference between terrestrial and aquatic plants and I'm completely wrong telling you this, but dead leaves don't necessarily mean your plant is dying. The plant grows, it disposes of waste materials into some leaves which die, but the plant still grows and is healthy. A growing plant won't look completely perfect like a plastic plant. Some leaves will die off as part of the normal plant processes. A plant that looks half dead can still be alive, it'll shed some leaves (sometimes, a lot of leaves) but it will then throw out some new growth and be perfectly ok. The hygrophilia I put in one of my tanks looked a bit sad when I put it in, some of the older leaves have done that dissolving thing, but there's new growth on it so I think it's ok (it's been several weeks and it's not dead). As Byron has said, be patient. Just leave it be for a while and you might be pleasantly surprised.

(oh, and I wouldn't overdo the fertilizer, either, especially while the plants are stressed. Time will fix things better than too much fertilizer will.)
 
#11 ·
+1 on waiting. someones signature here says clean aquarium water is the best medicine, but patience is just as important :) ive often made the mistake of freaking out when adding new plants and them quickly dropping like flies, but the truth is you will lose some. When I add new plants I ID them and try to make sure my ferts will work for them. if not I grab one that does the job. More often than not the place will bounce back with appropriate nutrients. It wont be a jungle over night!

im fighting the urge to rip out all the plants in my 55 and start over again because all my new plants look sickly, but they will be fine.
 
#12 ·
someones signature here says clean aquarium water is the best medicine, but patience is just as important :)
It's 1077's signature line and I love it. It's so true. Someone else has something to the effect of "nothing good happens fast in an aquarium", which is also true. Beetlebz is right, patience is key. It will turn around!
 
#13 ·
I'd also urge for patience.. Think about it these plants went from soft to harder water, from low lights to higher lights, from no ferts to quite some ferts, from stable system to new set up, from in the tanks to shipping..... I mean there's hardly anything more left that hadn't been done to the plants. I gave away plenty of the pennywort & rotala so far and never really seen this extent of melting going on neither from the same source plants here, but just have patience.
Rotala, Pennyowrt, Narrowleaf chainsowrd & Hygrophilia all grow real quick so I'd just scoop out dead leaves and let them be.
 
#14 ·
Yes, I am trying to be patient. I have calmed down some. Whatever will be will be in the plant area. I was just in full panic mode because all of them seemed to be dying on me. The Valis all but disappeared now but the other plants are hanging in there so far. Hopefully in a couple of weeks this will all be laughable. I am forever picking out dead bits of plants but doing so carefully so as not to upset or uproot any of the ones still hanging on.

I am sure the fish are doing some degree of damage to the Pennywort as they spend about 90% of their time in it or under it. It is like a shiny new toy for them, I guess. I am down to a much smaller amount of that then I started. Hopefully it will hang on since they certainly seem to enjoy it.

My remaining blue Gourami hangs out in the Rotala and even though it is sparse yet, it certainly offers some cover and security for him. I think once it fills out, it will really look great.
 
#16 ·
Some of my plants took months before they stopped looking sickly an shedding leaves. My java moss and Vallis both took 2-3 months before they started growing well but there's no stopping them now

Well that is certainly encouraging. I hope mine take off as well. I am looking forward to heavily planted tank with happy fish that don't feel the need to chase or harass each other. I know the Barbs will be the exception to that rule as it is just who they are. There chasing seems to be uneventful though, just like nit picking kids.
 
#17 ·
Perhaps with each other, as they are programmed that way. But other fish in the tank can be quite stressed by their very presence even if nothing "occurs" that you can see. A quiet peaceful fish placed into a tank with a predator will be highly stressed even if that predator never attacks. Dr. David Sands did experiments with Corydoras in the 1990's and proved that when a "false" predator (a wood replica) was in the tank the Corydoras sensed "danger" and they exhibited their natural defense strategy which is to remain absolutely motionless; if that doesn't work, they dart around trying to escape. With live fish there is the further issue of pheromones released by the fish, and other fish pick these up in the water (one reason for regular water changes, to clear them out). I would be very careful what you combine with Tiger Barbs, they are by instinct pretty rough fish.
 
#18 ·
I would be very careful what you combine with Tiger Barbs, they are by instinct pretty rough fish.

