Val dieoff, any ideas?

[Fresh04]

I just recently planted my tank, and I put several what I think are Jungle Val into the setup. When I received them they were in great condition, green and full, the tallest being ~16". Not even a week later, most of the tall leaves are turning a dark green and seem to be starting to rot. However, one plant had a curly shoot with some kind of bloom on top. I've trimmed off what looked like the dead shoots. Any ideas about their demise?
Is it just a die-back for now, and it will regrow again?

Flourite substrate, with Flourish tabs buried
I dose Flourish 2x this week.
I dose Flourish Excel daily.
36 gal. with 55w c.f. lighting
pH 6.6-6.8

I've done some research and read that the Val needs iron, Flourish Iron is in shipment to me.

Any theories?

[PumaWard]

I think that Vals like hard, alkaline water and bright light. This might be attributed to its demise.

Also, check your tank over for snails, I had some wipe out my vals very quickly.

[anonapersona]

When I got vals in the mail, most of the leaves had tiny bits of damage, the leaves are sort of brittle and easily hurt.

After a few days in my tank they got fuzzy and bad looking so I trimmed each damaged leaf as far as necessary to remove the damage. Most plants were left with a 1 inch nub. Almost all of them grew back.

When I ship vals now I try to mention this to the buyers, they damage easily and may require trimming. Also, if the tank runs out of CO2 they will decay in a similar way.

[djlen]

Yes, they don't ship very well. If you have decent lighting they should make a come-back.
BTW, I have very soft water and mine grow like weeds.


Len

[Fresh04]

True, they haven't even been in the tank a week, the weather in the north has been brutal, so it may have taken its toll on them during the shipment. I've done some research on them, and they seem to like neutral pH and neutral hardness. All my other plants seem to be taking very well, so I'm hoping that the Vals will make a comeback.

I'm keeping up hope, especially since one of them grew a shoot with a little bud on the end. It came out of nowhere, so I know they have the potential.

Thanks guys!

btw anonapersona, how long did it take yours to grow back?

[anonapersona]

I think it took a week or more to be sure that most were putting on new growth. It took maybe a month for all of them to have decent growth and start to put out shoots.

Patience, patience.