# Need Fertilizer, but very nervous. Suggestions?



## Warlandra (Apr 1, 2017)

Hey everyone! Thorny is doing great but, I'm going to do his first 25% water change today, and go to Petsmart to try to find some test kits I can afford until I can get the master test kit.

But luckily I know more about plants and I know that they are lacking vitamins and nutrients. The girl at Petsmart said I wouldn't need any food for them, and having previously worked at a garden centre I was not really convinced. She said they would feed off of Thornys waste and old food. So I decided I'd keep an eye on them and see if that was indeed the case, but looks like that obviously isn't enough.

I have looked at previous threads about fertilizer, but I just want to know what you guys would suggest for a 3.5 gallon tank with my lil Betta fishy in it? I'm terrified of poisoning him but I don't want the plants to die and rot either. I've also researched online, but then when I go to look at the actual products some reviews are mixed saying the product is great and others say it killed their fishy.

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read! Any and all information is so helpful


----------



## bluebutterfly123 (Feb 23, 2017)

Hi.. If you just set up the tank.. You will see some leaves die off.. But you should also start to see new growth in about a week or so.. I usually notice root growth first.. And if they are growing then a few plants should be fine with thorny's waste.. 
I do use Leaf Zone.. When I remember to.. And both my bettas and snails are doing great... 

What I do with it is.. mix it with my water is a small container, then use the turkey baster to squirt the plants only with it.. This is during a water change day.. So most of the water is removed first... And while I'm busy getting the freshwater ready the plants soak in the nutrients... And then I add water and it's diluted to the amount it says on the bottle (for a 10 gallon).. 

Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Tapatalk


----------



## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

I use Seachem products. Excel will kill some PLANTS, but I've never had any fish die because of it. 

What types of plants do you have? Root Tabs by Seachem might be your best bet.


----------



## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Excel is not a fertilizer; it is a carbon source. I use this seller's RU tabs and Iron tabs. Much more economical than name-brands.

RU TABS Root tabs aquarium fertilizer plant ferts substrate clay micro macro | eBay


----------



## Kadington (Apr 14, 2016)

As someone who has been doing a lot of research on ferts lately to try and maximize them for a CO2 injected tank, your best option is to let the plants grow out and use a generic fertilizer. If you are noticing the plants not thriving like you like them diagnosis what you are missing from your system then add that. It's far to easy to over dose something like Nitrogen. Well it won't kill your fish to over dose nitrogen, it could stress them out and lead to death if something else is amiss. 










One more note for everybody: Well people think to add more food when they get more fish, a lot of people forget to add more ferts when you get more plants. If you have doubled your plant load, you might need double the ferts. Always adjust ferts slowly when your plants start showing signs of stress as to not stress fish.


----------



## Warlandra (Apr 1, 2017)

Thank you everyone! And yes I'm guessing aquatic plants are similar to land plants and from the looks of it my Amazon sword is looking like it has a Nitrogen deficiency. It looks just like how it did when I worked at the garden centre, broad leafed plants like more nitrogen. I will keep an eye on it and if it progresses I will definately get a fertilizer. Thanks everyone


----------



## Warlandra (Apr 1, 2017)

And ThatFishThough, I have one Amazon Sword and one Ludwigia in a 3.5 gallon tank. The Amazon Sword is the one showing the most signs of Nitrogen deficiency, the Ludwigia I'm not so sure on. The Amazon Sword is more like the plants I worked with at a garden centre so I can recognize it's symptoms more but the Ludwigia just seems to be losing leaves.


----------



## Kadington (Apr 14, 2016)

Good Luck! Amazon swords are heavy root feeders so fertilizer tabs will be your friend if it's not improving.


----------



## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Ludwigia tend to drop leaves until they establish roots. As a matter of fact, I got some back in February. They are still dropping leaves occasionally. 
I've never had Amazon Swords, but I heard they appreciate iron tabs along with root tabs


----------



## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

All Swords and red plants benefit from Iron. If you have/get Red Root Floaters they will grow twice as strong and red if you introduce Iron into the water column.

I like those tabs (RU is general purpose) because I don't like capsules. Capsules can break and then you have all these little yellow balls on the surface of the substrate. The tabs dissolve completely under the substrate. I tried clay (Iron) caps and the darned capsules broke as I was planting them and red powder went everywhere. Talk about a mess. :frustrated:


----------



## Cryptkeeper (Mar 28, 2017)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Excel is not a fertilizer; it is a carbon source. ...


This might be an interesting read. This article is being spread everywhere.

https://www.sunkengardens.net/blog/...-liquid-co2-and-the-dangers-of-glutaraldehyde


----------



## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

The only reason I've ever used Excel is to combat algae. It kills anacharis (admitted by Seachem) and can kill crypts and Vals. It can also compromise shrimp and crays. IMO, anything that can do that shouldn't be in an aquarium.


----------

