Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
fresh water aquarium
In my 29 gallon tank I have three fresh water plants. Recently, the leaves of these plants have been losing their green color and have become almost clear. Does anyone know the reason for this? I don't give these plants any food and don't know if I should. Please help!
|
#2
|
|||
|
|||
I'll assume you have actual aquatic plants and not something like
purple waffle, mondo grass or Spathiphyllum that many aquariums sell despite their intolerance of submerged culture. What type of plants are they? Can you tell us anything else about the appearance of the plants? (spindley?) Which leaves are you talking about? Old leaves or new leaves? How much light is over your tank? Old leaves do die and some aquarium plants eg Crypts will drop their leaves in response to changed conditions. Some aquarium plants are often sold with emergent leaves (not aquatic leaves). Basically the nurseries grow them out of water and sell them to aquarium shops, where they're promptly put into tanks for sale. You buy them put them in your tank and for the next month or so the emergent leaves die as the plant produces new aquatic leaves. The problem may also be a nutrient deficiency especially if you're not adding fertiliser. Sounds a little like iron deficiency. Your fish will give your plants nitrogen and phosphorus but all those other elements you find in store bought fertilisers are generally absent from your tank. You'll find suitable fertilisers at all aquarium shops. Ideally the fertiliser should not contain nitrogen and phosphorus. Don't use garden fertilisers or the nitrogen and phosphorus will give you algae problems. Most aquarium liquid fertiliser brands are fine. Just compare the dosage/volume and get the one that will give you the most value for money. It's very to get ripped off (by the manufacturers) when it comes to fertiliser. Another option is planting substrate fertilisers (again, available of aquariums) at the base of your plants. This might be a good option if you only have 3 plants. Again, compare the price to how long the fertiliser will last. Try rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants for more advice. FWIW I agree with Basil's post. Planted aquariums are not hard to maintain. So long as you have enough light, add fertiliser and keep appropriate plants your plants will thrive, the fish waste gets removed and your fish will be all the better for it. CO2 fertilisation is good but definitely not necessary. The average aquarium doesn't have enough light to make it worth the effort anyway. Andrew |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
I kept trying and trying and trying to grow good plants, but they would
always die or the fish would eat them, I tried all sorts of things. In the end I bought the dreaded plastic ones!! (Shame!! shame!!). But now they're all covered with algae, they look really good, you can hardly tell they're fake. Jen "Andrew" wrote in message oups.com... I'll assume you have actual aquatic plants and not something like purple waffle, mondo grass or Spathiphyllum that many aquariums sell despite their intolerance of submerged culture. What type of plants are they? Can you tell us anything else about the appearance of the plants? (spindley?) Which leaves are you talking about? Old leaves or new leaves? How much light is over your tank? Old leaves do die and some aquarium plants eg Crypts will drop their leaves in response to changed conditions. Some aquarium plants are often sold with emergent leaves (not aquatic leaves). Basically the nurseries grow them out of water and sell them to aquarium shops, where they're promptly put into tanks for sale. You buy them put them in your tank and for the next month or so the emergent leaves die as the plant produces new aquatic leaves. The problem may also be a nutrient deficiency especially if you're not adding fertiliser. Sounds a little like iron deficiency. Your fish will give your plants nitrogen and phosphorus but all those other elements you find in store bought fertilisers are generally absent from your tank. You'll find suitable fertilisers at all aquarium shops. Ideally the fertiliser should not contain nitrogen and phosphorus. Don't use garden fertilisers or the nitrogen and phosphorus will give you algae problems. Most aquarium liquid fertiliser brands are fine. Just compare the dosage/volume and get the one that will give you the most value for money. It's very to get ripped off (by the manufacturers) when it comes to fertiliser. Another option is planting substrate fertilisers (again, available of aquariums) at the base of your plants. This might be a good option if you only have 3 plants. Again, compare the price to how long the fertiliser will last. Try rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants for more advice. FWIW I agree with Basil's post. Planted aquariums are not hard to maintain. So long as you have enough light, add fertiliser and keep appropriate plants your plants will thrive, the fish waste gets removed and your fish will be all the better for it. CO2 fertilisation is good but definitely not necessary. The average aquarium doesn't have enough light to make it worth the effort anyway. Andrew |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Jen wrote:
I kept trying and trying and trying to grow good plants, but they would always die or the fish would eat them, I tried all sorts of things. In the end I bought the dreaded plastic ones!! (Shame!! shame!!). But now they're all covered with algae, they look really good, you can hardly tell they're fake. Jen "Andrew" wrote in message oups.com... I'll assume you have actual aquatic plants and not something like purple waffle, mondo grass or Spathiphyllum that many aquariums sell despite their intolerance of submerged culture. What type of plants are they? Can you tell us anything else about the appearance of the plants? (spindley?) Which leaves are you talking about? Old leaves or new leaves? How much light is over your tank? Old leaves do die and some aquarium plants eg Crypts will drop their leaves in response to changed conditions. Some aquarium plants are often sold with emergent leaves (not aquatic leaves). Basically the nurseries grow them out of water and sell them to aquarium shops, where they're promptly put into tanks for sale. You buy them put them in your tank and for the next month or so the emergent leaves die as the plant produces new aquatic leaves. The problem may also be a nutrient deficiency especially if you're not adding fertiliser. Sounds a little like iron deficiency. Your fish will give your plants nitrogen and phosphorus but all those other elements you find in store bought fertilisers are generally absent from your tank. You'll find suitable fertilisers at all aquarium shops. Ideally the fertiliser should not contain nitrogen and phosphorus. Don't use garden fertilisers or the nitrogen and phosphorus will give you algae problems. Most aquarium liquid fertiliser brands are fine. Just compare the dosage/volume and get the one that will give you the most value for money. It's very to get ripped off (by the manufacturers) when it comes to fertiliser. Another option is planting substrate fertilisers (again, available of aquariums) at the base of your plants. This might be a good option if you only have 3 plants. Again, compare the price to how long the fertiliser will last. Try rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants for more advice. FWIW I agree with Basil's post. Planted aquariums are not hard to maintain. So long as you have enough light, add fertiliser and keep appropriate plants your plants will thrive, the fish waste gets removed and your fish will be all the better for it. CO2 fertilisation is good but definitely not necessary. The average aquarium doesn't have enough light to make it worth the effort anyway. Andrew Oh dear- algae in the aquarium :-(. This means too much light, and when the algae die they deprive the water of oxygen :-(. Plants are put into an aquarium for more than simple decoration. Plants provide oxygen AND are also food for some species of fish. So if the fish are eating the plants that means that they are either hungry or are natural eaters of plants. Just because the plants are being eatne doesn't mean you have to replace them with plastic ones! Do you have plastic plants in your garden and house, and do you eat plastic vegetables with your meals? Cheers. -- All things are possible, except skiing through a revolving door. |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
planted aquarium/natural aquarium | Freshwater Aquaria Plants | |||
Water from Aquarium Water Changes and Gardening | United Kingdom | |||
fresh water aquarium | Australia | |||
Ugly aquarium grass, and what fish to put in a small aquarium | Freshwater Aquaria Plants | |||
hot water recirculator, instant hot water but not a water heating unit, saves water, gas, time, mone | Lawns |