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Hello all I just found this site thought search engine. I hope I can find some help here since my plant is kind of dying atm. Here goes I have an 20 Gallon water aquarium for community fish also have a 40 gallon water for my golden severum which now bigger then my hand. Problem comes from my 20 g tank. I recently plant some plant I got from fish store mostly r those one that r easy to grow and just repair basic kind of treatment since I'm a newbie at planting so I cant really buy those expansive and hard to take care one. And I got some help on other forum ppl now I have an new co2 system install and adding fert for my plant. I have an 20wat light tube on top of my tank wonder if its enought and a heater system which alway on on 75F so it wouldn't be too hot and kill the plant. The problem I having atm is that the leave on my plant looking like getting burn like change to black color and some other r become like glass can see though. And some have little black hole in middle of the leave. I wonder how could I fix this problem. I already change 20-25% of the water in my tank every week and add those chamical stuff that cleans the water. And also there r some thing that comes along with my plant which is some tinny small snail. Can any one tell me what to do to fix this?


thank you for ur help

You do not have enough light. For all but the very lowest light requirement plants, you need more like 2 watts per gallon.

You really need to identify what species of plant you are keeping because that will tell people what light they require and they can make informed suggestions.

I have seen terrestrial plants offered for sale at fish shops. Aluminum plant, spider plant, club moss, bella palm etc are not meant to be grown underwater - they are not even marginal plants which tolerate temporary immersion in their native environment. In aquaria, they sulk for weeks or at best months, before slowly (or quickly) giving up, rotting and dying.

Here is a link to an aquatic plant nutrient deficiency guide that may be helpful in your diagnosis:http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nutrient.htm

A couple of things.

One, it's impossible to help without knowing the type of plant. Some have higher requirements then others. If you have a plant that requires a lot of light no amount of fert or Co2 will keep it alive and the best thing you can do is remove it and replace with something more appropiate.
A pic or clearer identification would help.

I will hazard a guess on the id of the plant from the "syptoms" you describe. I would bet it's a Java Fern. Mainly because what you describe sounds like typical Java Fern behaviour.Not all of it is neccessarily a problem. For example new Fern leaves come out transparent and the green fills in later.The brown spaots and black could be a temperature issue.

Whatever advise you were given on the other site (FP is #1 for a reason )while not exactly "wrong" wasn't appropiate for your situation. Quite frankly, Co2 and fert for a tank with 1 watt per gallon and 1 plant is a complete waste of money and will do more harm then good in the long term. It's the proverbial sledge hammer to crack a walnut.

If my guess is right and you have a Java Fern, Co2 and Ferts are completely unneccessary and even your low light is fine.If it's a different plant your problem may very well be lack of light and the co2 and ferts won't to squat to fix that.

Co2 and ferts are great but only in the appropiate situation ie lots of light and lots of plants.

Long term I'd stop adding the Co2 and ferts immediately. If you want to use the Co2(what type ??) and ferts in the future the first thing you need to do is get at least one more 20 watt bulb and preferably 2 more and fill the tank with plants (this should be done at the same time the lights are added) THEN switch on the Co2 and then add ferts later if needed.

HTH and welcome to FP

Last edited by bensaf at 13-May-2005 21:50

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