# weird C Wendtii growth



## tetra21 (Apr 27, 2006)

Hi all! Long time lurker on this board, but now I've got a problem that I can't seem to find an answer for. I bought a C. Wendtii "green" a month & a half ago. I left it alone till it started to adapt from emersed to submerged growth. Then I spilt off the plants that where big enough. Growth was good for the first two leaves, but now there is a problem. The leaves come out with dark brown on their base & have very short stems and come out a little twisted. The main plant, however, is perfectly fine, with good normal growth.

This is a low light tank (1 wpg) with some DIY C02. 
Weekly 25% water change
Water conditions:
Tank: 25 gal
NH3:0 mg/L
NO2:0.1 mg/L (barely)
Ph:7.6
Kh:90 ppm
C02:2.3 ppm (calculated)

Lightly to medium planted with medium fish load
Substrate is 4mm gravel & root tabs under each plant. At first I though FE problems 'cuz the stem & base of leaf were the same shade. Now I dose FE every other day, but no improvement. Then I broke a calcium pill in half & placed it in the gravel under the roots of one plant (experimenting to see if it is a calcium problem) & has not improved. Does this seem like a Nitrogen problem? The older leaves seem a tiny bit yellower than the used to be, but barely even visible. Should I get a bigger fish load to produce more waste, or start adding ferts? They are still popping out a new leaf every week. I'm at a loss here & any help is greatly appreciated.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

I doubt it is a nitrogen deficiency because your description of the symptoms does not sound like nitrogen deficiency, where the plant will be more pale, except for the newest leaves, growth will almost stop, and the oldest leaves will become yellow and almost die. I notice you have an ammonia value and a nitrite (NO2) value, but no nitrate (NO3) value. Do you have a test kit for nitrate?

Could you get a picture of your plants, tetra2? That would help a lot!

This picture shows some older leaves turning yellow in C. cordata from N deficiency.


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## tetra21 (Apr 27, 2006)

I'll have to get a test kit NO3, but here are some pics. Please forgive me, but the quality sucks as it is an old camera.

Here is the plant with the worst symptoms:



Top view:



Good plant in same tank:



Now that I've seen what a nitrogen defficentcy looks like, I don't think that is my problem.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Now that I have seen your pictures, I think that there is nothing wrong with your plants at all. The newer leaves have shorter petioles, because after the plants were replanted they had more room and more light.  When the older leaves were grown, the plants were more crowded, under which conditions, the petioles lengthen to reduce shading by other leaves. The brownish color at the base of the new leaves is also a response to more light. It is perfectly healthy. 

On the other hand, your plastic plants seem to be showing horrible deficiency symptoms. One of them seems to have turned entirely white!! I would say it is beyond recovery.


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## tetra21 (Apr 27, 2006)

LOL, I've purposely starved that plant to breed a new variety: ludwigia repens whiticus starvicus. I hope to have the market flooded by early 2050. Anyways, I'm glad the crypts are fine, I was just worried that there was a problem & I wanted to fix it 'cuz I really like those plants. (sigh of relief)
:bounce:

Do you think that after the plants have adjusted to the light that the new leaves will come out green again?


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Nope. Unless the light is quite weak, submersed wendtii, walkeri, undulata, etc. will have a lot of brownish coloration. It is healthy.


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## tetra21 (Apr 27, 2006)

I did not know that. Thanks for setting me straight!


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