Anacharis melt

[Nikki Casali]

Do anacharis stems have a life expectancy? Once a week I trim the bottom
stems and replant. They grow about 8" a week. Suddenly, half the stems
have stopped growing, the leaves have turned brown and have curled down.
The other half are still growing rampant, seemingly oblivious to the
surrounding death.

What could have killed half the anacharis? I have a hunch that the stems
die after growing to a certain length, and that the half still alive are
the younger side shoots. I may be wrong of course. They are growing in
close proximity to a watersprite. Maybe the watersprite leeches a growth
inhibitor from its roots. Hmmmm.

NO3 16ppm
PO4 0.6ppm
Fe 0.25ppm
pH 7.25
K dosed at 5ppm weekly.

Nikki

[Aaron M]

I've had similar problems recently, but haven't had a chance to research it.

Nikki Casali wrote:
> Do anacharis stems have a life expectancy? Once a week I trim the bottom
> stems and replant. They grow about 8" a week. Suddenly, half the stems
> have stopped growing, the leaves have turned brown and have curled down.
> The other half are still growing rampant, seemingly oblivious to the
> surrounding death.
>
> What could have killed half the anacharis? I have a hunch that the stems
> die after growing to a certain length, and that the half still alive are
> the younger side shoots. I may be wrong of course. They are growing in
> close proximity to a watersprite. Maybe the watersprite leeches a growth
> inhibitor from its roots. Hmmmm.
>
> NO3 16ppm
> PO4 0.6ppm
> Fe 0.25ppm
> pH 7.25
> K dosed at 5ppm weekly.
>
> Nikki
>

[dfreas]

I'm not sure what the problem is - but I can assure you that anacharis
does not die after growing to a certain length. I had it as the only
plant in a cichlid tank once and would routinely pull 2 to 3 foot long
shoots of anacharis out of the tank and throw them away.

However if you are growing it rooted and the top covers the surface the
problem may be as simple as the top of the plant cutting off light to
the bottom of the plant and causing it to die. I always grew mine
floating on top of the water. But that's just a guess - I really have
no idea what the problem is, just letting you know what the problem is
not ;-)

-Daniel

[R. Santink]

How long are your Anacharis before cutting? I have Anacharis that are
over 24" long in my tank, and they show no signs of wilting on the lower
portions. I have two plants that are about 30" and their bottoms are
as healthy as the rest of the plant, except of course for the tip which
is the lushest, greenest part

One thing I HAVE noticed with regards to cuttings, is that I only cut my
Anacharis (if I need to that is) once it has formed those long drop
roots. On my plants they often 'drop' from about the 6" mark down to
the sand substrate. I then snip below the root point, so that the new
shoot already has a root.

That said, you mention that the older, lower portion dies off. No
explanation that I can offer. On a not-quite-related-note, I have
Anacharis from my first purchase from the LFS, that are *still* 2" long,
yet they were bought in January, whereas the 24" + club were bought in
early March.

Perhaps different variants of Anacharis tolerate different conditions,
handling, etc.. ??

Out of interest, I will cut a 24" plant tonight, and watch what happens..


RAS



Aaron M wrote:
> I've had similar problems recently, but haven't had a chance to research
> it.
>
> Nikki Casali wrote:
>
>> Do anacharis stems have a life expectancy? Once a week I trim the
>> bottom stems and replant. They grow about 8" a week. Suddenly, half
>> the stems have stopped growing, the leaves have turned brown and have
>> curled down. The other half are still growing rampant, seemingly
>> oblivious to the surrounding death.
>>
>> What could have killed half the anacharis? I have a hunch that the
>> stems die after growing to a certain length, and that the half still
>> alive are the younger side shoots. I may be wrong of course. They are
>> growing in close proximity to a watersprite. Maybe the watersprite
>> leeches a growth inhibitor from its roots. Hmmmm.
>>
>> NO3 16ppm
>> PO4 0.6ppm
>> Fe 0.25ppm
>> pH 7.25
>> K dosed at 5ppm weekly.
>>
>> Nikki
>>


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[Nikki Casali]

dfreas wrote:
> However if you are growing it rooted and the top covers the surface the
> problem may be as simple as the top of the plant cutting off light to
> the bottom of the plant and causing it to die.

