# red and green foxtails question



## rollie (Sep 7, 2008)

I have a question for anyone with experience keeping foxtails. I have had no luck with them at all. I want to know if Im doing something wrong. Foxtails are supposed to be easy plants to grow. My foxtails lose their needles or leaves if you will. All Im left with is stems after about a week or two. I have co2 injection in a 55 gallon tank and my other plants, wisterias are growing like crazy. I have to keep trimming them back often they grow so fast. why wont my foxtails survive? I also add iron and other liquid nutrients every 3 days.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

What "other liquid nutrients" do you add? How much light do you use? If you have more than about 90 watts of fluorescent light you need to be dosing nitrates, phosphates, potassium and trace elements. Have you done any reading in the fertilizing forum here?


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## rollie (Sep 7, 2008)

In answer to your question Hoppy, the lighting in my tank is a 40 watt flourescent ,single element bulb. It is a full spectrum bulb with a 18000 k rating. the nutrients I dose with are nitrogen, potassium , phosphorus and iron all in liquid form of course. The box the bulb came in said it is for use in planted tanks. Im wondering if I need even more light. Maybe a double element light hood for my tank?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

You do need more light for that 55 gallon tank, except for growing mosses, anubias, and maybe ferns. One more bulb might be enough to make a difference. But, 18,000K is much too high a color temperature for a planted tank. We try to stay in the range between about 5000 and 10,000K.


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## xpistalpetex (Mar 31, 2008)

i have some green foxtails, and growing them with a 2wpg, pressurized co2, dosing iron every other day..sure its growing slow but it is growing


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Foxtails need decent lighting for healthy growth. 40W on a 55 just won't cut it, I'm sorry to say.


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