Suddenly, my pretty planted tank don't look so good...

irishspy

irishspy

There is a stargate in my aquarium.
Nov 6, 2002
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Los Angeles, third door on the left
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Hi all,

So, the plants in my 10g have developed two problems: :swear:

1) The leaves on the java fern that's the centerpiece of the tank are falling apart. It looks like the soft(er) tissue between the veins is being eaten, leaving only a skeleton of a leaf. There's another java fern in the corner of the tank that's not showing this problem, though it hasn't experienced the lush growth of the centerpiece plant, either. The only inhabitants of the tank are a single male betta, a single amano shrimp (who hides from said betta) and a bunch of MTS. Could it be the problem is the plant is reacting to being right under the light (2.6 wpg)? I should point out I noticed this problem starting a few weeks ago, and my guess is that it's unrelated to the next problem...

2) For the last eight months, I've had great growth from my cryptocoryne wendtii plants -- lush with big leaves. Then, the last three days, they've almost literally dissolved: just a few scraggly leaves left. I had this happen a few times when I first planted them last year, but then, with regular fertilization, I thought I had things stabilized -- until now. Is this just a cycle they go through, and would you expect them to come back as they have in the past, or is it possibly something with the water chemistry?

Speaking of which, here are the parameters:

PH: 6 (I can get it up to neutral with water changes, but it always drifts down)
Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate 0/0/10
KH 1 (With water changes I can get it up to 4-7, but it always drifts down in a week or so)
20% water change weekly with LA tap water
Fertilizers are Seachem Flourish, Nitrogen, Potassium, Excel, and Trace, administered according to Seachem's chart.
All plants (complete list in the sig, below) have been in the tank more than a year.

Thanks in advance for any advice. :help:
 
You should try to get your KH up to 4-5. I've found cryptocorynes especially sensitive to change, particularly moving and water chemistry swings. Not sure if that's actually what is going on but your KH is still dangerously low. Any addition of a strong acid could send your pH plummeting to fatal levels for your betta. Baking soda works to raise KH I believe.

I always thought SoCal water was liquid rock. Weird.
 
Yeah where in LA is the water soft and acidic? That might be a place to check out, when its times to buy a house, hehe.
 
I havent done any testing, but I suspect our water source has changed. I noticed a few months ago that all of the sudden my snails shells started eroding. I attributed it to co2 injection. Maybe I was wrong?
 
No, I'm not running a water softener. LA water is typically PH 7.8 and so hard it crunches when you drink it. :) I should probably re-test the tap, however. It's been a while.

Do plants absorb minerals from water, softening it?

I've tried baking soda in the past (one-eighth of a teaspoon mixed in some tank water), and I can get the KH to 4 or so (I'd like it between 4-7), but it doesn't stay, gradually trending down over a week or so. I'm reluctant to do it regularly, since it increases the PH more rapidly, and I'd hate to put Louie on a PH yo-yo. What about a limestone chip in the filter outflow?

247, I've noticed the same thing about the shells of the MTS in my tank.

Thanks for the advice, folks. :clap:
 
i dont know much about snails but arent their shells made from calcium? if it is and you tank is acidic wouldnt it disolve the shell. and if its made from calcium, do you need to have calcium in your water?
 
Huh. I'll admit this has me stumped.
Could that be what's affecting the java fern?
 
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