They are all rooted. The bottoms don't have enough time to die as they
are trimmed and binned weekly. When I say half, I don't mean half of the
stem. I mean 1 stem out of 2 has died. The whole length of the stem
stops in its tracks, dies, turns brown and decomposes in situ. The
healthy stems have beautiful growth from bottom to top. No stems have
half dead lengths.

I always grew mine
> floating on top of the water. But that's just a guess - I really have
> no idea what the problem is, just letting you know what the problem is
> not ;-)

Something else then must be the cause. I use lead weights at the bottom
of the bunches to hold them down. Can wrapping a lead weight too tightly
at the base be detrimental, like cutting off its resources?

They've been growing rampant for over a month, whether shaded or not.
This has all of a sudden happened. The only chemical change I've made is
the addition of Seachem's Excel.

Nikki

[Nikki Casali]

R. Santink wrote:

> How long are your Anacharis before cutting?

18" maximum.

I have Anacharis that are
> over 24" long in my tank, and they show no signs of wilting on the lower
> portions. I have two plants that are about 30" and their bottoms are
> as healthy as the rest of the plant, except of course for the tip which
> is the lushest, greenest part
>
> One thing I HAVE noticed with regards to cuttings, is that I only cut my
> Anacharis (if I need to that is) once it has formed those long drop
> roots. On my plants they often 'drop' from about the 6" mark down to
> the sand substrate. I then snip below the root point, so that the new
> shoot already has a root.
>

I cut them too often from the bottoms for them to grow roots.

> That said, you mention that the older, lower portion dies off.

No. The whole stem dies completely, from top to bottom. This is what I
have: stems that are completely healthy and stems that are completely
dead. No half measures.

Nikki

[R. Santink]

> They've been growing rampant for over a month, whether shaded or not.
> This has all of a sudden happened. The only chemical change I've made is
> the addition of Seachem's Excel.


OUCH. See this link:
http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/FlourishExcel_faq.html

Search for 'anacharis'. I was guilty of this before. I still use
Flourish Excel, but in far less quantities.


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[R. Santink]

R. Santink wrote:
>
>> They've been growing rampant for over a month, whether shaded or not.
>> This has all of a sudden happened. The only chemical change I've made
>> is the addition of Seachem's Excel.
>
>
>
> OUCH. See this link:
> http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/FlourishExcel_faq.html
>
> Search for 'anacharis'. I was guilty of this before. I still use
> Flourish Excel, but in far less quantities.


I was so distraught by the Excel comment, I forgot to mention the
lead...;) YES, lead can be too tight, and result in dead/dying plants.
Do you need the lead weight, or is it just to keep them bunched tightly?

RAS


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[Nikki Casali]

R. Santink wrote:
>
>> They've been growing rampant for over a month, whether shaded or not.
>> This has all of a sudden happened. The only chemical change I've made
>> is the addition of Seachem's Excel.
>
>
>
> OUCH. See this link:
> http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/FlourishExcel_faq.html
>
> Search for 'anacharis'. I was guilty of this before. I still use
> Flourish Excel, but in far less quantities.
>

Ah ha! I always knew there was an explanation for everything. Thank you
very much for that. I will half the dose and closely monitor the situation.

Nikki

[R. Santink]

>
> Ah ha! I always knew there was an explanation for everything. Thank you
> very much for that. I will half the dose and closely monitor the situation.
>
> Nikki
>

I would take it one further and stop the Excel altogether until your
Anacharis' recovery is well underway. Unless of course, you have other
plants dependent on it.

I fertilize my Anacharis with Iron, 1/3 - 1/4 dosage Excel (really just
to gradually get rid of the bottle!:), and also with potassium. I also
have PlantGRO 16-9-12 sticks under the sand in the denser areas.

