My dying plant

[Squareheads]

So I bought this plant and I have no idea what it's name is....

the name slipped my mind and its slowly rotting in my aquarium falling from
leaf to leaf... I really want to salvage this plant since its the most expensive out of all the plants I bought

A guy in the LFS told me to change my bulbs to UV lighting but I don't know if thats true

any suggestions?
(sorry for the pic quality, phone cam)

 

[FishEggs]

you should have a daylight spectrum bulb. if you're using the stock fluorescent bulb which is probably 15watts it's still not be enough light for that plant and it will continue to deteriorate.

what is your tank size and light type/wattage?

 

[Squareheads]

yep its 15 watt.

whats a daylight spectrum bulb?

would a UV bulb do as well?

or how many more watts do i need?

my tank is
20 gallon /w 18" 15 wat. fluorescent

I have an Anubias under it cause i was hoping it would serve as a shade because Anubias prefer mid lighting.. ><

can you pin point what this plant's name is for me?

 

[FishEggs]

a daylight spectrum bulb is a bulb that simulates the sun's rays which emits light at a certain color spectrum classified by kelvin or k. a bulb that emits light anywhere from 5000k to 10,000k would be what you need for your plants. you can go to your local hardware store and probably get a 15watt 18 inch bulb that says daylight on it and use that. those are usually 5000k or 5500k spectrum. i'm unsure as to whether the lfs associate meant a daylight bulb or not but that is what you need.

as to your other problem (plant dying) your profile says you have a cuban ludwigia. if it is ludwigia then you will have to at the minimum double your lighting and it may survive. all the ludwigias require at least medium with most wanting medium-high or high. you have very low lighting at less then 1 watt per gallon. medium would be 2-3 wpg.

 

[DragonFish71]

It looks like it could be Rotala Rotundifolia. Just from the shape of the leaves, I'm taking a guess. I have this plant in 5 out of 6 tanks because it grows great.

Here's what I do. First I pick off a few leaves from the bottom then get a few strands of it together, using a small stone and a small rubber band, I band it to the rock then let it sink so that roots form. After I get good roots I plant it a stem at a time.

I use API Leaf Zone as ferts and have a regular fluorescent aquarium plant bulb that I buy at Walmart of all places.

Here is a link to a picture on the plant I'm thinking of. This link doesn't have much info, but if it's the same plant you should be able to find out more by googling the name.

aquarium_plant_rotundifolia.html

 

[Squareheads]

I really can't tell what the plant is but I dont think its a Rotala...
It's stems are curving and are not upright...

@ FishEggs: Im planning to just get the lights at my LFS ill try keeping that in mind

 

[Squareheads]

a daylight spectrum bulb is a bulb that simulates the sun's rays which emits light at a certain color spectrum classified by kelvin or k. a bulb that emits light anywhere from 5000k to 10,000k would be what you need for your plants. you can go to your local hardware store and probably get a 15watt 18 inch bulb that says daylight on it and use that. those are usually 5000k or 5500k spectrum. i'm unsure as to whether the lfs associate meant a daylight bulb or not but that is what you need.

as to your other problem (plant dying) your profile says you have a cuban ludwigia. if it is ludwigia then you will have to at the minimum double your lighting and it may survive. all the ludwigias require at least medium with most wanting medium-high or high. you have very low lighting at less then 1 watt per gallon. medium would be 2-3 wpg.

how many more watts do you suggest I should get?

 

[JustOneMore20]

Looks like a Ludwigia to me.....though I cannot tell which species.

I suggest atleast 50 watts for your tank....and while that specific number probably isn't possible, somewhere in the neighborhood would be good.

With your current lighting (and probably even double it) the plant won't survive.

 

[Yellow Eye Tang]

Funny,... I got the exact plant from the LFS and the same thing started happening. It was clearly rotting from the store and I'm thinking I can save it. My tank is also 20g and Im pumping in Co2. I may have made a bad mystake but I lopped it off to about 3 inches above the gravel bed because it was so rotted when I got it home. I'm hopeing with the Co2 and the Sechems florish Excel it will sprout back. Good Luck!

 

[Squareheads]

im wondering if i should try to do the same thing, though my budget is tight right now, all I can do is probably get lighting...


If im to get a new light, is 50 watts too much? because I have an Anubias, and I don't think it'd prefer 50 watts...

 

[JustOneMore20]

I've grown Anubias in high lighting before...and they grew great. If you are worried, you could try to place them under other plants so that they don't get all the direct light. 40 to 50 watts would be good for your tank and plants...and not too much.

 

[Squareheads]

So I went around Home Depot and my LFS and I couldn't find any light of 18" that can go up to 30 watts but I was also wondering how to find out if it is a
daylight spectrum bulb :S

 

[Yellow Eye Tang]

Look for 6500k but preferably a 10000k bulb. Youll need to probably get it from a special fish store. A lot of the pet wherehouse, petland ect.. dont carry 18" power compacts. Look for a current USA 18" light. Mine is 64 watts but I just run it for a less amount of time and leave my old 15w on the rest of the time. Total light in my tank is about 10 hours a day.

 

[FishEggs]

you wont be able to find a fluorescent bulb 18" and 30 watts. you will have to either add another fixture to increase your lighting or buy a new fixture that has more wattage.

 

[Squareheads]

well sad to say... but I consulted my siblings and such and we decided to just take the plant out... The plant was really hopeless in my tank since it had the potential to grow taller but needs a great amount of light in which I cannot spend to add another fixture to salvage it... so we decided to take em out, and
learned that we shouldn't go after those kinda place anymore....so we replaced em with a fake plant and go after the smaller ones

thanks for the tips though, i'll keep these in mind when I get a bigger tank
ill use this knowledge for the better!