# New dwarf sag acclimating?



## Markah1 (Jul 6, 2012)

Hey guys. I recently got some dwarf sag in the mail and it looked healthy when I first planted it in my tank.

I understand that sag will melt when acclimating to new tank conditions but is it normal for the roots to melt also? Half of my plants have awful looking roots right now. The leaves are a beautiful green but the roots look pretty bad. A lot of the leaves have melted within the past couple of days and it's been a pain to removed each melting leaf.

Anyways, can someone answer the root question for me? 

Also, should I just chop off every single leaf since I know that most if not all of them will eventually melt? I would love to see new growth soon and it would be much easier to spot new growth if I just chopped off every leaf. Especially since the leaves were about 3-4 inches each and I'm trying to achieve a grassy carpet look for my foreground. 

By the way, I have a high light tank and I dose excel every day. Thanks guys.


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

I got 5 S. subulata plants and three died. The other two finally started growing after a few weeks. I grew them in around 2 inches of water in a dirt and sand substrate with no other additives. I did this outside in a the shade. After I got them growing I put some in a 10g with another dirt and sand substrate and again no additives. I keep that tank about half filled with water. There is a fairly strong light on that tank. It has no filter or heater and it stays at room temp. It is on the floor in the basement so it is fairly cool. The subulata has completely filled that tank. 
I don’t know if that answers your questions but it worked fairly well for me.


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## Markah1 (Jul 6, 2012)

BruceF said:


> I got 5 S. subulata plants and three died. The other two finally started growing after a few weeks. I grew them in around 2 inches of water in a dirt and sand substrate with no other additives. I did this outside in a the shade. After I got them growing I put some in a 10g with another dirt and sand substrate and again no additives. I keep that tank about half filled with water. There is a fairly strong light on that tank. It has no filter or heater and it stays at room temp. It is on the floor in the basement so it is fairly cool. The subulata has completely filled that tank.
> I don't know if that answers your questions but it worked fairly well for me.


Thanks! It definitely gives me hope. I have 10, plants so I'll be happy if only half survive.


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## sandeepraghuvanshi (Feb 22, 2007)

They are pretty hardy, but root melting might be a problem.
The emerged growth leaves will die but all roots do not die.
I would suggest leave the plant alone.

To give you an idea, this is tank 0n 25-3-2012(setup)










After 3 months










Hope it helps


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

I've always found Sag. subulata to be rather slow to adapt. Once it settles in though, it's a real weed. 

That said, roots melting might kill the plant. Ultimately it's the crown that's most important to the plant's survival - both roots and leaves can regrow as long as the crown's alive - but large-scale root melt may be indicative of a plant on its way out. How long ago is "recently"? How much of the root system is dying off? A little bit of browning at the ends is probably fine.

I wouldn't chop off the leaves. Trimming a few dying leaves off of a healthy plant is once thing, but hacking off the entirety of one that's already struggling can kill it. Wait until the plants have acclimated to start giving haircuts.


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## Markah1 (Jul 6, 2012)

asukawashere said:


> I've always found Sag. subulata to be rather slow to adapt. Once it settles in though, it's a real weed.
> 
> That said, roots melting might kill the plant. Ultimately it's the crown that's most important to the plant's survival - both roots and leaves can regrow as long as the crown's alive - but large-scale root melt may be indicative of a plant on its way out. How long ago is "recently"? How much of the root system is dying off? A little bit of browning at the ends is probably fine.
> 
> I wouldn't chop off the leaves. Trimming a few dying leaves off of a healthy plant is once thing, but hacking off the entirety of one that's already struggling can kill it. Wait until the plants have acclimated to start giving haircuts.


Thank you! Recently was Tuesday. I held off on chopping the leaves off because it just sounded stupid. The plants that had the crappy root system seem to be doing fine. I haven't pulled the plants out because I'm afraid of disturbing them again. I have root tabs in there with Eco complete. The roots weren't browning. They were turning clear just like the leaves do when they melt. Thanks for the help!


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## jhays79 (Apr 22, 2012)

I've had Dwarf Sag go both ways. One tank I planted it in was SLOW to acclimate and propgate. Probably took a good couple of months before it started to come back from its initial melt off. Soon after it grew like mad. I've put it in other tanks and it took off right away. I have no idea why, tank parameters were very very similar.


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