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Okay, so I brought home some new plants about a month ago, and they aren't doing so well. They're alive, as in they've grown new shoots, but the existing ones are brown and not exactly in the best of shape (save the hornwort and some strange plant with roots shaped like a bundle of bananas) but, heh, that's hornwort for you. I know lighting is no problem, as I purchased the same light used to grow the plants at my LFS, and nutrients shouldn't be a problem, as the tank is still in stage 3 cycling (hornwort's doing a good job at sucking up all the nitrates), plus I added some Iron fertilizer. What could be the problem? The same plants in my 20 gal (this is a 10 gal) are doing fine, and without lights too. Is there such thing as too much light? Also, pics are coming soon, and help with identification would be much appreciated.

pics here---http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/aznmistert/album?.tok=phLvEXBBiD0Ot7e9&.dir=/a2e8&.src=ph

I'm especially concered about the last plant in the last pic. It's the only plant I plan on keeping, anyways. Also, would overcrowding (plantwise) have any affect?

I forgot to mention that my water is at a constant 78 degrees.

I'd still take a look at your lighting. Even though you have the same lighting as the LFS, you have to keep in mind that THEIR plants are only there for perhaps a couple weeks. I dunno... brown plants tend to make me think of the lighting. Also, there's the possibility that the plants you have are high light plants, and if you just have straight fluorescent lighting, you probably only have 15 watts of light, which is low lighting.

I'm not sure what most of your plants these are, so I can't help there. However, the plant with the banana shaped roots? Called a banana plant. Likes high light. And *don't* bury the bananas, just the bottom 1/3 of them or so. Personally, I wish I had more than just one of them... they make a gorgeous plant when they get bigger. My fish and I love the lily pads they put up, and the huge underwater leaves are just gorgeous.

Also, are you using liquid ferts or tabs? It looks like (though don't take my word for it) that those plants are more root feeders than water column feeders. If you add some tab fertilizers, that might help.

What kind of lights are you using? Fertilizers? Do you know what kind of plants you have? I think those are the questions whose answers are needed before we can help you. And you'll need more advice than what little I can offer. I'm sure someone will pop in soon!

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

You shouldn't worry much about it, it's normal for plants to whiter when first moved to a new tank, they'll adapt soon to your tank conditions and be ok. I would cut the brown leaves from the tops, this will prevent them from rotting, and also it will give the plant a good kick off.

oh and as for plant identification, they look like water wisteria on the right, hygrophila corymbosa in the left and hygrophilia polysperma in the center back



[span class="edited"][Edited by Falstaf 2004-07-15 16:39][/span]

The plant on the right is water wisteria, the one with the fern-like leaves. The plant on the far left is hornwort, to the right of that are two plants, one in the front and one behind. The one in the front/middle of the tank is bacopa caroliniana, I'm not sure what the one is behind it, the tallest one in the fourth pic. It looks like a small hygro polysperma plant is growing to the right of the bacopa.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Rosko_22 2004-07-15 02:21][/span]

Okay---another issure, a few of the leaves on my bacopa are looking a little---erm, ---eaten. Now, keep in mind that all I have in there is a fem betta, 3 WCMMs and a lone bamboo shrimp, none of which strike me as being very vegetarian.

Are you sure it's being eaten? It could just be getting holes in the leaves from lack of nutrients. Are you just dosing iron?