# HELP! What's wrong with my plants



## AquaAggie (Jan 4, 2013)

I'm new to aquariums and live plants. Put in some hornwort and anacharis a day after starting the tank because they are supposed to be hardy low light plants. Now two weeks later about half is the hornwort has died after getting covered in spider webby looking stuff and the anacharis is looking a little browner the bottom All is tied down to some rock. Only have a few neon Tetras in the tank. I left the anacharis bound together as I got it from the lfs. Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Or do I need to just hang on and let the tank finish cycling and let the plants work themselves out. Thanks


----------



## ionix (Oct 11, 2012)

AquaAggie said:


> I'm new to aquariums and live plants. Put in some hornwort and anacharis a day after starting the tank because they are supposed to be hardy low light plants. Now two weeks later about half is the hornwort has died after getting covered in spider webby looking stuff and the anacharis is looking a little browner the bottom All is tied down to some rock. Only have a few neon Tetras in the tank. I left the anacharis bound together as I got it from the lfs. Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Or do I need to just hang on and let the tank finish cycling and let the plants work themselves out. Thanks


I`d like to see a picture.. as I`m quite perplexed.

Though they are low light, you should be still using a bulb suited for growing plants. I assume you bought a full set, with hood and all, you could take your bulb into the LFS and ask for the ones suited for growing plants.

You may not have the correct trace minerals, in which case I would get some liquid aquarium plant fertilizer from the LFS too.

I would also, at the same time, get my water tested at the LFS. 

As a side note, for the webs, if you want them to disintegrate, most likely an fish antibiotic (broad spectrum) will kill any of that, not even in full dosage (maybe a pill or dose will kill it, saving you incase it comes back (I think its bacteria)).

P.S. As said below, you might want to unbunch them and also get some more of the metal [email protected], and seperately weigh them down with one for each. Just to maximize light efficiency and the avoid the metal cutting the plant if it requires more stem room (diameter).


----------



## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Often plants will take two weeks to adjust to new enviroment,which during existing leaves may die.The new growth is what you should monitor.Both your plants will grow like crazy if you let them float(not as pretty but for real).Also seperate the anacharis as the bottoms often die from lack of light and being bunched doesn't help them get as much light as they could.


----------



## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

AquaAggie said:


> I'm new to aquariums and live plants. Put in some hornwort and anacharis a day after starting the tank because they are supposed to be hardy low light plants. Now two weeks later about half is the hornwort has died after getting covered in spider webby looking stuff and the anacharis is looking a little browner the bottom All is tied down to some rock. Only have a few neon Tetras in the tank. I left the anacharis bound together as I got it from the lfs. Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Or do I need to just hang on and let the tank finish cycling and let the plants work themselves out. Thanks


Hello Aqua...

These two plants are floating plants. I don't believe they'll do well planted in the substrate. The plants are sold in a bunch, but need to be separated and floated close to the light source. Stem plants need the entire length exposed to the light. 

I keep a lot of Anacharis (Waterweed) in my Livebearer tanks and have never planted it. I do large, weekly water changes and dose a little liquid fertilizer a couple of times a week. API and Tetra have good liquid ferts.

B


----------



## AquaAggie (Jan 4, 2013)

They are not planted. I tied them to larger decorative rock because I read that that should be ok. I know they don't like being "planted" so they aren't buried just weighted down. Going to the lfs today so I will ask their about some of these suggestions. Thanks for the help
Also I did get a full set up which included a marineland 100 led light that includes 3 blue LEDs. Is this with a small amount of indirect light from nearby windows sufficient for these plants. How about java fern and anubias


----------



## ionix (Oct 11, 2012)

AquaAggie said:


> They are not planted. I tied them to larger decorative rock because I read that that should be ok. I know they don't like being "planted" so they aren't buried just weighted down. Going to the lfs today so I will ask their about some of these suggestions. Thanks for the help
> Also I did get a full set up which included a marineland 100 led light that includes 3 blue LEDs. Is this with a small amount of indirect light from nearby windows sufficient for these plants. How about java fern and anubias


Those sound great. 

I think that should have been good with sunlight. 

Though those lights have been reported to be ineffective due to the limited range of spectrum and water penetration. I would suggest.. taking a look through home depot, see if they have a cheap way to get a grow light on there. If I am right. A clip on would work in a pinch + grow bulb, youd be open to a lot. It couldn't hurt and might save you a lot of annoyance in the future.

Any way, hope it works out.


----------



## Amethyst (Jul 15, 2012)

Even unplanted, they will probably do better unbunched. I've also had trouble tying tender plants to rocks/wood/other weighted things. If you tie too tightly, the plant can die, and if too loosely, will drift away. 

Anubias will do OK with just natural light from the room, but will grow faster with a bulb on the tank. I don't know about LED lights, as I've never used them. I have used the bulbs from Home Depot labeled plant and aquarium lights, and they are OK for low light plants. These are T8 size fluorescent tubes, though, so you probably couldn't use them with your hood. 

I've also had no luck whatsoever with Java Fern, but I think what I had was not the common kind - it actually looked like a fern, whereas the java fern I've seen for sale on line and in pet stores doesn't look very fern-ish. That might have been why I had problems getting mine to grow.

By the way, I know that you didn't ask about the fish, but neon tetras are particularly sensitive to water parameters and really do best in a tank that is already fully cycled. Since you just set up your tank and already have the neons in it, you need to monitor your ammonia and nitrite levels very closely, and do water changes frequently until the tank is cycled. It takes longer to cycle a tank this way and is harder on the fish, but it should work over time. It may take several months, because the ammonia is what feeds the bacteria that changes the ammonia to nitrite and the nitrite feeds the bacteria that changes nitrite to nitrate. In a fishless cycle you can let the levels spike, thereby feeding your colony of good bacteria and growing it faster. With fish in the tank you can't let the levels go as high without damaging the health of the fish. Therefore less ammonia means less bacteria, etc., so it takes longer to build up a sufficient level of nitrifying bacteria to have a stable cycle. There are some ways to speed up the cycle by adding products that contain the live bacteria, such as Nutrafin Cycle, API StressZyme, and other products whose names I can't remember at the moment. You can also put filter media, decorations, gravel, etc., from an already cycled tank into your tank, as they will bring the bacteria with them, if you know anybody who has a tank that has been operating for several months or longer and has healthy fish in the tank now.

Good luck with your plants and your fish!


----------

