I am at my wits end with these darn plants!
Is anyone experienced with plants and aquariums and willing to help me work through just what the heck is wrong with my plants?
I have an axolotl tank and there’s not a lot I can add to the tank for fertilizers. Pretty much all of the plants have a yellow cast to them. A lot have little dead parts. My Anubias flowered. They all appear to be slowly dying. I think it’s a nutrient problem. I’m hoping maybe there’s something else I’m missing.
I have a total of 5 tanks. Only two are looking decent (one I am actually happy with, aside from an Anubias that got knocked off by my snail!), and those get fertilized with aquarium co op easy green once a week ish. The others all have excuses for why they don’t look great. I am only having the issue in this tank.
Additionally, water from this tank won’t grow plants any better than tap water (through cuttings of stuff into tap water, axolotl water replaced daily, and water with hydroponic fertilizers. Fertilized cutting went nuts, the others just kinda grew roots and were sad.)
For pictures, I’m focusing on the Amazon sword and the floaters. The others don’t want to show up right on camera. I’ve got three of the leaves I cut off in both ambient lighting and under my kitchen lights.
Tank has been set up since last November, cycled since January. Axolotls moved in shortly after. Plants have been dying for a while, since mid summerish. 75 gallon, super fine sand substrate, 64 degrees Fahrenheit, two adult axolotls. Possibly some bladder snails but if I see them they get removed (not axolotl safe.).
The light I have is screenshotted (oops, didn’t realize I shortened the URL.) in the photos. I put it on for ~8 hours at 100% (the axolotls have hides, and I do kinda angle some towels on top so the light hits the floaters.).
I have diatoms off and on, but not many anymore. I do not really get green algae. The only time was some weird algae once when I didn’t water change for 6 weeks, but that’s it. On a similar note, my nitrates were under 10 after that stretch of not changing water. They’re routinely barely visible.
Pretty much every single plant that’s gone in there has died. A few are holding on yet.
I really want a nice looking tank since it’s in my living room, and well. ~Dead plants~
Need more info or questions, please let me know and I will throw probably too much info at you.
Posted by Techno214
3 Comments
Use root tabs for the sword and other root feeding plants. Liquid fertilizer for the anubias and floaters.
swords are heavy root feeders so you’re gonna want root tabs under them
Did you get any of these aquatic plants from somewhere that was growing them initially out of the water? Sometimes when you get new plants from those conditions the leaves melt as the plant adapts to aquatic life. It could be that based off of how the edges of some of your leaves seem to be brown and translucent. Another thought I have is that it could be a nitrogen deficiency. I don’t know much about axolotls, how high do you let your nitrates get? I also wonder if it’s possible for you to get some aquatic plants that can thrive in low-nutrient water. Maybe some that are native to where axolotls live would do better.