# Ludwigia repens melt in NPT bowl



## chrislewistx (Jun 8, 2012)

I planted a 1 gallon canister per an article written by Diane Walstad titled "Small planted tanks for shrimp". http://www.bookmasters.com/marktplc/00388Shrimp.pdf

It has been running for about three weeks, and I have had no issues so far. This morning I noticed the shrimp, and snails at the very top of the tank. I had read this can be a sign of low oxygen in the tank, and was due for a water change anyway. I went ahead and did a water change before leaving for work. I was in a hurry and disturbed the substrate when refilling the canister. When I got home I noticed what I thought was mulm that had settled on my Ludwigia Repens. Upon closer inspection the leaves are turning clear and melting. Does anyone have any idea what may have happened. Also, 3 days ago I changed to an Ikea LED light. Previously I had been using 1 13 watt spiral CFL over three such jars. Now I have 1 each Ikea LED per jar.

The other plants, snails, and shrimp all seem fine.

Tank Specs:
1 gallon jar
1" MTS
1.5" Saf-T-Sorb
Cabomba
Creeping Jenny
Unidentified Anubias
L. Repens
chain sword
unknown floaters and floating riccia
4 or so ramshorn snails
2 cherry shrimp


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi chrislewistx,

It sound like you ran out of available nitrogen to the plants. MG Organic Choice Potting Mix does have some time-release fertilizer but that is quite a few plants in the 1 gallon container. Also, my experience has been that the faster growing plants will show the nutrient deficiency first; and L. repens is a fast grower.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I will very respectfully disagree with Roy on this one. It would be quite surprising for a 1.5" layer of soil to become exhausted in so short a time. Plus nutrients (especially nitrogen) are being added all the time when you feed.

I don't know for sure what is happening to the ludwigia. But 1.5" is a pretty deep soil layer for a 1 gal container, and it could be anaerobic if the chain sword roots haven't penetrated it yet. Also, it is extremely easy to overfeed with small aquaria--I wiped out a previously thriving shrimp colony that way. I suspect that the animals hanging at the surface was due to one of those factors, and is unrelated to the ludwigia decline.

The ludwigia may still be adjusting to the new environment. Or it may be that for unknown reasons, that species is not going to thrive in that particular tank. If the other plants and animals continue to do well, you might just accept the loss of the ludwigia in this case.

You can always get some more from me, lol.


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## chrislewistx (Jun 8, 2012)

Thanks for the responses guys. We will see what happens over the course of time.

I only feed every two or three days since there are only a few Ramshorn snails and 2 cherry shrimp. 

I did go back and actually measure the substrate instead of going off memory. There are two inches total. From looking at the layers through the glass there is 1" of MTS and 1" of SafTSorb. For future record, how deep of each substrate component would you use for a small container? Also, how deep would you make the substrate for say a 20 gallon tank?

This weekend I added some Hygrophila Polysperma Sunset to see what would happen to it. I haven't seen the snails and shrimp sitting at the top of the water column anymore either. 

I am really interested to see if this IKEA LED light will continue to grow the plants. I have seen no noticeable decline in growth or color since changing over to the LED fixture. Also, the visual light from it is actually brighter and makes viewing the container better for me. 

Thanks for your help.


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