jungle val not doing well...

[ram_g0p]

Ok I took the vals out yesterday, trimmed the decayed and dying leaves and a bit of the roots as well. The root looked good, BTW. So replanted them making sure they are not buried deep. I shall hold off on the Excel. I know my tap water is on the softer side, but I don't want to do anything to increase the hardness. I added couple of Osmocote gel caps near the roots. The plant should get better lighting now than before. I will dose Flourish Comp about twice a week. Hopefully, this will my vals. I have added some pics - first 2 showing the black lining on the leaves that I mentioned before, thirdone after trimming and the 4th after replanting..... Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks a bunch.

 

[ram_g0p]

Oops 4th one didn't load! Here it is...

 

[ROYWS3]

Just from looking at the root structure and the crowns, I'm almost positive they are a Sag species and not a Val

 

[tanker]

Just from looking at the root structure and the crowns, I'm almost positive they are a Sag species and not a Val

It is hard to tell by just looking at pics. They still could be either Val or Sag. The best way to tell the difference is under a magnifying glass or microscope.

Also to me Val has a more "rougher" top edge and has thinner leaves from top to crown then Sag. Sag gets more "plumper" like a cactus near the base.

 

[fishorama]

It doesn't look like jungle val to me, certainly not spirallis. I have both & the have noticible leaf edges but maybe I can't tell from pics. Nice healthy roots, the plants look good to me. Was it only old leaves?

I don't know why adding some crushed coral to your filter or a pinch of baking soda to raise KH if needed is less doable than ferts 2x/week but to each their own, lol. It took me quite a while to learn the value of testing as a baseline to see what happens between water changes or why plants weren't growing well when I first had soft water.

 

[ram_g0p]

It doesn't look like jungle val to me, certainly not spirallis. I have both & the have noticible leaf edges but maybe I can't tell from pics. Nice healthy roots, the plants look good to me. Was it only old leaves?

It's mostly old leaves if not all. Also, I had trimmed a lot of yellow leaves very early on.... Will have to try some crushed coral in the canister.. Where can I get them, cheap?! Although, I'd like to keep my pH on the acidic side as it is now (~6.5). Thanks.

 

[RNeiswander]

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Here's my 29, I have two 2 bulb 24" t5 NO fixtures on it. I do not dose anything. No co2. Stock is two cories, 4 neon tetras, two kuhli loaches one and one clown pleco and a bunch of rcs.

The Val's started as one plant last summer, now they have basically taken over the tank. The dwarf sag was spreading great. I'll get some pics of the front of the tank tmmrw.

I change water often enough at least 50 to 80 percent. Point I'm trying to make is give it a little bit of time, I'm not sure when exactly mine took off but it was probably at least 6 months after the tank was set up.


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[ram_g0p]

The attachment links don't work for some reason. Error message: "Invalid link......"

 

[RNeiswander]

Does this one work? I can see them on my phone.

As you can see, once they get going they can take over.


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[fishorama]

I had to buy a 10lb bag of crushed coral, more than a lifetime supply for me & everyone I know. Do you have a club nearby? Maybe someone can hook you up, it only takes a few tablespoons in a piece of panty hose or filter media bag, 1 or 2 for a 20-29, 2 or 3 for a 40-55g IME. Limestone rocks can work a bit too or, like I said, a pinch of baking soda (you know, the Arm & Hammer kind) once or twice a week. You need to test to really know how much is there & what happens when you try to fix it so you can adjust if needed.