# I killed *floaters*?!? :P



## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

So...I managed to kill floaters. Seriously...I did not know this was even possible. Duckweed, fairy moss, and salvinia. Deader than doornails. 

All my other plants look great, growing well...even some finicky stuff like red rotala...not an issue. But the floaters...the floaters are dead. 

Anyone care to have a go at what I've done wrong with these guys?

I use Tetra aquasafe plus, the tank was cycled with a sponge filter but is now close to being silently cycled by the plants (I just need a few more in there, sponge filter is still going), two bettas in a divided 20gL, a few pond snails, a ramshorn snail (who hitchhiked in), I added in some Flourish about a week ago for the first time, and I swear they started to look gross a day or two after, gravel substrate, two medium sized pieces of driftwood, both soaked but still giving off a little tannins which has darkened the water a little over the last 3 weeks. Two lights going, both hanging close to the top of the tank, about 3 inches above, 100 watt equiv. CFL bulbs. 

Also had some additional amounts of the duckweed/salvinia mix and fairy moss sitting in two tubs until I could get some additional tanks ready. I added flourish in there about once a week, and I started to notice that after the second time they seemed to be looking worse and worse...so I dosed them again, believing they needed more nutrients, and I really think it's the flourish that's killed them. How is this possible?

Any information is greatly appreciated! I'm new to plants, so I'm sure I've done some stupid noobie thing.  Poor little guys...I can get some more, but I still feel bad that I killed them.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

fair moss? That's an interesting name is that azolla? 

the above mentioned plants die when dragged underwater by a big current... so....hows the current in the tank? 

edit: I see the part about tubs  I'm not sure about flourish, but I know excel will kill some plants~


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

There's actually no current in there, they're on low-powered sponge filters, but good thought! I hadn't even thought of that.  

The tubs (lol!) are just that...big white tubs that I got that are actually for dishes, but they make great holding and QT tanks for fish and for plants.  I put in some water and dumped the floaters in there until I could get the rest of the tanks set up (going from 6 with silk plants to 6 with live plants...takes some time and some planning, lol!) and thought that with adequate light and some nutrients they could stay there in a "holding pattern" until I could get around to putting them in. 

They were happy for the first week and a half, then I thought they probably needed some flourish, in it goes, and within two days they were starting to die off. I dosed again a week or so later, and the final die off occurred another 48 hours later. Same with the tank I have some in...I was letting everything get settled and happy, plants seemed to be growing well with just fish for fertz, but I thought it might be nice to add a little bit of "food" in there for them so does with flourish, and two days later, dead dead dead.  

It may not be the flourish, it could be some weird coincidence, but that's the *only* thing that's changed that I can think of.  

As for the "fairy moss", lol! That's just what my LFS calls it. It looks like tiny, tiny little fern leaves, individual little leaflets. It's very pretty, and I really like it. I'm planning to get some more tomorrow (they carry it in their pond section which they're clearing out for the winter, so a huge softball sized portion only cost me a 1.50...I mean, you can't go wrong with that.) , so I'll try it this time with NO flourish and see if that changes anything.

Thanks for the information though, and if that is azola, let me know, lol! I'm awful about knowing the names for things.  I tend to buy "loose" bunch plants at the LFS's around here, and often they don't have tags or names...I just buy one or two, see if they live, and then go from there.


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## Kittiesdragons (May 1, 2013)

I managed somehow to kill my anubus... I don't even know how... I still have the swordleaf though! I just... don't have words for it *shrugs* oh well...


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

I feel your pain, lol! I got some more today, so I'm going to try again. I'm not going to add any fertz at all and at least try to rule that out. If nothing else, it's a shot in the dark.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

My duckweed is in a tank that doesn't get fertilized at all. I just have one betta and an airstone in there and it's doing well. Any other tank and it dies within 3 days


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah in my non filtered section of my 10 gallon it dies the next day practically but the 33 which did have lots of current, it flourished....totally weird lol


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

LOL! Okay, I'm not alone.  The plants don't seem to really need the fertz (really couldn't tell any difference) so I believe I'm just going to stop worrying about it and throw the moss in.  I may use some root tabs or something because the crypts need it, but the rest can just feed off betta.


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

How much Flourish did you use? I'm guessing the plants could not handle the full dose immediately. If you want to use it again, start at 1/8 the recommended dose and slowly increase it over time. This will help the plants adjust.


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## Kittiesdragons (May 1, 2013)

Honestly my anti-luck with plants makes me nervous to start up my 10 gal NPT XP


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

Babystarz, I used the full dose, I'll definitely try dialing it down.  I've got the batches separated into four different containers, so I can do some experimenting on them.  I can't help myself...I really need to know...  

And Kitties, I had some bad luck at first, so I finally started getting just one bunch at a time, until I could figure out what I could keep alive, and where in the tank, and go from there.  Saved me some expense in buying several sets of plants only to have them die.  
That was a big part of it at first for me, some things are okay in the back where they get a little less light, others need to go RIGHT up front where they get a full dose. I was under the idea that camboda was a low-light plant at first, and melted six bunches of it over the course of a month because I had it tucked into corners. Now I know better, and it's done really well now that I've moved it more directly under my lamps.  

If all else fails, water wisteria.  I don't think you *can* kill it, lol!


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## Kittiesdragons (May 1, 2013)

Water wisteria IS very pretty. I can't wait to set up my 10 gal NPT


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

I love it, every time I find some I pick it up.  I love how it floats, and can be planted, or tied to stuff...ahhh...it's just my favorite plant, lol! I'm such a dork.  

And I love how even when *leaves* fall off, they root out, lol! It's the most self-propagating thing I've ever seen.  

Tricker sells it (www.tricker.com) and the bunches they send out are HUGE! One warning though, they grow it above ground, so it looks quite a bit different (the leaves have a different shape), but once it starts growing in your tank, all new foliage will be the pretty lacy leaves that you usually think of when talking about wisteria.


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## peachii (Jan 6, 2013)

The roots were all dirty from being in the outside pond, that's why he said no that we would wait until next year and get them the day they open the pond section on the Open House sale day.

and wth, I was on the other thread and it posted to this one


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

Oh...weird! I wonder if I can get the other one closed or deleted...I was so busy freaking out thinking that this was some horrible giant worm thing and that we were all going to be "infected" that I cross-posted.


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