Plant Rot

[Peace]

Hello everyone - I'm in the process of setting up a new planted discus tank. Set it up about two months ago without the discus so that the tank can settle in. Its got gravel substrate, some tetras, ghost shrimp, a pair of snails and a lot of plants.

I thought I noticed something funny going on with the plants about 2-3 weeks ago, but I thought they were still adjusting to the water conditions. Turns out, they were not. The different plants are showing signs of rot (some more than others). I was trying to read up on this disease, and the only one I could find was Cryptocoryne disease. This is probably what I have, but would it affect all the different species of plants I have in the tank (I read that it only affects crypts).

I'll post a few pics - any information to help diagnose and treat the problem would be appreciated. Thanks.

1. Whole tank setup - as you can see, not too densely planted
2. details of rot on the leaf - early stage. some fungus looking thing starts growing on the leaf
3. gradually rots the leaf away
4. leaves become partially destroyed or leaf structure is broken down completely with only 'skeletal' structure remaining.

[jimg]

temp. gh, ph, fertilizer, co2, light and duration all could play a role.

[pcsb23]

I moved this from the disease section to here, should getr more attention ;)

Looks like a micro fert (Fe) prob as in not enough. Gravel is not a good substrate for plants unless you add in root tabs.

To fully help will need to know how much and type of light. What source of carbon, if any. What the PO4 and NO3 is and what fert dosing regimen you are using.

[mathao]

i've had plants rot on me before but i've never seen the fungus looking things in picture # 2. picture # 3 and 4 looks like my plants when i first got them and didn't acclimate them from the lower temps of 75 to 82 over a week of time.

[fishorama]

It looks to me like the plants are adjusting to the new tank & some are planted too deep. The crown where leaves join roots should not be buried. Many plants are grown emersed, out of water & old leaves will gradually die & be replaced by new submersed leaves. The new leaves may look a bit different, cut off dying leaves. This can also happen as plants adjust to different lighting & water conditions. Moss & ferns should be tied to wood or rocks not planted.

The "fungus" looks like the start of algae to me, either hair or black beard at a guess. How long are your lights on?

[Blackwater Aquaria]

It looks like you need to boost up your potassium,Iorn, also your substrate sounds like it might need some help. M.D. BWA

[Blackwater Aquaria]

You are definately right about the temp. the higher the temp plants dont care for. I have found that if you stock your tank with grown out discus you can lower the temp to 79 to 80, but you need a higher temp to grow out smaller discus,so you will find the right balance @ some point. M.D. BLACKWATER AQUARIA

[Peace]

I should make a correction to my original post... my substrate is sand, not gravel (not sure what I was thinking when i posted that). Also, plants were fine for three months prior to when i first started noticing the rot, which tells me it couldnt be the temperature. ive had plants before, and when they did die off it was usually the yellowing of a leaf followed by wilting. ive never seen anything like plant rot. was just curious how many other planted aquarium hobbyist had encountered this. I would assume a lack of trace elements would also cause a gradual wilting, not the rotting im seeing here. anyways, here are the stats:

Temp: 78 degrees
pH: 7.5
Nitrate, nitrate, ammonia: 0ppm
alkalinity: 180ppm
hardness: 180ppm
lighting: 12 hours a day
no CO2
root tab supplements
no fertilizer

[Peace]

i came across something on the web - cryptocoryne rot... the symptoms are similar to what i have... gradual breakdown of the leave structure... rotting... only, i have it for most of my plants (a leaf or two on every one of my plants)... is this a common disease with plant keepers? one think i read about the disease (if this is indeed what i have on my hands) is that the disease is idiopathic... didnt know what that meant, so i looked at a dictionary... not too good... it means something that occurs for no specific or apparent cause... bummer...

[waj8]

Looks like lack of light to me.

[jimg]

I doubt it is a disease, I think they are just dying from no food. The black looks to me like algae, a living plant usually will not get algae growing on it.. nitrates are needed also. I would try some tropica grow master or I think they changed it to tropica aquacare. Or more expensive is the seachem products. light should be around 1.5 watts per gallon but has many variables to that rule.

[morillonj]

Looks like an iron deficiency. I had that happen to my swords one time. just add root tabs with seachem excel once a week. Also make sure the swords are not buried to deep.

[Sea Hag]

Back in my "novice" days when going planted I think I suffered from every rookie mistake there was to make. I've had crypts end up looking like the way yours do now, finally turning to total mush. Even though only one or two leaves were left, they went on to recover. Crypts are trippy that way. They don't like change, but at the same time can pull off amazing recoveries, lol. I do not use root tabs under my crypts, only my heavy root feeders (swords) get the tabs. I use Seachems root tabs, replacing every three months. At one time I used API's less expensive tabs. I've learned that when it comes to root tabs you get what you pay for. I now use Seachems root tabs exclusively. Of all my plants, the crypts are the most lush. IMHO they do just fine in 82-84 degree water. My water parameters and lighting schedule nearly mirror yours except for two things: I use Seachems Flourish Comprehensive (not Excel) and keep my temp bumped up higher. I'm stubborn, and believe that if we look hard enough we can always find a reason for the seemingly obscure or unknown cause of the symptoms we are seeing. Unknown just means we don't yet "know" what it is yet, but there is a cause. ;-) What type of bulbs are you using?? (wattage, Kelvin rating)

[fishorama]

12 hours is too long, try ~9. Longer doesn't make up for not enough. Zero nitrates=0 food for the plants. We need all the info from the various posts: tank size, lighting size, # of bulbs, type, K rating, etc. What kind of root tabs , how long since you added? IME crypts like them too.

[mathao]

if you need more info on your problem you could go here
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/
most of my q's were answered just by browsing thru the forums.

[dielectric]

Nitrate, nitrate, ammonia: 0ppm

this is your problem. plants need nitrate