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Crypt rot
What excellent timing, Shaji. And thanks for putting the effort into
this new list!
I have a bunch of Cryptocoryne sp. (probably wendtii or lutea) in my 45
gallon heavily planted aquaria (see, for instance,
http://marge.phys.washington.edu/fish/Plants/People/Olson/ for full
desctiption). The tank has heating cables, CO2, and 160 watts of fluorescent
lighting. Starting about 2-3 weeks ago, virtually ALL of the brown "wendtii"
began to melt; I went on vacation and now that I'm back it's completely gone
except for a few newer shoots. More of the green "lutea" seems to have
survived, planted in the same area & mixed with the brown "wendii".
Here are some things I have changed to the tank that might have brought
this on:
* Removed a lot of pygmy chain swords and replaced them with 3 species of
Anubias about a month ago.
* Uprooted lizard's tail (Saururus).
* Added 2 or 3 rhizomes of Crypt pondetifolia (sp?) in another part of the
tank.
* Added several bunches of Ammania sp.
* Added an Echinodorus osiris (which was doing well initially but has
seemingly stopped now).
* Lowered tank temperature 80-75 F approx. TWO months ago.
What has NOT changed much is nitrate level, which I've checked weekly. I
also do regular water changes of 4-8 gallons per week or two.
So... I would like to learn more about Crypt rot. Is this a seasonal
thing, perhaps triggered by changes in our water? Is it a reaction to
other plants? Given my situation, I don't think it's due to a change in
macronutrient level (which most of the books suggest) as that's been pretty
constant. I have noticed in the past that SOME of the crop will die out
and come back, but I've never had such a mass suicide as this.
- Erik
---
Erik D. Olson The Job-o-meter:
olson at phys_washington.edu stand by...