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Why do my aquatic plants keep dying?
My aquarium has been running for about 5 months. It was a fully planted, but just about everything has died. I had 3peices of anubias attached to driftwood, all but 1 grew, but none ever attached(I had them tied with fishing line). I had 2 swords that were full and healthy when I bought them, nw they have like 2 leaves. I have 1 surviving java fern that is not growing, but isn't exactly dying. I had alot of anachris, but it all has died. I have a moss ball thats doing okay. I have a bunch of crypts that grew at first, but now they are all dying. I had hornwort but it all is dead too. I've replaced all these plants, with no success there either. I feed them with plant food from my lfs every wednesday. I have had special lights to help them grow since day 1. I have flourite for gravel as well. Nothing seems to work! I have seen people with notheing but gravel and plants are perfect. I have everything, and I cant even keep 1 alive. What am I doing wrong?
@mle My tank is 30 gallons. I have 2 platys, 6 rummynose tetras, 3 giant danios, and an angel fish. I am using the hood the tank came with, but I have replaced the lights that were in the hood. The lights are both 17 watt Clormax's. Since I have 2 bulbs, I bought a Colormax freshwater bulb for the fishes color, and a 10,000k Daylight bulb for the plants. They are both florescent.
@mle My lights are T8 24". There is actually a strong current.. Not much I can do about it though because the filter is built in the hood. Is this okay? An I will purchase root tabs, but I figured that the lights, liquid fertilizer, and flourite would be enough.
1 Answer
- EmilyLv 67 years ago
What type of fish do you have? Some fish will pick at plants until they damage them beyond repair.
How big is your tank, and what type of lights are you using? Are they fluorescent (long tubes) or incandescent? (shorter tube bulbs).
If you can, comment on this with your tank size (in gallons) and the type of light you have for it, and whether it is the hood that came with the tank or if you bought another fixture for your tank. Then I can calculate your WPG and help you out
EDIT:
With that information, you have 1.13 watts per gallon. That should be enough for low light plants, such as anubias and java ferns.
Are your lights T5HO bulbs? Typically, 30 gallon tanks take 24" bulbs on a standard T8 fixture. with that in mind, you have 6" on the sides that are not being used by the lights. Some of the more demanding plants can die from a simple lack of light.
Things to consider: Are you vacuuming out around the base of the plants when you do your water changes? Poop tends to build up there, and can cause ammonia burns to your plants. Platys can pick at plants in just the worst ways. If the leaves are damaged, the plant cannot photosynthesize, and the plants will die. Or in my case, they will pick at the roots until they die. Do you have a high current coming from your filter? Too much water movement can cause plants to break, and prevent roots from setting.
Try getting fertilizer root tabs to add to your tank at the roots of the plants, and if you are serious about trying to start a planted tank, look into setting up a CO2 injector.
