Sooo... My plants aren't growing... and I have no idea why.

dundadundun said:
sagitaria and valisneria look very similar. vals are usually pretty big plants though and those little plants look more the size of sagittaria subulata (dwarf sag).
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Ok thx. I thought you meant something different.

Sometimes, some plants give off chemicals, like phermones, that inhibit other plants growing. So some plants dont do well in the same tanks with others. I dont remember which ones but thought you might be referring to that.
 
SidtheMonkey said:
Ok thx. I thought you meant something different.

Sometimes, some plants give off chemicals, like phermones, that inhibit other plants growing. So some plants dont do well in the same tanks with others. I dont remember which ones but thought you might be referring to that.
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There's been a lot of debate over that and actually one of the more common ones I read about is that sags and vals cannot be in the same tank. I beg to differ and have read countless other posts about people keeping the same two plants together successfully.

I personally don't know of any case where that has been determined to know the issue, but then again I haven't yet dived into the planted world all that deep. I know that this is one of the points Walstad brings up in her book.
 
Gah, meant to attach photo's with the post, but I was home on break from work and then the internet crapped out on me. Here's the pics.

The first two were when I first got them (2 weeks w/no water and light from the LFS) No label. I got them for free.
The third pic is a while after the first two. Those were the runners... that's as big as they got.

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They look like dwarf sags. Dwarf sag are cool in the fact that in low light they stay short and in high light they get taller, they make good foreground plants in low light setups for this reason. So in your low light conditions it adjusted.
 
Just an example of how plants adjust to low light conditions.

Dwarf sags don't look so good lately but those are adult & juvi RCS next to them.

Also a compact sword (Echinodorus parviflorus 'Tropica') with anubias petite behind it.

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jpappy789 said:
There's been a lot of debate over that and actually one of the more common ones I read about is that sags and vals cannot be in the same tank. I beg to differ and have read countless other posts about people keeping the same two plants together successfully.

I personally don't know of any case where that has been determined to know the issue, but then again I haven't yet dived into the planted world all that deep. I know that this is one of the points Walstad brings up in her book.
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I dont remember too much about it, it's been awhile. Karen Randall is coming to our club again in June, maybe I can catch up. Who is Walstad and has she authored books on aquatic plants?

I do know that terrestrial plants produce chemicals to discourage predators and competitors.
 
allelochemicals are nothing to worry about in a planted tank as if you're doing your prescribed water changes they never build up.

diane walstad is the author of "ecology of the planted tank". she covers lots of things in the book including allelochemicals. the reason i would think she covers them is that the walstad or npt method is based on very little fish stock, low light, good substrate and very seldomly relies on water changes. she even makes mention of water changes as far apart as a year or so. i could see how that could be an issue if you picked your plant stock wrong. for most aquarists looking to create a nice planted tank they're not willing to wait a year for the plants to grow in, keep one fish in a 50 gallon tank, etc., etc., so water changes... and they never amount to much. stunted growth or dieing off of one species due to another should not be an issue.
 
myswtsins said:
Just an example of how plants adjust to low light conditions.

Dwarf sags don't look so good lately but those are adult & juvi RCS next to them.

Also a compact sword (Echinodorus parviflorus 'Tropica') with anubias petite behind it.
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What is the netting that you used to tie your moss to the rock???:help2:
 
dundadundun said:
allelochemicals are nothing to worry about in a planted tank as if you're doing your prescribed water changes they never build up.

diane walstad is the author of "ecology of the planted tank". she covers lots of things in the book including allelochemicals. the reason i would think she covers them is that the walstad or npt method is based on very little fish stock, low light, good substrate and very seldomly relies on water changes. she even makes mention of water changes as far apart as a year or so. i could see how that could be an issue if you picked your plant stock wrong. for most aquarists looking to create a nice planted tank they're not willing to wait a year for the plants to grow in, keep one fish in a 50 gallon tank, etc., etc., so water changes... and they never amount to much. stunted growth or dieing off of one species due to another should not be an issue.
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I do remember that name now, and the book.

Re: allelochemicals (thank you!), I see your point about frequent water changes, but I think they'd still have some affect. Maybe CO2 can overcome it by enabling rapid growth, but the plants wouldnt have developed the chemicals at all if they didnt work, and few bodies of water dont have at least some influx of water to dilute them...rain, current, springs, etc.
 
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