Hemianthus micranthemoides

[LC]

alright I thought I would just start a new thread and not high jack someone else's.

So I purchased some Hemianthus micranthemoides last week and so far it not only hasn't grown, it is starting to fall apart, I had it tied to a piece of drift wood before and now I've relocated down to the substrate which I though would be better for its roots. Anyways, a lot of leave have fallen off and the plant looks and feel very weak/flimsy. Its currently in a 5 gal with 2x10w compact florescent bulbs. temp is at 76, no CO2 but use Flourish Excel, not sure about PH and other levels but I suspect its normal since other plants/fishes in there are growing well. What am I doing wrong?

Here is a pictures...

 

[Bk718]

hm normally is supposed to be planted in substrate..
My guesses are:
1- it was normally grown emersed and its melting on you once you submerged it
2- it was grown in a high tech tank and now that its in your no ferts/no co2 tank its melting
3- not enough nutrients in your tank..

 

[LC]

hummmm... is there anything I can do? or just watch it melt away? I do use Flourish Excel at the recommended dosage. Is that not enough?

 

[Notophthalmus]

Sometimes plants go through 'transplant shock' when their conditions suddenly change. I would keep treating it as you have been and wait for signs of improvement.

 

[LC]

ok, also do you think I should change out the light for stronger ones. I've read that these plants require lots of light. I have 2x10w CF which = 4wpg. is that enough?

 

[Bk718]

that should be enough light. Whats the K rating of the bulbs? is it daylight bulbs??
Where did you get the plants from??

 

[LC]

I got the plant from my LFS (Big Al's) and the bulbs are 6500K. I just finished putting some tin foil in the hood, hopefully that'll direct more light to the bottom.

 

[Bk718]

on the way home were they in low temperatures??

If anything im just guessing the plants were normally kept at high conditions.. hence you are getting the melting.

 

[LC]

could be, but not too low I don't think, I got it home asap from my LFS

 

[beviking]

It's a stem plant...you can grow in just floating in the tank as long as there are enough nutrients in the water. Looks like the bottom is "melting", not the tops so that indicates the light isn't strong enough. Yes, 20w is 4wpg in a 5gal tank, but 20watts isn't much light even if it were over 1gal.
You aren't overdosing excel are you? Although I don't recall HM being sensitive to it (is it...isn't it? :wall. As long as there is a majority of green, it can be saved. Do you have fish in the tank or just shrimp? Feed often/change water often?
If I'm trying to save a stem plant, I let it float so it gets all the light it can. If you have some nutrients in the water, it will show new growth within the week.
I don't know about emmersed grown HM...just haven't heard of it. I don't claim to know everything either so I won't say it isn't a possible scenario