[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Red-brown new leaves on an Amazon Sword
Hello,
I'm new to the list, but I have had a read through some of the archive
and TheKrib and am suffering information overload ! :-)
and apologies for a rather longish first post, but I'm going to try to
give much relevant info. to help you help me diagnose my problem !
I have returned to tropical fish and plant keeping after a long absence
by setting up a tank about 1 month ago.
Most of the plants are doing ok, and the vallis is doing exceptionally
well with lots of runners and plantlets ( some plantlets are already
about 4 to 5in. high and one of the parents has a flower stalk )
However, two of the amazons ( Echinodorus harbii ?) are producing
new leaves which are red-brown with only a little green in the
veins near the base. The oldest (ie. the first ) of the new leaves on
one plant has recently coloured up very slightly (sort of a pale-greenish
red, if you can imagine that ! ), the original leaves (ie those on the
plants when I got them) are still bright green.
An E. parviflorus and three of another, unknown, type of amazon are
producing green leaves with just a slight "sheen" of red.
So, after reading archives and in The Krib I thought I diagnosed an iron
deficiency and two weeks after set up I added Tetra FloraPride iron type
something-or-other-magic-mixture at the suggested dose for a new tank.
This had no effect on the harbii but the Wisteria (Synemma triflorum?)
and Indian Fern (Ceratopteris thalictroides) began to turn yellow and
die back.
I didn't add any more FloraPride.
Then I re-potted the two harbii with some clay soil from the garden-
( red clay, and there are pre-historic iron-age iron pit workings on
my hillside not far away ! )
-mixed in with the gravel. and raised one plant to near the surface
(and the lights) by placing the pot on top of the internal (Rena 245)
filter.
No noticeable difference after a week.
Then I repotted them in a mix of gravel and horticultural potting mix
( John Innes No.3), after a week still no difference :-(
The E.harbii continue to put out new red-brown leaves but smaller now.
Other plants ( Cabomba, Ludwigia, Hygro etc) are beginning to thrive
and the wisteria and indian fern are beginning to recover.
So,,, how do I get the E.harbii to play ball ?
Do I add nitrate ??? perhaps as potassium nitrate ?
I am reluctant to do this incase of algae,
some tiny ( gravel sized) patches of blue-green at first, began to spread
during this time to cover a few vallis leaves and the base of java ferns but
now it seems to be at a standstill or maybe even reducing ( hope springs
eternal :-)? )
No other algae problems.
Other info. :-
5.5ft x 15in x 18in high (approx 55gal.Imp, 68gal.US, 260L.)
Water is 3 parts rain to 1 of tap - part of which was pre-boiled to
reduce the temporary hardness even more ( The same as I used to
do long ago when I was into breeding discus ! )
pH is slightly alkaline (pale blue-green on BDH 678 universal
indicator, I guess about 7.6 to 7.8)
My tap water according to the Utility is 230ppm total hardness and
150 ppm bicarbonate hardness. ( I'm not sure I trust that bicarbonate
figure because when I dilute with 3 parts of soft rain water it should be
very low KH yet I don't get any large swings of pH when I add CO2 )
About 8cu.in. CO2 per hour (a bit less during the day) which takes the
pH to green, possibly about 7.3, which doesn't agree with the diluted
Utility figures. I'll have to get some EDTA and check all that out )
Two 65w 5ft fluorescents during the day, +two more during the evening.
Heavily planted. Light fish load, 10 glowlights, 10 lemon tetras, 2 small
plecos, 1 tiny ancistrus, 5 small corydorus,, ( for starters !! )
Gosh, this is getting a bit too long, sorry ,,
Malcolm.
SW England.