# Plants melting, even hardy anubias, brown algrea outbreak.



## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

I have the worst luck with live plants. Struggled with them for a year now, lost tons of money on them. Im about to throw up my hands and go back to fake and silk plants. I prefer live plants for the sake of the fish, plus it just looks great! ..

10 gallon
2 6500k 10-15watt bulbs, 12 hrs daily
eco complete substrate
one male betta
filter
heater 78
PH 8.0 (I know its on the high side, but betta is acclimated and used to it, anubias in the past always handled it fine). 
All other water prams are fine

Anubias always did well for me in the past which why im concerned that perhaps my plant loss is due to the eco complete substrate, plant disease or the brown algea bloom that recently occured. 

The beginning of the plant death....
So I decided to get some eco complete substrate about a month ago, put it in the 10 gal, added my new pennywort and my new mint charlies. For a week things looks great. Suddenly by the weekend I was losing pennyworts left and right. At the time I was dosing Sechem flourish excell 2x weekly with a 50% water change weekly. I stopped the ferts as I thought perhaps it was too much ferts. Things did alright for a couple of days, then wham, lost a bunch more pennywort by the day. They turned clear and goopy. I didnt lose hope though, my mint charlies were doing great! 

Another week goes by. All the pennyworts were ready to go in the trash and the mint charlies began to rot. What a bummer. In this time I added an old driftwood I had and tied some old faithful hardy anubias to it and thought, well at least the anubias will do well! 

Well that wasnt the case :-/...not only the mint charlies die but the anubias leaves began to rot and the roots are turning clear! They are not planted, simply tied to the driftwood with the rhizome and the roots exposed. 

Not only did most of my plants die and my anubias get sick but the past week I had an algea bloom...or at least I think its algea. Thick brown goop over all my leaves and the walls in the aquarium. My filter was full of thick brown/black goop. I just swished my filter cartrigde last week when I did the water change, so this stuff grew very fast and its nasty. It even took over my healthy little swords that were doing great! Some of the algea I see also appears to be hair algea? kind of like a spider web on the plants and filter?

I added my three nerite snails this AM after doing a 90% water change so they could do some algea clean up, replacing the filter with a new one and doing a thorough gravel vac over the sand to get rid of rotting plant debri.

Im not sure whats killing the plants...too much light/length of time? The eco complete? not dosing ferts/dosing ferts? Plant disease? Increase water changes?

Im hoping I can save the two anubias with clear roots? The rhizomes still look fine, what are my chances of saving them if the roots are becoming clear? 

Im scared to continue planting, even with anubias, Im at a loss.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

too much light.......................cut it back to 6-8 hrs a day...the brown goop is most likely diatoms...

i keep tellin folks over and over......

THE MORE YOU SCREW WITH YOUR TANK ; THE MORE PROBLEMS YOU CREATE FOR YOURSELF..

high light...eco complete...ferts and chems....
i have never heard of mint charlies...they may well not be an aquatic plant...


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## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

Thanks Loha. I agree. I wish I didnt get the eco complete...I was hoping it would help the stem plants grow nice since I had a ton of them, but it didnt lol. Now I dont have a single plant in the substrate so its just a $30 waste. Lesson learned. The snails did a major clean up though, stripped most of the brown goo off the leaves within a couple days, the anubias are looking better, still concerned about those clearish roots though. Ill change my timer tomorrow, see if less time with the light will help 

Anyone have suggestion on low light plants I can put in the subrate so it doesnt go to waste?


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