Why Are Aquarium Plants Dying?
courtesy of Genista
That question is from someone who did not want to name names, but it merits an answer.
The short answer is you bought the wrong plants. Of course it’s more complicated than that, but if you don’t carefully consider things like growth habits, light requirements, substrates and all sorts of chemistry stuff, you probably did buy the wrong plants. Many of the plants you buy in pet shops, for example, do not spend their entire lives entirely under water. They can’t live very long in the typical aquarium. Other plants, while quite beautiful, require some very special lighting and/or water and substrate chemistry.
Most aquariums are sold with single tube fluorescent lamps. If it’s a tall aquarium perfect for angelfish, not much light will get to the floor of the tank. Some plants require intense lighting and plenty of fertilizer. Lucky for the rest of us, many other attractive aquarium plants do fine with single tube lighting even in a relatively deep aquarium. Some examples are the Anubias and Cryptocoryne(Crypts)families and good old Java fern in different variations. Most of these plants grow slowly, so you need patience. You also need to look for them on Aquabid or Ebay, because they are not often stocked in aquarium shops.
As mentioned above, substrates are also important. After trying for years to grow aquarium plants in Phoenix water, I listened to one of the ladies on the now defunct Angelfish Web Forum. She told me to add a clay based substrate supplement like Laterite or Flourite. Thanks, Brenda. Another posting has more about using clay based substrates; they really help, especially with rooted plants like the Vallisneria family. Jungle Val grows tall and, when mature, will easily cover the surface of a tall aquarium. Other Vallisnerias are not quite as tall, and they do need more light than some of the plants mentioned above. Most of the rooted plants like Vals and swords benefit from fertilizer tablets placed under the substrate. You can also buy liquid fertilizers, but any chemical you put in the aquarium water has the potential for upsetting the the balance.
One plant that I never had trouble growing is hornwort. It’s a bushy, floating plant that uses lots of the nutrients provided by fish and food waste, nutrients that would otherwise turn into toxic ammonia. A too-easy-to-grow floater is duckweed. It will take over an aquarium but will also eat up nutrients. If anything else is to have a growing chance, you need to regularly remove duckweed.
It probably has something to do with chemistry, but most plants seem to grow better when they have plenty of company. For example, a single sprig of hornwort in a large aquarium may just die. However, if you add a great bunch of the stuff, it will usually thrive. The same goes for rooted plants.
If you really want to grow some of the more demanding plants, you need to consider special lighting, fertilizers, and a carbon dioxide system. You also need a good knowledge of water chemistry issues. What ever plant you try to grow, knowing its basic requirements will help you avoid buying the wrong thing. Pet stores don’t often post information about the needs of a specific plant. Books do, and one of my favorites is Guide to Aquarium Plants by Barry James. It’s short, informative and fairly cheap. I believe Amazon has it.
All of the above is just a short answer to why my plants always die. Other forum members surely have more suggestions for us plant lovers, so let’s hear from you.
Taken from Why do my plants always die.
