Pictures and plant care advice

[JRagg]

Well I'm just getting started on my planted tank. Right now I'm happy with what I have in there, but it seems that all of the plants aren't happy. That's where I'm asking for some help. As it is, right now I'm cycling my tank, and I would be willing to guess that most of the required nutrients are not in there.

My tank is a 15W bulb over a 10gallon tank. I'm using Flourish Root Tabs near all of the plants. I dose Leaf Zone (K2O and Fe) once a week like suggested on the bottle. pH is around 7.8, Ammonia 4.0 (cycling), Nitrite 0.25, and Nitrate 5-10 (dkH is 4 and dgH is 10). I've got a piece of petrified wood in there along with the following plants:

Cryptocoryne Lutea (right in the middle)
2 x Anubias (not sure which kind)
Anubias Nana
Red Melon Sword
Water Sprite (the guy at the store really messed up bagging it and broke 4 stems)
Java Fern
Red Wendtii

Here is a picture. Excuse the screwdriver. I took the light fixture apart so that I could see what was inside (I'm an engineer). I plan to put on a black background before the fish go in, but for now it's naked.

I'm looking for some suggestions on how to set this up. I need a little more growth before I can "fill up the tank", but some of my plants aren't doing so well.

The Java Fern - Black spots and Brown Dead spots on some leaves. I'm guessing this is a deficiency of some sort. Should I prune the bad leaves (even though they are the largest by far)?

Red Melon Sword - I know I don't have enough light for this guy. I screwed up at the store. If I moved it to the middle would that help?

Anubias' - Slow growers for sure, but it looks like they could be healthier. Do they take a while to get used to the tank and take off? How deep should they be planted?

Lutea - Doing very well. I pruned the dead and dying stuff, and the rest of it has perked up a lot.

Red Wendtii - It is "melting" a lot worse than the Lutea did. How much should I prune (how much is too much)?

Water Sprite - Just introduced today. The guy at the store didn't do a good job bagging it and broke a few stems. I left it potted for the time being because the pot has some ferts in it to help it bounce back. I put the other stems in the sand near some root tabs. Should they grow back?

Fertilizers. What else do I need (other than patience)? Phosphates?

 

[Purrbox]

For the Crypts you'll want to remove any of the leaves that are melting. Given some time they should bounce back. This is very normal for crypts when moved, however placing a root tab under them can help prevent it or at least help them spring back quicker.

The Anubias tend to do best when tied to driftwood or rocks. Since you decided to plant them you will need to make sure to only plant their roots and not the rhizome (thick tuber that the leaves and root grow out of). These are very hardy but don't grow very fast especially under lower light.

 

[JRagg]

Both Crypts have root tabs next to them right now, but I'm guessing the Wendtii is bouncing back slower due to being in the corner (less light).

What would you use to tie the anubias to a rock? Just regular kite string, fishing line, dental floss? I just uncovered the rhizome on the other anubias. I had it exposed on the nana already.

Any tips on the Java Fern? That's the plant that looks the absolute worst in my tank.

 

[newfound77951]

Java fern should also be attached to a rock or to driftwood, it doesn't like having its rhizome buried in the gravel. You can remove any ugly leaves so the plant isn't wasting energy on them.

I think many people use fishing line or sewing thread to tie plants onto rocks or wood. Dental floss might have some weird stuff in it (I don't know if I'd put mint flavoring in my fishtank!!) It doesn't take much to hold them there, and they will soon grow roots into or around the driftwood or rock and then you can remove the string.

Good luck! The tank looks good so far!

 

[JRagg]

I figured my fish might like fresh breath, thats why I was going for the dental floss.

Just kidding .

Anyways, I decided to do some more research on the Java Fern since it looks so horrible. I was also curious as to how roots would penetrate rock and "grab on", but apparently they do. This guy also said that the black spots were a way of reproduction, though it had not really been documented. Kind of strange. I think I'll try to tie it down with some thread since that is probably the easiest way to go about it. Thanks for the help.

He also said that this plant can be kept in tap water with no ferts at all, so I guess that means that though it may not look great I can't kill it. Now that's my kind of plant.

Java Fern Site