how do i keep them alive :(

[chrism]

Hi,

i bought Cryptocoryne undulata potted and two Eleocharis acicularis also potted. They were delivered yesterday i split the Crypt into three pieces and planted each one about 2cm apart in a triangle, and broke the Eleocharis into about 11 pieces and planted them about 2-3cm apart. Have i done right so far?

I got home from work today and have noticed some yellow leaves on the Crypt, also some have black spots (only two), and one is missing the bottom right hand side of its leaf, it looks like its been chewed off but it is the only leaf like it.

the bases of some of the Eleocharis are looking a bit yellow, this happened last time i bought this stuff but i didnt know what it was nor did i split it into smaller pieces.

So my question is this: How do i keep them alive?! Am i panicing over nothing?

i have 2 x 18" 18W one general freshwater & one plant grow both by acradia. On for about 12hours a day. Also one 18W moonlight tube. So i have a medium amount of light?

My water is about 7.5PH and 14GH

My tank mates are:

3 Bolivian Rams
2 Pictus Cat
5 Redeye Tetra
13 Cardinal Tetra
1 Bristlenose Cat
Quite a few Malaysian Trumpet Snails - which are over the Eleocharis but dont appear to be causing any damage and they arent on on the Cryptocoryne.

Thanks for any help! I would actually like to keep these alive ive failed with the last two lot of plants i bought...

 

[malkore]

what size of tank? you can't cound the moonlight at all, so you have 2 bulbs that count. Also, 18" normal output tubes should only be about 15watts.

Is this a 10 gallon tank? If so you have medium light, but it's weak medium light.
If it's a 20 gallon tank you have low light.

Either way the crypts can survive in that lighting, though you say you 'broke them up'. Do you mean the pot contained several separate plants...or did you split one plant up into several?

Eleocharis acicularis needs a lot of light, and CO2, to do well. It also needs a pretty fine substrate...normal pea gravel isn't a good substrate..too heavy, won't allow the hairgrass to spread out.

 

[chrism]

its a 70l about 18 us gal i think, the pot contained one plant, which i split onto three... hmmm sounds stupid now, think i might have mis understood the instructions!

I use sand, and yep my mistake only 15W hmmm going down hill now isnt it!

 

[TankGirl]

Sometimes crypts "melt" and actually dissolve when water conditions change, so sometimes when you get a new crypt it will react poorly to the new surroundings, then come back to life.

 

[Guest]

Crypts that are moved to a lower light situation often seem to melt. I have never had it happen because I always seem to be moving them into higher light or the same amount of light.

You have 30 watts over a 18 gallon tank. That's a low light tank IMHO. On smaller tanks the WPG rule breaks down real quick. You need to reach a certain minimum threshold of light before the WPG rule kicks in. And to tell the truth I'm really not smart enough to tell you what that threshold is but I can tell you that you can/should run a much higher amount of light on a smaller tank. I have 28 watts over a 5.5 gallon tank and from my experience higher light plants don't do real well in there.

 

[chrism]

so if my crypt does melt, i should just remove the dead leaves and leave it, it might come back?

if i swapped my moonlight tube, for another plant gro tube that would give me 2.5wpg but as i have a small tank that probably isnt 2.5 so do you think that it would be enough light to grow Eleocharis? If not i wont bother getting the other light as i do like my moonlight. although i could probably squeeze a extra tube in but that would mean ive got three starter units lol

 

[Medusa Head]

What you experienced is completely normal for a tank without CO2 supplementation.

I recommend pressurized. A ton of people swear by DIY (where you use a 2 liter bottle, yeast, sugar, baking soda, and water), but from my own personal experience I believe this method is ineffective.

Do some research on it on Google to learn all about what to buy and how to set it up.

 

[Guest]

Swapping out the moonlight tube will help. And if the Crypts melt all the way just leave them alone. Most of the time they will come back.

 

[chrism]

ok i might do that, i'll give them a couple more days and if they're still doing badly i'll order it on monday

Just out of interest... how / did you get banned from plantgeek!? lol

 

[vega]

sand might not be good for plant

 

[TankGirl]

I grow crypts in sand, no problem. My valisneria thrives in sand as well.

 

[chrism]

yep my valls are thriving too, altho i ripped a load out to put into in my new plants.

 

[Guest]

They did not like the tone of my FAQ.

 

[Guest]

ok i might do that, i'll give them a couple more days and if they're still doing badly i'll order it on monday

No crypt is going to start coming back in a couple days, more like a couple weeks. For the most part, they tend to be slow growers. Have patience, far more often than not, they will come back. At least that is my experience, I've had very few ever die on me.

If you really want to do plants, you will almost definitely need to swap out the moonlight for a regular bulb. I know it's hard to part with something you like (such as your moonlight bulb), but sometimes you just have to.

 

[chrism]

QUICK UPDATE: Just to let you know, my grass is actually gowing, there are new shoots breaking the surface of the sand my crypt is still falling apart tho hehe

Thanks for all the advice, hopefully they will keep going as they are!