Crypt balansae old?

[JackBlasto]

I'm new enough to this (1 hard core year) that I am inexperienced in the life cycle of a plant. I have a lot of crypt balansae and some are appearing to melt (although there's been no parameter changes) and the water is actually the most perfect it has ever been. They have all been doing pretty well too. All levels test perfect. Is it possible these plants have simply old leaves and the old leaves die after around a year? Thanks for any advice.

This pic appears much more green than in reality. Granted most of the tank IS green and fine… But you can see that one leaf in front is melting and it's very fair to say that the portions of the leaf that look LESS green are in fact brown in reality.

 

[Rivercats]

Plant leaves do get old and it's not uncommon for them to die with age. Just cut the leaf off as close to the crown as possible. As long as the plant is still producing new leaves that are healthy don't worry. You can always add a new root tab if you think the plant needs one.

 

[aqua_chem]

To echo what RC said, the leaves may get old and die, but the plant itself doesn't have a natural lifespan like animals do.


And crypts just do that sometimes. Even things like temperature changes can throw them into a melt, and I think sometimes they just do it for the heck of it.