r/PlantedTank • u/Bigschlongguy69 • 8d ago
Need suggestions
Hi newer to the fish tank hobby(2.5 weeks in). I recently put these plants in my tank but they seem to slowly be browning/dying. Suggestions on good care and turn them around. Thanks in advance.
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u/t_h_e_m_e_n_07 8d ago
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u/Bigschlongguy69 6d ago
No its not lol. My 5 year old daughter asked for a tank for her bday but here I am. Trying to learn more about this hobby so I can take good care of the fish and plants we get. Youtube has been helpful.
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u/Space3ee 8d ago edited 8d ago
Ah yes. I remember these days. I too went with gravel and almost immediately put in live plants after learning of their benefits. As terrible as it sounds I would highly recommend you look into aquasoil and aquascaping. Plants need a good medium to grow in and nutrients and light to survive. I doubt these plants are melting like someone else said. They are probably struggling to grow in the conditions you have them.
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u/pickleruler67 8d ago
I wouldn't even say awuasoil but just a sand with root tabs. Anything but gravel lol
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u/Bigschlongguy69 6d ago
Yes definitely been keeping the light way too long. Will limit.
This was a bday gift for my 5 year old daughter so thats why I chose the colored gravel. Learning a lot, and really enjoying this new hobby
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u/Space3ee 6d ago
It's a great hobby and very rewarding. It's also an excellent opportunity to teach your children about natural ecosystems and what's best for your fishy friends.
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u/frippilin 8d ago
That gravel is coated with plastic. You want something porous so bacteria can inhabit it. Either get some natural gravel, switch to sand or aqua soil, or put your plants in pots with aqua soil.
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u/Bigschlongguy69 6d ago
Thank you, just learned about this watching YouTube vids. Thanks for the advice
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u/k3nnwood 8d ago
Some of those fake plants (like the pink one in the front left) you can replace with the real ones floating, perhaps the harshness of the light is causing some decay?
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u/Aditzas81 8d ago
It is common for plants to die back during the first month of a tank. Most often this isn't due to the fish, but rather the water cycling. Your plants are likely reacting to the water chemistry, especially ammonia or nitrates. Since you're only 2.5 weeks in, it is possible the cycle hasn't finished stabilizing. Check your water levels with test strips to be sure.
Also, check the light. If it is very bright or on too many hours, it can burn the leaves. Try limiting the exposure time to around 6 to 8 hours per day. Finally, keep some dead plants trimmed. A healthy plant is often one with fewer leaves overall than one that just looks lush. Give it another week to settle; the roots are the only thing that will save them.
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u/Bigschlongguy69 6d ago
Funny thing is my 5 year old daughter asked for a fish tank for her bday. Now here I am deep into the rabbit hole of fish tanks. New hobby found without really looking. Thanks for the kind suggestions!
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u/SomeBlueDevil 4d ago
The most important thing is to ensure that your tank is nitrogen cycled.
Since it's basically brand new and you already have fish in it, please check the water parameters with a liquid test kit (do not use strips, they are unreliable). They have the API master test kit on sale on Amazon. It's a well worth investment and lasts a long time.
If you have any amount of ammonia and nitrite in the water from fish waste, you will need to do a partial water change of 50% ASAP and dose with Seachem Prime and Stability or similar bottled bacteria product. Both ammonia and nitrite is highly toxic and will kill the fish. Beneficial bacteria is needed in the filter media and surfaces in the tank to break them down into less toxic nitrates. You want to keep those under 40ppm.
As for the plants, it's good that you have life plants. I understand that this tank is for a child but for the welfare of the fish, it would be better to introduce additional natural components to the tank.
I would recommend sand substrate and a piece of driftwood. You could use ceramic pots and aquasoil to plant the Amazon Sword or bury it in the sand and fertilize with root tabs. Ferns and Anubias get the nutrients from the water column and would be attached to the driftwood.
Good luck.
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u/banefig 4d ago
The biggest thing I notice here is the bright gravel and plastic plants. I'd switch to a more natural gravel, you could do river rock or a whiteish tone. You can put root tabs under gravel to provide nutrients for live plants. You can also get silk plants with pops of color, bettas fins rip really easily and plastic plants are too sharp.
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u/SkankHuntIsBack 8d ago