Who Gives A Fish Forums

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone can offer some assistance here.

I've recently set up a new 150L tropical tank with a layer of plant substrate - you know, the stuff that looks like small round granules - and then sand on top. I planted some twisteadsly plants about a week ago and have been adding some plant food tabs and liquid carbon over the past few days. I've also added a few tons of CO2 this week. However, the plants aren't looking too great (check out the pics). Can anyone suggest what might be going on or if there's a way to save them?

Thanks in advance for any help

I'm inclined to think the liquid carbon might be the culprit. Vallisineria, in my experience, grows just fine without all the extras - fish waste is more than enough fertilizer.

Vals are notorious for being finicky with liquid carbon, often resulting in them melting. It's no surprise, really - many folks steer clear of these products due to their glutaflakedehyde derivatives. If you look up glutaflakedehyde, you'll quickly see why.

Not good at all. I'll stop adding the liquid carbon straight away. Now I'm worried I've damaged the plants beyond repair. Is there anything I can do to rescue them or is it too late? I don't have any fish in the tank yet, so I'm not getting any natural fertilisation from them.

I'm not optimistic about saving them, but it's worth a shot. If the roots haven't rotted, there's still a chance, though recovery might be a slow process.

Thanks for the advice. Should I just leave them be and give them time to recover or is there something I can do to help them along? Maybe cutting them back a bit would help, or is that not a good idea?

Remove the worst affected leaves, but leave any that still seem to be holding on - they might just help the rest of the plant recover.