Crypt Melt

[An t-iasg]

I had a wonderful "forest" of Cryptocoryne wendti. I fell asleep on the couch a week ago (I wasn't feeling well, although that's no excuse ) I did turn the tank light off, but not the room light. It was on until 4 am. The betta is fine, but the crypts totally melted. I removed the dead stems and leaves.

I do see a little leaf appearing today! I dose Seachem's Excel on Monday and Thursday, Flourish on Tuesday and Friday, and Nitrogen on Wednesday and Saturday. There are root tabs under the substrate, and there's some java moss in this tank too. All the liquid ferts are dosed at 1/8 teaspoon, which is about 4-5 drops.

So I'm pretty sure the extra light melted the crypts since they were so nice before. Is my fertilizer routine ok, or should I not fertilize as much until more new leaves grow?

 

[travis simonson]

C. wendtii is possibly the heartiest of the Crypts commonly kept in aquaria and I would be very surprised if a little extra light caused that reaction, although stranger things have been known to happen with Crypts. I've never had a C. wendtii melt on me before and I've treated some of mine pretty roughly. Are you sure there was no other change in the tank conditions prior to reactor meltdown? New bulbs possibly? As long as your fert regimen did not undergo a considerable change just prior to the meltdown I can't imagine that it would be at fault if it has been working well thus far. How is your filter doing, any possible clogged mechanical/bio media causing a reduction in O2 levels?

 

[TankGirl]

The only time my crypts have ever melted was for totally unknown reasons, meaning no changes in routine or water conditions at all. I have moved to a new house without any melting, had pH swings, moved the plants within the tank, tore the tank down, moved a plant to a new tank with different substrate and water params, etc. and never had one melt, but have had minor meltings when nothing unusual had happened that I was aware of, so don't feel bad. Mine are c. walkeri.

 

[medge00]

doesn't that suck? crypt melt can be one of the saddest things, especially when its a huge plant. they'll come back, just stick to your normal routine and keep things stable.

 

[An t-iasg]

Thanks, everyone!

The bulb will be a year old in June. I was going to change it then, just to be sure the wavelengths weren't deteriorating. Should I change it sooner? I read somewhere that the bulb wavelengths (is that the right word?) may change without our eyes really detecting it, but the plants may suffer. When does everyone change their bulb? I know it depends on how long you have it on every day. This is a 15-watt bulb over two 5 gallon tanks. The anubias in the other tank is fine.

The filter is just a sponge filter. I did double-check the gang valve and everything is normal.

The biggest crypt has a small leaf already, and it got a little bigger today, I think! It's just so sad to watch the betta try to squeeze himself under that one leaf! Hopefully the other crypts will show some new growth soon.

 

[An t-iasg]

I was just reading on the sponsor site, Aquarium Plants.com, that too much CO2 will make the C. wendtii melt. I know the Flourish Excel is not CO2, and I don't have CO2 injected into the tank. I just wonder if I should reduce my Excel dose. I did use too much when I started this tank and the pH fell from 7.2 to about 6.4. The crypts never melted during that pH flux, but the pH is fixed now. I did a series of small water changes and changed my Excel dosing from almost every day to twice a week. I don't see how the Excel could build up, since I do water changes once a week. Is it a good idea to reduce the Excel dosage, or since the Excel is not CO2, maybe the Excel isn't the problem that caused the melt, and it was the excess light?

 

[TankGirl]

I think the Excel dosing is only a problem if you put too much in at once, but I might be wrong. I dose every day with Excel in my 5gal and the crypts in there have never melted (*knock tank*).

For NO fluorescents it is usually a good idea to replace the bulbs about every 6-9 months, but for PC bulbs I don't think you have to do that, but wait until it burns out.

 

[An t-iasg]

Thanks, Liz! Your planted 5 gallon is more heavily planted than mine. I just have the crypts and the java moss. What is your dose of Excel?

I should change my bulb then. It's just about 9 months old. It's a NO bulb.

Another crypt leaf popped up today!

 

[medge00]

if you're going to change your bulb, do it now that most of the melting has occurred. I don't know that I always know what goes on when i have a crypt melt, but you may as well make minor changes now that its happened, rather than later, when all the leaves are back.

 

[TankGirl]

I fill the cap to the first thread, which is ~1mL.