6 month old mangroves suddenly dying

[sixpack_ey]

I have had these mangroves for about 6 months and they have grown about 4 inches since I got them and they have been doing great. But, all of a sudden they are starting to die off. The leaves turn brown and fall off and then the stem turns brown and withers. Some of them still look good, but I'm worried they will die soon too. They have a lot of light, and I spray them every few days with fresh water. I haven't made any changes to the aquarium. Does anyone know what could be going on? I included some pictures.

 

[brackishdude]

I had similiar experiences with mine, with a few dying every few months, and eventually ended up with none.

Someone once told me they use up the available magnesium in the system quickly. I seem to recall adding a bit of epsom salt to the tank once and getting a favorable response from the trees. worth a try?

 

[blackwolfXKAV]

They are experiencing a magnesium deficiency, which is limiting their abilities to rid themselves of excess salt.

You should try and look for some testing supplies, and something to supplement magnesium for your tank.

Good Luck!

 

[peach rum 11]

Hi! Did you get your mangrove problem figured out? I hope so.

I have a question though! What are the plants in your tank besides the mangroves? Are they fakes? Right now my brackish tank is looking REAAALLY bare, and with mangroves 10 bucks a pop, I can't really afford to load my tank up with them, haha. Just wondering! Your tank looks really good, by the way. What size is it?

 

[Poe]

A little late but.. it's a fungal problem due to high humidity and the fact that your plants are not recieving enough light and/or air movement (mangroves in the wild get plenty of full sun and fresh air). The soft, floppy foliage produced under low light indoor conditions is a perfect target, and in that environment it will spread very quickly, especially if you are misting the foliage. The only fix is a sulfur-based systemic fungicide- which I wouldn't recommend using at all near an aquarium. Even if you could, mangrove seedlings are extremely sensitive to pruning and tip damage, and wouldn't recover at this point. I have some trouble growing mangrove in the greenhouses at work under ideal indoor conditions. I would speculate that you'd need some high pressure sodium or metal halide lighting and a fan of some sort to circulate air to have any hope of long term success.

 

[sixpack_ey]

Poe, I am sure you are correct. The lighting is very strong- its for corrals, but there is poor circulation and I thought the plants were dry so I've been misting them almost daily. I even saw some white stuff that I know now was probly fungus. I still have one left, but I'm sure it will meet the same fate as the others. Peach rum 11, thanks for the complements! It is a 75 gallon. Its got lots of java fern planted and some thats attached itself to the wood. Also there is water sprite. The large plant in the corner is artificial. I was used to a heavily planted FW tank and like you thought my BW tank looked bare so I did something I thought I'd never do and got a fake plant. But I am happy with the way it looks. By the way, you can get mangroves on ebay for a very reasonable price. I got about 25 of them for $25, but you know how that turned out.