are my plants taking?

hello every one, im just curious, how do i know if my plants are taking? they are planted firmly, the roots are covered, water temps are good. but some of my jungle val are starting to turn brown. i planted 5 plants, and 2 of them are almost half brown already. only one of them, has one leaf that is compleatley dead. does this mean they are not taking, or maybee they are not getting enough food? any help would be great.
 
Generally you can assume plants are "taking" when you start seeing healthy new growth, while the old growth also remains healthy and green. It sounds like something is off if your val is going brown. What sort of lighting do you have? Do you use any fertilizers?
 
k, well, i dont use fertilizer, when i planted them, i did remove dead leaves. they are in a 10 gallon tank, with 2 25 watt lights, that are incandesent light. they are in a mix of sand and medium small gravel. oh, and as for the guitars, the fish get less active when they are not there, i dont konw what to do, i feel when i have to take them out of the room, the fish get all lonely. lol.
 
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