Does my Hornwort and Javafern look alright to you?

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Hey guys, I don't really think my plants look alright to me. What do you think? If you do think they are bad tell me what I need to do.

Hornwort shot 1


Hornwort shot 2


Hornwort shot 3



Javafern



Please help.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Just to add something on the hornwort, it seems like it is turning kinda light tanish and the little leaves are falling off. Like some parts are like that then some are fine. Post fast please need help.

 

[JustOneMore20]

The hornwort looks like it needs something.

How much light do you have over the tank....and is it the 5g?

Are you dosing any nutrients/ferts?

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

The hornwort looks like it needs something.

How much light do you have over the tank....and is it the 5g?

Are you dosing any nutrients/ferts?

I have a 15watt SuperUV Sunlight Bulb over the 5 gallon aquarium. I don't use any nutrients/ferts. I have really been doing my normal water changes but I don't know if that would do anything.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Is the hornwort new?

If not, it may be a lack of nutrients. You might try picking up a bottle of regular Flourish. It has alot of nutrients that plants need. Your lighting looks fine for the Hornwort, which would have been my first guess, had I not known your lighting.

From what I can tell, the Java fern looks fine. One thing, if you have the bottom part buried in the substrate, pull it up a bit and just bury the roots (not the hard stem like part).

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Is the hornwort new?

If not, it may be a lack of nutrients. You might try picking up a bottle of regular Flourish. It has alot of nutrients that plants need. Your lighting looks fine for the Hornwort, which would have been my first guess, had I not known your lighting.

From what I can tell, the Java fern looks fine. One thing, if you have the bottom part buried in the substrate, pull it up a bit and just bury the roots (not the hard stem like part).

Yeah I got the hornwort maybe a week or so ago,

I got a bottle of PlantGro stuff I don't know if they would be good enough or would I still have to buy flourish?

Yeah I will problly pull the Java Fern up a bit.

Just a question, I know that low-tech setups grow slow but when will i really see some plant growth?

 

[jsoong]

that hornwort is looking a bit ratty. The reddish tips may be indicative of lack of nitrates <mine turns a bit red when I forget to dose KNO3). Under good light & with enough nitrates (hornwort is a nitrate sponge), it is possible to see it grow an inch or 2 overnight!

Java ferns I find to be very slow growing, and I only see growth over the course of weeks.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

that hornwort is looking a bit ratty. The reddish tips may be indicative of lack of nitrates <mine turns a bit red when I forget to dose KNO3). Under good light & with enough nitrates (hornwort is a nitrate sponge), it is possible to see it grow an inch or 2 overnight!

Java ferns I find to be very slow growing, and I only see growth over the course of weeks.

Ok I have a bottle of this PlantGro NPK Aquatic Plant Fertilizer stuff. It says add a cap full for every 10 gallons so I just had half a cap for my 5 gallon aquarium. It says every dose adds 3.5 mg/L of Nitrate, 0.5 mg/L of Phospahte and 2.5 mg/L of Potassium. I just added some in just now at 8:00pm. How often should I dose?

 

[jsoong]

I usu. dose weekly with my pwc. Some dose 2-3x a week in low tech tank & daily in high tech ones. You usu. need to experiment a bit to find a right balance for your light level & plants.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

I usu. dose weekly with my pwc. Some dose 2-3x a week in low tech tank & daily in high tech ones. You usu. need to experiment a bit to find a right balance for your light level & plants.

Ok so what would be the best way to experiment without a test kit on hand. Just kind of dose 2-3 times a week this week and maybe like 1 time the next just to see how growth and color takes effect??

 

[jsoong]

There is the EI approach - you dose enough of all nutrients (actually an overdose) during the week, then do a 50% pwc to reset the tank & repeat. <There are schedules on the net if you are interested.>

Personally, I start low & escalate. I start at weekly dosing. If the plants look good, I just carry on. If the plants start to show signs of deficiency, then I increase the dosing. With plants, you have to have patience .... you have to give them a couple weeks for any changes to show results.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

There is the EI approach - you dose enough of all nutrients (actually an overdose) during the week, then do a 50% pwc to reset the tank & repeat. <There are schedules on the net if you are interested.>

Personally, I start low & escalate. I start at weekly dosing. If the plants look good, I just carry on. If the plants start to show signs of deficiency, then I increase the dosing. With plants, you have to have patience .... you have to give them a couple weeks for any changes to show results.

Ok awesome, thanks a lot I thought all my plants were going to die, thanks!

 

[Justamazing]

Hornwort/Java Fern

Hi! there;

I see you do not have enough lighting for your Coontail (hornwort), also it appears that you have it planted. Usually Coontails are free floating plants. I would increase the lighting some. Place it on a S hook and hang it on the side of the aquarium, until it becomes vibrant green, then let the S hook sink to the bottom. Also, you may want to make yourself a DIY CO2 reactor (youtube it).

Your java fern looks ok to me. It should be placed somewhat in the middle of the aqauarium and planted into the substrate. What I used for my substrate is good old creek bed silt. I took it home and baked it in the oven at 400 until sterile. When you see the leaves developing brown spots, dont worry that is normal that is part of there reproductive system. Little baby Fern will develope on the underside of the leaf and toward the edge.

What I use for fertilizer is good old liquid cow maneur, however, I wouldn't suggest you using that until you get good at controlling algae growth.

Here in Texas we have very hard water. I occasionally change out water, but for the most part I leave my tank alone, and it seems to thrive. I also, do not use filtration system in my 30 gallon vertical tank. The only time I set a filter up is when I thin out my plants and transplant the plants iinto another area of the aquarium.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Well as you can tell this is an old thread so really my problems have been solved. My hornwort is now floating around in my yellow shrimp breeder, they love the stuff.

Some of my java fern is in my heavily planted 5G tank, it has 30W over it with DIY Co2, adding ferts next week. The rest of the java fern is in my 10G shrimp breeder tank, they also love that plant aswell.

Thanks for the info, but as you can tell my last post of this thread was in November, my problem has been solved. Thanks though.