Help! My plants don't seem to be growing :(

[standardbyker63]

I bought some java ferns a few months back and put in my tank to help offset the algae growth. The plants didn't look great, but I only paid around $5 for a large clump of them and after removing the dead leaves, they looked fine. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on plants because I was afraid my goldies would eat them. It seems that since my tank originally had plastic plants in it for the first 9 months, the goldies didn't bother the live plants, so I bought some amazon swords. I have sand substrate, so I wasn't sure if they would grow in it or not. After a few months, it doesn't seem they are doing too well. The java fern looks exactly the same as the day I bought it but the swords just look like they've very slowly died off. I can't notice any real growth, only a yellowing and thinning of the leaves with some completely disolved away. One of the plants looked so bad, I uprooted it and threw it away, but not before noticing that it had established a root system in the sand. The algae in the tank has definitely subsided noticably since adding the plants. I do 30-40% water changes every week or two. Ammonia and nitrites are at zero, nitrates stay low w/ water changes. Any ideas why they aren't growing? I really like the look of real plants now vs fake. Perhaps I have the wrong bulb?

29g
20W bulb
4 small goldies, I know it's too many :(
air stone
penguin bio wheel power filter

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[FastFly67]

is the bulb incadescant or flourescent? did you put any root tabs under the plants?

[phanmc]

You need more lighting, bulb type isn't really important but 20w is insufficient for your tank and you should double it. Put the lights on a 10 hr timer. If growth doesn't improve add a root tab or do weekly liquid fertilization with something like Flourish comprehensive.

[standardbyker63]

I never used root tabs. What are they? How do they benefit the plant? The bulb is a flourescent bulb. I'm still using the light fixture that came with the setup but I've replaced the bulb and try to keep it replaced every 6 months or so. I do have a bottle of Flourish iron supplement, but I really haven't used it because I don't have an iron test kit to tell if the levels are correct. Is this the same Flourish product you mentioned above? Also, in regards to getting a larger light source, can I get a new fixture that allows for more watts but still fits on top of the hood? Thanks for your quick replies :)

[standardbyker63]

Also, the light is set on a 10 hour timer and has been so for about the last month and a half. The reason I mentioned something about the bulb type is because last time I replaced the bulb, the guy at the LFS recommended going with a bulb that has more of a bluish tint to help reduce the algae (I didn't have live plants at the time) so I was wondering if this could have anything to do with the lack of growth. I'm planning on replacing the bulb soon and going back to the natural spectrum bulb, eventhough the blue tint looks pretty cool.

[rocker92]

i would reccomend going with CFL bulbs. i had a 20W flour. on a 10gal. and it wasnt enough to keep my swords alive.

[phanmc]

Root tabs are fertilizer you bury in the substrate, they usually contain most of the nutrients necessary for plant growth.

Flourish Iron doesn't contain the other nutrients. Seachem has another item simply called Flourish that contains a little bit of everything.

But you will need to increase the lighting first. Simply switching the bulb won't help, you need to get another bulb in there. The cheapest way to add more light is to switch to an incandescent hood that allows you to have two screw in CFL bulbs. Slightly more expensive but will provide better spread is to replace the hood with a 2 tube fixture.

[country_boy454]

How are the Java Ferns planted? If you buried the rhizome in the sand then it will rot and the plant will slowly die. It is best to be attached to something like a rock or driftwood. Also the Java Fern is a slow growing plant.

[petluvr]

Increasing your lighting will be critical to maintaining almost any plants in that tank.

[7itanium]

Lighting is your problem... java fern is a fairly low light plant and will SURVIVE with almost no light

but... that doesnt mean it will grow... it will stay alive with less than 1 WPG

but it needs about 2 WPG to acctually grow and flourish

How are the Java Ferns planted? If you buried the rhizome in the sand then it will rot and the plant will slowly die. It is best to be attached to something like a rock or driftwood. Also the Java Fern is a slow growing plant.

THAT TOO!!

[standardbyker63]

The java fern is actually not planted in the substrate. From what I had researched before buying the plant, the rhizome needs to be above the substrate, so it is attached to a rock in the corner. The java fern seems to be doing fine, it just isn't flourishing. I would say I've had it for nearly 4 months but nothing has really changed. It isn't dying, but it also isn't growing. The problem seems to be with the swords. I'd really like to keep them around because I think they are really neat looking plants and from what I've read they can really flourish under the correct conditions. From the posts above, it would seem that I need to invest in some root tabs and stronger lighting which evidently will require a new hood in order to accomodate the better fixture. Is this correct, and has anyone tried replacing/upgrading the hood for better lighting on a standard 29g setup? Any pointers would be great! Thanks!

One last thing. I've been worried about the sword's ability to grow in sand substrate. Does any one have any experience with this?

[epicfish]

Also, the light is set on a 10 hour timer and has been so for about the last month and a half. The reason I mentioned something about the bulb type is because last time I replaced the bulb, the guy at the LFS recommended going with a bulb that has more of a bluish tint to help reduce the algae (I didn't have live plants at the time) so I was wondering if this could have anything to do with the lack of growth. I'm planning on replacing the bulb soon and going back to the natural spectrum bulb, eventhough the blue tint looks pretty cool.

Exactly what bulb do you have in there? If they told you to go with a blue (actinic) bulb, go back and slap them.

Increasing your lighting will be critical to maintaining almost any plants in that tank.