I agree. I looked to 3 different sources to find out if Gourami would be alright with Tiger Barbs and all agreed that yes, they would. So far, the Barbs are not the issue, they chase each other but for the most part leave the others alone. Big Bertha, the Gold Gourami seems to be the issue. She chases them on occasion, and they might turn around and chase her back for a foot or so then give up. She however or he, what ever the case may be, chases everyone.

I fear that i have purchased a play ground bully type of fish. I am hopeful that as the plants grow up, they can feel more secure in the tank. I hate that the learning process is so often at the expense of the fish. I was so happy and proud that I made it through the cycle process without a loss of fish life and now, I find I have a different problem. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid in owning fish. :BIGweepy:
 
#19 ·
The only other thing I could think of on the plant matter is the Temp the tank is set at as they're tropical plants?

As for the Barbs-Gourami....I have 2 tanks with Tiger barbs and one 55g is shared with Kissing Gourami; even thou there's never been a single issue to this day and everything in this tank is very relaxed, I'd never go for this mixture of fish again cause chances of it going wrong are just too big IMO if I could I'd give up the Gourami today.
 
#20 ·
I hear you Angel. I would never have thought about Gourami but they sort of talked me into it saying they were peaceful but less likely to be picked on by my picky Tiger Barbs. I have enjoyed them a great deal for the past several weeks but now... I am ready to deep fry one of them.

Maybe in my quest to have a peaceful tank, I should get rid of ALL the fish and just enjoy the look of the aquatic plants. lol

I always say I love nature and I do, but I really have difficulty with the whole "survival of the fitest" thing.
 
#21 ·
Yikes! Every time I think I am making progress, someone takes care of that. Tonight I have about 20 stems from my Anacharis floating on top. What in the world happened there? I assume a fish was screwing around in the plants and uprooting them. Little brats. Without the Anacharis wall I had in the back the whole tank looks different.

How much time do you guys spend "fixing" your plants or don't you have these problems?
 
#24 ·
if u have thick gravel u can add tall hairgrass in the back of ur tank. i did that when my tank was in dismal conditions and it flourished like crazy. but it has to be in bright light. 2-3 wpg. when i mean dismal conditions i mean brown melting rotting worthless piece
of crap:BIGweepy::BIGweepy::BIGweepy::BIGweepy::BIGweepy::BIGweepy::BIGweepy::BIGweepy:
 
#25 ·
Yea I tried planting all my Anacharis at first but gave up after it started dying/uprooting, my problem may have been the lack of proper light though. I only have 1 of the original stems left now but have 3 - 4 new stems that grew off the old stuff before it died. I have noticed or at least think there is a correlation between the intensity of the lights and the leave size of new stems.
 
#27 · (Edited)
This is one reason I do not like or use stem plants much. The other reason is that they grow fast (once established, my Pennywort took weeks then bang) and you are continually trimming them to keep them tidy. With rooted plants like swords, crypts, vallisneria, etc., they stay as you plant them and their root systems are sufficient to keep them anchored once they take hold. No fish like you or I have can uproot one of my Echinodorus bleherae with its 12-inch wide root system that goes down through 5-6 inches of gravel.
 
#28 ·
don't give up my plants was showing sign of being a bit dull i added more light and fertalizer and rehomed plants to another side of the tank if they hated light and they bounced back. it's a trial and error and fix thing.might wanna teach the barb to not play rough tag near the plants for the time being but guess you can't cause barbs will be barbs lol
 
#29 ·
Ugh! I spent a small fortune on these plants. The Anacharis is absolutely beautiful, or WAS. If the crazy fish could stay out of them . Today, I came home to the little bit of Pennywort that I had managed to plant now floating too. Rotten fish!

I am beginning to think I will get rid of all my fish and just get a few rubber ones to float peacefully around my plants. ha ha

I should have taken pictures of how lovely my plants were looking just a few days ago. Who knew that they would all of a sudden find a new game to play? Sassy, Sassy little fish. Maybe I should get another bag of Eco and try to root them deeper. I think mine is only about 4 inches deep or even a little less. Next stop... aquarium glued in plants. lol
 
#31 ·
4 inches of substrate should be fine.I refer back to my earlier comment on stem plants.I couldn't keep mine planted either.All of my root plants are fine and looking good.Like Kitten said you just have to find that balance.One thing I've learned from everyone here is to be patient.
 
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