Good luck!

RAS


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[Elaine T]

Nikki Casali wrote:
>
>
> dfreas wrote:
>
>> However if you are growing it rooted and the top covers the surface the
>> problem may be as simple as the top of the plant cutting off light to
>> the bottom of the plant and causing it to die.
>
>
> They are all rooted. The bottoms don't have enough time to die as they
> are trimmed and binned weekly. When I say half, I don't mean half of the
> stem. I mean 1 stem out of 2 has died. The whole length of the stem
> stops in its tracks, dies, turns brown and decomposes in situ. The
> healthy stems have beautiful growth from bottom to top. No stems have
> half dead lengths.
>
> I always grew mine
>
>> floating on top of the water. But that's just a guess - I really have
>> no idea what the problem is, just letting you know what the problem is
>> not ;-)
>
>
> Something else then must be the cause. I use lead weights at the bottom
> of the bunches to hold them down. Can wrapping a lead weight too tightly
> at the base be detrimental, like cutting off its resources?
>
> They've been growing rampant for over a month, whether shaded or not.
> This has all of a sudden happened. The only chemical change I've made is
> the addition of Seachem's Excel.
>
> Nikki
>
Bingo! Seachem says that Excel kills anacharis.

--
__ Elaine T __
><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

[Nikki Casali]

Elaine T wrote:

> Nikki Casali wrote:

>> They've been growing rampant for over a month, whether shaded or not.
>> This has all of a sudden happened. The only chemical change I've made
>> is the addition of Seachem's Excel.
>>
>> Nikki
>>
> Bingo! Seachem says that Excel kills anacharis.
>

If all conundrums were so easy to solve!

Nikki

[Nikki Casali]

R. Santink wrote:

>
>>
>> Ah ha! I always knew there was an explanation for everything. Thank
>> you very much for that. I will half the dose and closely monitor the
>> situation.
>>
>> Nikki
>>
>
> I would take it one further and stop the Excel altogether until your
> Anacharis' recovery is well underway. Unless of course, you have other
> plants dependent on it.

50% of the tank is Anacharis, 50% Watersprite. There's no dependency. I
used Excel purely as an experiment to see if had any effect on a little
staghorn and a strange brown/black matt covering some Echinodorus
Tenellus. Interestingly, the Ancistrus scrape the matt clean away when
they can be bothered. The Excel also clouded up when I switched on the
UV for a few hours. The experiment has been discontinued indefinitely.

> I fertilize my Anacharis with Iron, 1/3 - 1/4 dosage Excel (really just
> to gradually get rid of the bottle!:), and also with potassium. I also
> have PlantGRO 16-9-12 sticks under the sand in the denser areas.

I was really proud of my Anacharis' growth. I'm using a whole host of
fertilisers from Botanica which includes most micro and macro nutrients.
Here's a before and after: http://www.ncasali.demon.co.uk/AnacharisMelt.html

> Good luck!

Thanks! Let's see if I can revive any of the "dead" ones.

Nikki

[R. Santink]

> Thanks! Let's see if I can revive any of the "dead" ones.
>
> Nikki
>

Those were nice plants, that's for sure... If you're up for
experiments, here's one you can try (with regards to reviving your
'dead' plants):

All of my tanks are coldwater, getting as cold as 16 degrees Celcius in
the winter. In the summer, they get as warm as 23-25 degrees C. When
the water cools in winter, I usually experience a slowdown in plant
growth. If I want to get things going again, I've left the tank in the
dark for a week, then bring on the lights, and turn on a heater. Dose
with fertilizers, and I'll have some pretty spectacular growth.

This winter I left things dormant, but the year before I heated the
water to 19 degrees throughout the winter.

I don't know if it's the light/dark period, the increase in temp. or a
combination, but it seems to work for Egeria, Cabomba, and some Vals...

YMMV,

RAS


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