plant questions.

[colorxmexravyne]

hi there! so, i'm trying to incorporate live plants into my bettas tank but i don't think i'm doing something right. i only have water wisteria and anacharis in the tank, but i feel like both are dying faster than they are growing. what i want to know is:

1. am i doing something wrong? the stems of my wisteria are turning brown (except for maybe one or two of them) and i'm having to trim off the dead portions at every water change (once a week). the leaves are also turning brown, starting from the tip of the leaf as opposed to the base/stem. as for the anacharis, i just feel like it's not growing at all. the ends of its leaves are kind of translucent & brown as well.

2. would a (better) fertilizer help? i have Seachem Flourish Comprehensive, but honestly? i don't feel like it's really doing anything. also, it might be beneficial to note that i have a mystery snail in this tank so if it has a substantial amount of copper, i can't use it.

i have most of the wisteria in the substrate (gravel) with four smaller pieces floating. the anacharis is in the substrate. i also have a marimo moss ball, but aside from it splitting in two, i'm not really worried about it.

i'm not sure if this is relevant, but my tank is currently at 80 degrees. my room is always warmer than the rest of the apartment, so it kind of stays there no matter what i put the heater on. and last time i checked, the ph was at 7.4.

thanks in advance for any advice!

[Oldfishlady]

Tell us about your lights.....how old are they, the kelvin, watts and photoperiod or how long they are kept on and any natural sunlight.

Most plant failures are due to the wrong color temp in light-without the proper color temp the plants can't photosynthesis an no matter what food you add they can't use it....

How big is the tank, how deep is the substrate, stocking, additive and filter.

[Sowman]

What type of lighting are they receiving?

[Perseusmom]

What type of light do you have ? I have Anacharis and the leaves on one of mine stems is doing the same and I just pick those off, the rest of it is doing fine with a new stem growing but its growing slower then the other one I have which has grown a new stem 12 inches up to the water line. I have a 5 gallon and a natural sunlight fluorescent 1o watt light in the hood of my tank. Ph of 7.4 and right now the tank is staying around 80 degrees. Mine is floating and you dont want to much of the stem in the gravel, maybe you could try just floating it awhile and see if that helps. I have not used any type of fertilizer . Do you see any roots growing ? They are white and very thin and come from the sides of the stem.

[colorxmexravyne]

Originally Posted by Oldfishlady

Tell us about your lights.....how old are they, the kelvin, watts and photoperiod or how long they are kept on and any natural sunlight.

Most plant failures are due to the wrong color temp in light-without the proper color temp the plants can't photosynthesis an no matter what food you add they can't use it....

How big is the tank, how deep is the substrate, stocking, additive and filter.

whoa. i don't really know any of that information, honestly. but i'll try my best.

the tank is a 5 gal. it came with this kit from walmart. it's heated to a constant 80 degrees. i have the aqua-tech 15 filter, but i'm buying a new one either this weekend or next. i'm not sure if you meant "stock" as in fish or as in plants, but the only animals i have in there are a veiltail betta and a mystery snail. the substrate is gravel and marbles from PetCo and is about 1 in thick. as for plants, i have anacharis and water wisteria.

the light bulb is just a standard flourescent bulb and has been in there since about a week after i got the tank (which was about...Februaryish). it has never been changed. i don't know the wattage nor do i know the kelvin. however, about five feet from my desk (which is where my tank is) is a window with lots of natural light. i depend on it during the daylight hours and then turn the tank light on for about 2/3 hours after the sun goes down.

water additives are seachem prime conditioner and seachem flourish comprehensive. that's it.

anything else?

[colorxmexravyne]

Originally Posted by Perseusmom

What type of light do you have ? I have Anacharis and the leaves on one of mine stems is doing the same and I just pick those off, the rest of it is doing fine with a new stem growing but its growing slower then the other one I have which has grown a new stem 12 inches up to the water line. I have a 5 gallon and a natural sunlight fluorescent 1o watt light in the hood of my tank. Ph of 7.4 and right now the tank is staying around 80 degrees. Mine is floating and you dont want to much of the stem in the gravel, maybe you could try just floating it awhile and see if that helps. I have not used any type of fertilizer . Do you see any roots growing ? They are white and very thin and come from the sides of the stem.

i just have a standard fluorescent light bulb. the wisteria has roots, but the anacharis doesn't. in the past, my anacharis has always done better when i "planted" it so i just did that this time.

[Sundancex]

Chances are you have the wrong lighting. But FWIW, the anacharis I had died on me, while I'm managing to keep purple cabomba alive so far without issues, which is supposed to be a harder plant to grow.

[colorxmexravyne]

Originally Posted by Sundancex

Chances are you have the wrong lighting. But FWIW, the anacharis I had died on me, while I'm managing to keep purple cabomba alive so far without issues, which is supposed to be a harder plant to grow.

what kind of light should i have? o:

[Oldfishlady]

I would start by leaving your lights on for at least 10h/day along with the natural sunlight.

Ideally you want 6500k or kelvin to get the proper color temp for the plants-we can see the light but the plants can't see all color temps to use for energy to grow/thrive.

Even with the proper color temp if the photoperiod isn't long enough-this can trick the plants into thinking its time to go dormant, die or finish their life cycle or flower.

If the substrate is too large in diameter-its hard for the plants to root and/or uptake the nutrients in the water, however, both species of plants you have are fine floating and rooted so that shouldn't be too much of an issues.

Can you post a pic...

[Sundancex]

6500k temp. That is ideal for plant growth. I think people get away with 6700k without problems though.

How large is your tank? That will help determine how many watts you need.