# Plant growth - 2.5 gallon 1yr 4months



## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

Well as many know I have 3 El naturals.
My first one is 1year and 4months old and I'm definately noticing plant growth differences.

Right now I can't grow duckweed. Go figure. I changed the bulb about 2months ago so it's not a lighting thing.

Also the vals. spiral. have hole in the leaves.

For a while I had no val growth and it kicked up when I started feeding the few Red Cherry Shrimp I had with crab food and algae wafers. I assume that food (by Hikari) was better than plain betta food.

So could someone offer explainations why the duckweed isn't growing (I assume not much nutrients in the water column, probably iron).
Is iron deficiency the reason for the vals too?

The holes are obviously being eating by the snails (never blame them, they're just the clean up crew).

I obviously want to keep it simple, but I don't mind feeding the plants fish/crab food (my excuse will be I'm feeding the snails ). I may put some of my whiter shrimp in the tank. Keep the Betta entertained.

If you want to see the tank (not with recent pictures), it's the first link in my signature.

Thanks


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

From what I've read as well as what I've been told, holes in the leaves is caused by a potassium deficiency. As for an iron deficiency, this is what I found on it:

Leaves to show effects first: New
Reduced chlorophyll in new growth. Leaves and stem are about the same shade. Growing tips of Ceratophyllum become pinkish and then white. Egeria densa tips become greenish yellow to yellow with the leaves small and clasped close to the stem. The new leaves of swords are smaller with patches or broad streaks extending lengthwise that are more pale than the rest of the leaf (in mild deficiency). In more severe deficiency in most plants chlorophyll is lacking completely in the new growth which soon dies.
Leaves Turn Yellow.
Greenish nerves enclosing yellow leaf tissue.
First seen in fast growing plants.

Maybe the lack of potassium is the reason why you're having problems growing Duckweed?


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## helenf (Mar 24, 2008)

Maybe the duckweed has run its course of reproducing by division, and needs some new genes in its pool? 

I don't know how it reproduces, actually, but I've read that some plants grow for a particular length of time and then stop because they need a phase of sexual reproduction to start again. 

I'm about to get some more elodea densa for one of my tanks, because I'm sure the growth has slowed in the stems I have, even though they are still growing, and I want to see whether the newer plants will grow faster. If so, it's not a deficiency, but something to do with the physiology of the plant. 

Maybe if you try some new duckweed from the shop, it might make a difference. 

Interesting comment about feeding a different food making a difference. It reinforces my opinion that having a variety of top quality aquarium foods is good, as hopefully they will compensate on average for any individual lacking ingredient. I guess maybe that works for plants as well as for the aquarium animals.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

The duckweed is being transplanted from the 20g-long or the new 2.5 gallon. It just disappears.

I thought holes in leaves was potassium, although nothing concrete in googling it (haven't looked hard enough).

What is an easy and safe way to add potassium. Maybe I need to look at the ingrediants of the hikari food to see if it is anywhere.

What natural ingrediant would have potassium. Fish products? Seaweed?
I have a hunch it is somewhere in the type of ingrediants.

By the way does anybody know what vals spiral like for good growth. Maybe I'll be able to focus in.

Thanks


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## Dustymac (Apr 26, 2008)

It's just a hunch but I'm thinking you should test the hardness of your water. If it were only the Duckweed affected, I would suspect an iron deficiency. Since it's the Vals, too, you might look at hardness.

Depending on the hardness of your tap water and how often you have made water changes, a simple water change could be all you need. If your tap water is on the soft side, it could use a dose of Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium. *Here's* my method but there are plenty of others on this forum which should do the job.

Hope this helps,
Jim


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

You know, I've read the back of various fish foods and I have yet to see the word potassium anywhere on the package. I don't think you'll want to do this but I plan on(if I can find it, that is)buying potassium nitrate to add to my tanks. My betta just won't leave any food behind for the plants!

As for the duckweed, I'd be pleased if it didn't grow in my tank! That plant takes over the tank too quickly.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

My water is plenty hard since I have a seashell in there, but I assume it is mainly Ca and not K.

I'll check your link.
Thanks


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## DataGuru (Mar 11, 2005)

floating plants don't do as well in established tanks cuz of lack of nutrients in the water column. Given there's not much of a bioload in the tank, there's not a lot of ammonia being produced.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
I need to add some of my lesser red RCS to the tank. Give the Betta something to do and culls the herd


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Dear Newbie,

You're right that the duckweed probably lacks water iron (the soil is no longer releasing iron into the water like it did in the past). I assume here that your tank is still getting good lighting and has the recommended 12 hr (or more) daylength.

As to the Vals, I have also found them to be hard to keep over time. They just tended to die off, and other plants took over their territory. I suspect allelopathy (inhibitory chemicals released by other plants or the Vals themselves) could be the culprit. Only if all your other plants are dying off as well, would I be concerned. More frequent water changes might help the Val.

FINALLY, FOLKS, remember that when you add any fishfood, you are adding plant fertilizer to your tanks. No "ands ifs, or buts". And it doesn't matter who eats the food (snails, bacteria, fish, fungus, shrimp, etc), the nutrients (potassium, nitrogen, calcium, phosphate, iron, etc) in the fishfood will eventually work their way into the aquarium ecosystem. Everyone who keeps an NPT and writes here about adding fertilizers (potassium nitrate, etc) needs to reread the section in my book "Fishfood as a Source of Nutrients" (pp. 80-82).

Over time, nutrients from the fishfood additions replenish the soil nutrients that have been taken up by the plants. That's how the NPT works.


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

dwalstad said:


> FINALLY, FOLKS, remember that when you add any fishfood, you are adding plant fertilizer to your tanks. No "ands ifs, or buts". And it doesn't matter who eats the food (snails, bacteria, fish, fungus, shrimp, etc), the nutrients (potassium, nitrogen, calcium, phosphate, iron, etc) in the fishfood will eventually work their way into the aquarium ecosystem. Everyone who keeps an NPT and writes here about adding fertilizers (potassium nitrate, etc) needs to reread the section in my book "Fishfood as a Source of Nutrients" (pp. 80-82).
> 
> Over time, nutrients from the fishfood additions replenish the soil nutrients that have been taken up by the plants. That's how the NPT works.


Maybe so but what are you suppose to do for the plants that are suffering from a deficiency while waiting for the fishfoods to "work their way into the ecosystem"? Just continue to let them get worse? Not only that but fish can also feel the effects of a nutrient deficiency so sometimes, it is best to add a little potassium, etc.

Granted, there is no need to dose the tank with fertilizers the way a person would if they had a CO2 injected tank but once or at the most, twice a month(depending on what you're using and how the plants/fish are), certainly wouldn't hurt especially if you don't add a full dose that's recommended for the tank size.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

Thanks for the reply Diana.
I assume food is food as well.
My limiting factor is that Betta food just isn't very much.

Like my log in my 2.5Gallon, I started having growth of my vals after I started feeding the few Red Cherry Shrimp in there.

I did add part of an Algae wafer with the excuse of feeding the snails 
Although the Betta was eating it too, or he was just hunting snails.

I added 5 Red Cherry Shrimp (the whiter ones). Figure it will give me an excuse to feed them, add some nutrients (when they die or eaten) and give my Betta something to do. He was hunting one this morning. A very flexible fish.

I'll be interested to see if the Vals recover. I don't think the vals should be short of Iron since it has the soil. But then again maybe the Iron is gone.
I do know the algae wafers have seaweed and that maybe a sorce of Potassium.

I'll keep people posted, since who knows, adding RCS is an excuse to naturally fertilize a tank.


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