Frogbit dying..

[Mudfrog]

I'm having some issues with my frogbit dying off. I received a huge amount from a seller and it's kind of been down hill since I received it. When I received it the frogbit had very long roots, they have all fallen off though. The amount of frogbit has also decreased. I'd say I have less than half of what I started with about a month ago. Other plants are growing very well though. I have duckweed and the bulbs you buy from Walmart (red lily and Aponogeton). The red lily pads grow like crazy and are huge, the Aponogeton grow well also and are always producing blooms. The nitrates in the tank are usually less than 10. Does frogbit require anything special? For lighting I just use two daytime 48" bulbs (125g tank).

Bulbs I have: Aponogeton and Red Lily

 

[Rivercats]

It could be not enough light or not enough nutrients. A planted tank should have nitrates of at least 10-20ppm. Do you dose any ferts? Another thing you could do is contact the seller and ask what type conditions he was growing it in. If it came from outside to inside there is going to be a big light adjustment. Since I have metal halides that is what saved me on moving water hycanths from the pond in sun to the tank with artificial light. Plus there needs to be enough nutrients in the water to feed them that is why I asked about ferts.

 

[Mudfrog]

It could be not enough light or not enough nutrients. A planted tank should have nitrates of at least 10-20ppm. Do you dose any ferts? Another thing you could do is contact the seller and ask what type conditions he was growing it in. If it came from outside to inside there is going to be a big light adjustment. Since I have metal halides that is what saved me on moving water hycanths from the pond in sun to the tank with artificial light. Plus there needs to be enough nutrients in the water to feed them that is why I asked about ferts.

I don't dose ferts.. I was going for really hardy easy to maintain plants that do not need co2 or ferts. I was told by multiple people that frogbit should have the same requirements as duckweed. I might would entertain the idea of ferts but wouldn't that add to algae blooms? What is a decent but not overly expensive fert?

 

[Rivercats]

I use dry ferts from Greenleaf aquarium. I dose PPS-Pro. Their macro/micro package costs about $20 and will last you maybe a year for a 125g. It's the only cheap way to fertilize big tanks. And it still could be a light issue. I know my water hyacinths only do good in the 220g with the halogen lights, in my other tanks even the T5HO's aren't enough to keep it going. As for algae, plants need the ferts to grow and if there aren't enough ferts in the water or very little algae can out compete plants for the nutrients. If you don't want to do ferts then I'd just wait it out and see if the frogbit adjusts to your light and nutrients.

 

[Mudfrog]

Most of the frogbit that is left does have very small roots that are growing. I guess I'll wait it out like you said.

 

[Rivercats]

Most of the frogbit that is left does have very small roots that are growing. I guess I'll wait it out like you said.

If your seeing small new white root growth then it's adjusting so yep, just let it alone.