My Crypt keeps melting..

jmhart said:
I've never heard of this being a problem, but it could be:

Many people suggest that crypts grow best on wood/rocks where the roots are loose. A lot of us grow crypts in AS, Flourite, or other rock like substrates. Could the sand be too compact for the roots to grow properly?
That's what I was thinking. Since they are a root feeders, with the sand being too tight and no nutrients in the sand, this must be what the problem is. Some of my other crypt species in the tank are doing much better.


Also, what is the temperature fluctuation during a water change? It's likely that TDS doesn't change much, so I wouldn't be concerend about pH fluctuation. If there is a sharp change in temp of the water directly pointed at the crypt, that could be the culprit.
Click to expand...

Tank temp is 77*f
New water going in is 77*f
My water pours in directly next to this plant

Maybe I should use some pH down before I add new water to the tank?
 
No pH down. No no. Don't mess with your water chemistry, that'll only make it worse.

I'd try root tabs first. How long have you had the crypt. I've got some green gecko that took forever to take off. I originally had it in my 45g without a lot of success...same issue, kept melting. Then I moved it to my 46g...same substrate, nearly the same lighting, same co2, same ferts, everything the same.....and it took off, produces new crypts very often.


I'd try the fert tabs. It's also possible that crypts just really won't grow will in the colorquartz.
 
I agree with JM. And I have had crypt melt after doing large water changes. I try to keep the water parameters as stable as I can with small but frequent changes.
 
Wouldn't adding the pH down to the buckets of water be better instead of adding 7.8 pH water to the tank, I can drop it before adding to the tank. I would think that the large pH difference from tap water would be worse then dropping to a more matched level? Or will it drop my GH and kH along with it?

Or I maybe I could also do smaller water changes so it's not as shocking to the plants. I see now that these plants are very sensitive..


I have had the Crypt in my tank for about 3 months.
Today is almost completely melted.

I have anther green crypt that has grown 3 times larger then when I first got it, they where planted at the same time.

I'm going to be changing the layout of my tank in a couple days, then we will see if that makes a difference with a root tab.

I really hope I can get these crypt to take well in my sand, I never have to clean anything off the bottom of the substrate, just change the water.
Much easier then cleaning gravel filled with crap :evil_lol:
 
I would avoid teh chemicals unless you are going to be dilligent about checking your gh/kh as well. The actual pH number isn't that important. You could also try adding teh water back in at a slower rate. In some of my more sensitive invert tanks, I drip the water back in to avoid a shock.
 
ok

I pour the water in a slow as I can because I do not want to stir up the sand, but pouring in 13 gallons of water slowly at shoulder height gets gets me impatient and I just feel like dumping it all at once :evil_lol:

My fish and shrimp like to play in the water when it pours in, it's the only time when everyone in the tank groups up together for family time :thm:
 
Jag, I just don't think it has anything to do with the substrate and roots. If it did, you'd see something other than melted leaves...you'd see stunted growth, distorted leaves or something like that. The only time I have ever had crypt melt...and I have a ton of crypts that I move around from time to time, is when they come from different water params. It's not that they are sensitive...it's that they like "steady"...they don't like change. When I take crypts from my 84F discus tank and put them into an 78-80F tank, they lose leaves for a while. And anolther for instance, whenever I go on vacation, I have to set timers differently for my son's schedule to take care of the plants. Two tanks I manually turn on at 4 am and off anywhere from 10-11PM. These are my tanks that get fed more than once a day. I'll adjust them to not come on around 8 am since I only have him feed the tanks once a day while I'm gone, and I always get a lot more dead leaves over the ensuing weeks. So I'm leaning towards quickly changed ph when you do a water change. What's happening there is happening directly to the leaves. Pull the roots up, I think you'll find they're ok. Just my humble guess and observations.
 
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