More than 10 hours? :rolleyes:

Lighting is your problem... java fern is a fairly low light plant and will SURVIVE with almost no light

but... that doesnt mean it will grow... it will stay alive with less than 1 WPG

but it needs about 2 WPG to acctually grow and flourish


Where does all this misinformation come from?

[7itanium]

Exactly what bulb do you have in there? If they told you to go with a blue (actinic) bulb, go back and slap them.



More than 10 hours? :rolleyes:



Where does all this misinformation come from?

what misinformation would that be? lol

you need to go try and grow plants with .6 watts per gallon and then come back and tell me im wrong...

[Kashta]

By increasing your lighting, petluvr (most likely) meant wattage, as others have said as well. The lighting you have is enough to generally keep some low light plants alive. But they're not going to grow much.... as you've noticed and mentioned already. You're already burning the lights you have 10 hours a day and the java ferns you added were to outcompete algae. It doesn't work like that, however, with slow growing plants like java ferns. If algae control is still something you need (can't tell if that's an issue still or not).. there are many fast-growing low and low-medium light plants you could choose. Those are the ones that will help outcompete algae because they grow so fast and they use up excess nutrients in the water that would otherwise feed algae growth.

The sword plants you have would prefer a little more light than you're giving them. They're more of a low-medium light plant. They're are also heavy root feeders, so this is why root tabs were suggested previously. Root feeders are plants that draw ferts from their roots. They don't benefit from ferts suspended in the water column. With the sand substrate you have (instead of a soil substrate), root tabs are necessary to feed the swords. Root tabs are small clay tablets that contain dry ferts that we push into the sand near the root system.... thus, making those ferts available to plants who feed through their roots.

It's something of a misconception IME that you can't have plants with goldfish... btw. I have several large goldfish in a heavily planted tank (also using a sand substrate). I'm quite happy with this combination. The plants are doing fine and the goldfish are quite happy about it too.

[Wycco]

I'm fairly new at keeping plants- but one thing I have noticed is:

Ratty looking plants take a long time to recover.

Take your Java Ferns:

Got several ratty looking ones from Petsmart first- they still look as bad as the day I got them (no worse though thankfully).

Got some nice onese via the aquariacentral classifieds- I've already noticed significant growth and they still look great.



Moral of the story- ratty looking plants continue to stay looking ratty for a while. Best starting out with a trusted source and a good starting plant- not one from a box store like petsmart.

[norfolkboy]

try attaching your Java fern to a piece of driftwood, lay out the roots over the wood then wind black thread over the wood and the roots to hold them in place, they will soon attach themselves to the wood and will
grow quite happily like that. increase the light output and you'll have a happy plant.

Pete :thm:

[standardbyker63]

It's something of a misconception IME that you can't have plants with goldfish... btw. I have several large goldfish in a heavily planted tank (also using a sand substrate). I'm quite happy with this combination. The plants are doing fine and the goldfish are quite happy about it too.

I've also noticed that the goldies seem to be doing fine with the live plants in the tank. They've never really taken note of them.

I'm going to look into trying to find a new hood and light setup for my 29g tank. Hopefully I can find something without breaking the bank. If you guys have any suggestions on brands or products, please share.

In the mean time, I'm going to go to the LFS and get a new bulb for my current light so I can get rid of the actinic bulb and I'm going to pick up some root tabs to see if I can get some change out of the swords. What can I do with the swords that are still in the tank? By that I mean what do I need to do with wilting leaves? Should I remove them? Do the leaves on the swords rejuvenate themselves or will they just be replaced with new growth?

Thanks again!

[DSR]

I also have a 29 gallon. I purchased the Coralife Aqualight (65W) and put a 10000k bulb in (only because no one carries the 6700k). Built a co2 reactor with a two liter bottle and bam my plants went through the roof. Stablized water quality and really looks nice. I dose once or twice a week with flourish and run my lights about 10-11 hours a day. if you really like plants don't be afraid to jump in there; I have honestly found that I enjoy the aquascape part of the hobby more than the fish part hahaha. No expert by anymeans, but I really do enjoy it.

As for the swords, cut off the wilted as low to the body as you can. It will regrow a leaf or two in its place. Right now you are just using up stored energy on a goner leaf. Good luck> I really recommend teh aquallight.

[epicfish]

what misinformation would that be? lol

you need to go try and grow plants with .6 watts per gallon and then come back and tell me im wrong...

You're wrong. 2 WPG to grow java ferns? Give me a break.

[phanmc]

This is a nice low profile fixture for a 30" tank:

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18360/si1379081/cl0/coralifeswt5aqualightdoublestriplight30

Might want to ask them to replace the actinic bulb unless you want a bluish tank. The fixture uses T5 bulbs which are not compatible with the more common T8s, you may have to order replacements online.

[7itanium]

You're wrong. 2 WPG to grow java ferns? Give me a break.

first of all.. there is no reason to be rude to me

secondly-- java ferns will FLOURISH in 2 WPG... I know this for a fact because I grow them in 3 WPG very well.

As I said.. they will live in much much less than that-- but they arent gonna grow very much with 1/2 WPG lol... 1WPG is bare minimum to grow any plant IMO

[severum mama]

what misinformation would that be? lol

you need to go try and grow plants with .6 watts per gallon and then come back and tell me im wrong...

I've done it in a 29 gallon with the same lighting that the OP has. It won't work every time, but sometimes you get lucky and find some plants that will truly thrive in very low light. A blanket statement that plants cannot thrive in very low light is incorrect. Here is my extremely low light 29 gallon... I had it set up for several years and only tore it down due to tank upgrades. ;)