Help with my plants!

[animallover09]

I am very new to plants. I bought these a couple of months ago and they are starting to look sick. I'm not sure if my fish are messing with them or I'm just doing a horrible job of keeping them alive.

I'm not even sure what kind of plant they are. I just bought them from Petco and put them in my tank.

Do I need more lighting? I'm not even sure what these plants need. I'm really thinking I should have research plants before diving into them.

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi Animallover.
Your middle pic shows a sign above the tank - 'Love is all you need'. True, but I think your plants need a little bit extra
They look to be planted in sand - do you have root tabs for nourishment. That might help. Plants also need a carbon source - dissolved Co2 in water is very low compared with the atmosphere. Liquid carbon such as Excel or Glut would help. I'm not very up on lights as I run my tank on normal T8 bulbs for 13 hours a day, something not normally encouraged by the plant enthusiasts on here, but I do have excellent growth and minimal algae. Pressurised Co2 is a big step up, with a high cost to purchase, but fairly cheap to run.
So to start with I would use root tabs if you're not already and consider liquid carbon. I wouldn't expect existing poorly leaves to recover but new growth should be stronger and greener.
Good luck and keep the pictures coming in.
Steve.

 

[brennae]

Looks like a sword of some type, such as melon sword and I agree with the above poster, you need root tabs.

 

[Rivercats]

You definitely have a nutrient deficiency problem. Add root tabs on a regular basis as swords are heavy root feeders and cut off the really damaged leaves as the plant wastes energy trying to repair leaves where it will do more good putting that energy into new plant growth.

What type lighting and bulbs do you have? You should always research plants before buying as you need to buy plants that will grow in the lighting you have on the tank.

 

[animallover09]

Okay! Thank you everyone for your advice! I would have never thought to get those root tabs. I never knew they existed. I will try to get some this week and also some Excel or Glut. Never heard of those either.

Anyways, I'm not sure what kind of lighting I have. The lights are recessed into the ceiling of the shelf they are on. I think my husband said they are LED lights.

Thanks again everyone! Ill post back if I have more questions after buying the root tabs.

 

[Sk3lly]

Okay! Thank you everyone for your advice! I would have never thought to get those root tabs. I never knew they existed. I will try to get some this week and also some Excel or Glut. Never heard of those either.

Anyways, I'm not sure what kind of lighting I have. The lights are recessed into the ceiling of the shelf they are on. I think my husband said they are LED lights.

Thanks again everyone! Ill post back if I have more questions after buying the root tabs.

Light is one of the most important things for plants to flourish. You really do need to find out exactly what you have

 

[Rivercats]

Personally I'd buy Metricide 14 day solution. A gallon costs about $20 which is dirt cheap compared to buying the name brand Excel. Also if you get Metricide throw away the activator bottle and never use it. Metricide 14, glutaraldehyde, is 2x as strong as Excel and must be used at half strength if dosed from the bottle or can be diluted at a 1:1 ratio with distilled or RO water. It must be kept in opaque containers as light breaks down glut and renders it useless.