# Alternanthera reineckii 'mini' Starting to melt/being transparent



## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Could we have tank details please? Fertilising, CO2 situation, lights, flow and all the others.


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## scalion (Sep 18, 2016)

Tropica soil powder, ph 6.8, kh 6, gh 16, nitrate low amoniac low, no phosphat, current usa satellite plus 18" (want to buy bigger eventually), water change every week or 2, not much fertilizer since the tank has been started 3 months ago, if i use fertilizer algea starts... And i use Co2 of course. Flow, only from Filter Eheim 250


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

I would say the lack of fertilisers is probably doing it in, lack of nitrate and phosphate being the most worrying. Just do something light to begin with and see if it improves, like PPS-Pro.


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## scalion (Sep 18, 2016)

Will try this, have some fertilizer in the fridge, thx


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## Progen (Oct 31, 2016)

One very important question. You said the plant started to melt after a week.

How long has the plant been inside your tank? If the melting was one week after you'd planted it, then there's nothing to worry about. It's just the usual melt during the acclimatising process.


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS TO ME

for the life of me I cannot grow this plant. either something like this happens or it forms stunted or twisted growth. basically everything else in my tank does great. is this also the case for you? (your s repens seems to be doing great...)

i have given up on it two separate times now. in low tech tank with less light it does fine with more pale and leggy growth but is certainly healthy. in my high tech tank it struggles badly

also my tank definitely does not lack ferts either... i feed my fish plenty and dose EI

hopefully you can find the secret...


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## Redneck tenner (Aug 21, 2016)

Very common to have quick melt on these. Then virtually entire thing regrows from stem base. That has been my experience. 

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## scalion (Sep 18, 2016)

Progen said:


> One very important question. You said the plant started to melt after a week.
> 
> How long has the plant been inside your tank? If the melting was one week after you'd planted it, then there's nothing to worry about. It's just the usual melt during the acclimatising process.


Just to correct the information : It started to melt 3 month after. They are not new.


I decide to take them all out and clean them, removing all dead leafs, i replanted, one of them i cutted in half, hoping to get a new growth.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

klibs said:


> hopefully you can find the secret...


Burr740 has said that he found success with these plants with low micros, so maybe the high micros from the EI is what is doing it in. Makes sense considering in your low-tech, with presumably lower micro dosing, they are doing better.




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## Saxa Tilly (Apr 7, 2015)

Transparent and/or brittle leaves are often indications of low or imbalanced macro levels. I suspect it is low K. This can happen in tanks that do not use EI. 

But EI can cause separate issues for this plant too. Lower micros seem to flatten out leaves and un-stunt it a bit. 

AR Mini is a little picker than regular AR. AR Variegated is much more difficult.


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