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Total newbie to planted tanks here! Did a lot of reading but at this point have information overload and having trouble wading through it all to figure out what the issue might be with my plants. Any advice is appreciated because I’d love to learn! Tank was planted 2.5 months ago and fish were added 2 weeks ago.
Tank info:
15 gallon Fluval Flex
Substrate: Fluval Stratum topped with EcoComplete, and a bit of pool sand at the front
Stock: 5 zebra danios, 9 neon tetras, 1 tiny zebra nerite snail, 10 cherry shrimp
Plants:
Java moss, Java fern, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Hottonia palustris, Staurogyne reopens, Ludwigia palustris
Water parameters:
pH 7.0
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5 ppm
GH 40 ppm
KH 30 ppm
Fertilizer: Flourish once/week and Excel once/week
The plants did well at first, very little melting. I’m not sure when they started to go downhill, but here’s where they’re at now:
Java moss and Lilaeopsis looking good and getting new growth. Java fern is getting brown spots and brown edges on the leaves. Staurogyne are growing very slowly but old leaves are turning yellow. Ludwigia grew a lot in height but lost its bottom leaves and looks stringy. Hottonia was supposed to fill in the center back of the tank but has mostly melted away, one bunch on the right side of the tank is showing new growth.
Where am I going wrong?? I’m running the light on a timer for 6hrs/day. Do they need more light? More fertilizer? How do I test for macros or figure out which levels are too low or high? Help! Sorry for my cluelessness...I’m trying to learn lol. Pics included to hopefully show what’s going on
Tank info:
15 gallon Fluval Flex
Substrate: Fluval Stratum topped with EcoComplete, and a bit of pool sand at the front
Stock: 5 zebra danios, 9 neon tetras, 1 tiny zebra nerite snail, 10 cherry shrimp
Plants:
Java moss, Java fern, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Hottonia palustris, Staurogyne reopens, Ludwigia palustris
Water parameters:
pH 7.0
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5 ppm
GH 40 ppm
KH 30 ppm
Fertilizer: Flourish once/week and Excel once/week
The plants did well at first, very little melting. I’m not sure when they started to go downhill, but here’s where they’re at now:
Java moss and Lilaeopsis looking good and getting new growth. Java fern is getting brown spots and brown edges on the leaves. Staurogyne are growing very slowly but old leaves are turning yellow. Ludwigia grew a lot in height but lost its bottom leaves and looks stringy. Hottonia was supposed to fill in the center back of the tank but has mostly melted away, one bunch on the right side of the tank is showing new growth.
Where am I going wrong?? I’m running the light on a timer for 6hrs/day. Do they need more light? More fertilizer? How do I test for macros or figure out which levels are too low or high? Help! Sorry for my cluelessness...I’m trying to learn lol. Pics included to hopefully show what’s going on