# blyxa japonica problems



## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

Has anyone ever had problems with it melting, or simply falling apart? It's my first time having it and I got it just a couple days ago, but the other plants are growing just fine. Granted, the tank was just rescaped last week, but most of the substrate and the filter are > 1 yr established. Between last night and this afternoon it went from looking fine to leaves floating around the tank, except for just 1 (out of about 8). They do seem rather thin-leaved and brittle, but all I have in there are a couple platys, 3 SAEs and 2 ottos. I doubt it would be destruction. It almost looks like shock, kind of what happens to crypts if you're not careful. Just wondering if anyone else has had the same experience.
-Ryan


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

How hard is your water?


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

I just tested it and it comes to about 5 dKH/dGh. I just use the water out of the tap as I don't really like to mess with the water too much. pH came out to roughly 6.4-6.5.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Hmmm, that's not it then. Mine never grew in 10 dkH, but could have been due to low light as well.


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

There are 110w of PCs over a 20H, so its not low light. Maybe shock due to drastic change in lighting? I don't know what kind of lighting the guy who I got them from grew them in.


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

hmm. i don't know. Maybe bad luck. I wonder if the SAEs are being too rough with their prodding and poking as they search for food among the leaves. I don't want to get rid of them, so ...maybe I'll try it again as I know Takashi Amano has SAEs and b.j. in the same tank.


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## BSS (Sep 24, 2004)

My stock of B. japonica started off with 5 pretty small little plant tips. So, unless they've gone completely to mush, there's a good chance you'll be able to salvage something. At least that's my experience.

Oh, my KH=8.5 and Blyxa have always seemed really comfortable there...FWIW.


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

yeah, there's a little left, but only about 10-15% of what I started with (8 or so plants). The leaves are all over the tank. I'll have to get a net and a gravel vac tonight and clean, replant & cross fingers.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

My experience is that Blyxa Japonica is pretty rugged. I got some from Singapore, after a long week of shipping, and it looked very bad before I planted it. I had only 51 watts of light on my 29 gallon tank. But, it all recovered, and grew well, but slowly and very green. Now, with 110 watts it grows faster, more golden colors. I even dipped it in bleach water to clear up algae, and while it suffered from that, it all came back very strong.

Are you dosing other ferts besides Flourish? You need NO3 and PO4 too.


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## jokerjp (Nov 16, 2005)

I have a similar setup to yours 110 peak watts over a 20H, about 6 dKH and GH. When I first got Blyxa in my tank it melted about 75% of its plant mass. It melted much slower than you are describing, over the course of 2 weeks it withered away. About 1 month after planting it...BANG it started to look better and accumulate mass. After that it took off and grows VERY fast for me now. I say be patient and in a month you see it coming back strong.


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## mrbelvedere (Nov 15, 2005)

I found the key to blyxa is clean water and leaving it alone.


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## Marc (Oct 13, 2004)

Maybe too much light- mine seem to grow better when lighting isn't so intense.


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## Roy Deki (Jan 13, 2004)

Blyxa japonica will do fine in high light. The only difference is the color of the foliage. Turns a nice pinkish hue as compared to a lime green color in moderate light. IMHO, i think it's just going through an acclimation period. Might have gotten alittle warm in transit as well. Should bounce back in no time and before you know it you'll be giving the stuff away.


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

I'll just replant what I can (which isn't much) and see how it goes. Does it prefer sand over large-sized substrate? I have almost 100% fluorite, except a little black beauty sand I spinkled in front for looks and the smaller plants like HM, glosso and e. trianda.
Yes, I'm on a regular, daily dosing routine. It's EI or something very close to it. I dose about 1/8 tsp KN03, K2So4 and H2Po4(to give ~10ppm No3, ~1.5-2ppm Po4)...I do this on a macro, micro, macro....and wc once a week, sometimes after 5 days if I thnk it needs it. All ferts are greg watson dry chemicals, even the micro which is CSM+B extra iron. I'll just try my luck with replanting and keeping the same dosing, wc routine.
One thing to note is the temp of the tank recently went up from 76-80 due to the warmer weather we've been having, but I doubt that would affect it as I think it was already 80 when I put them in there.


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## Roy Deki (Jan 13, 2004)

Mine does really well in 100% flourite. One thing I forgot to mention is, when planting Blyxa, do not plant it too deep. Blyxa grows from the middle out and when planted too deep the outer leave will shade the middle crown too much. It does help to remove some of the outer leaves before planting as well.

Temp of 80*-82* does not affect B. japonica either...I have a friend with it thriving in a Discus tank set at 84*


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

The plant is just acclimating itself.

When I swapped out the substrate in my 38G from the water hardening/pH raising Onyx sand to the water softening/pH lowering Aqua Soil, the Blyxa melted as it went through an adjustment period.

I have also been slowly weaning my 75G off of a tap water/RO water mix. As I increased the amount of harder tap water and decreased the amount of softer RO the Blyxa japonica has melted down a wee bit (Hemianthus micranthemoides, too). I have been making this change slowly, reducing the mixture in stages and doing this over the course of many weeks and have had noticed melting with each increase of tap water.

So I would say with the certainty of experience that your Blyxa japonic is also reacting to the changes from thew water parameters it was grown in and was accustomed to. I am certain your plants, like mine, will bounce back soon enough.

Mike


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

Yes, I found out that the person who grew it, had it in water with a pH = 6.9-7 and it was put into my tank with pH=6.4-6.5. Hardness is much less in mine also (Dkh/gh 5, as opposed to 9-11). My lighing is also higher (5.5wpg, compared to 2.2-2.4 wpg). I hope it wasn't too much of a shock. I noticed that the root structures on most of them are still in the substrate, either barely above or flush. I guess they'll come back or they won't. The elatine trianda and glosso are already starting to send runners out and its only been a couple days.


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

Just stick with them.

Soon enough you will start to notice some new, healthy growth in the center of the plant. The plants will be bouncing back!

Mike


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## csf (Jul 10, 2003)

> . Does it prefer sand over large-sized substrate? I have almost 100% fluorite,


I couldn't grow it in 100% flourite, high light, well dosed tank. Saes, plecos, ottos, rosy barbs, platies, etc.

I had no issue with it (grew great) in a pool sand, good light, occasional DIY CO2 (with a high fish load and lots of WCs) tank. Pleco breeding tank.

I attributed my problems to the flourite (larger gravel), but it looks like someone else on the thread had no issues w/ it. Go figure.


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

Grown in 100% Flourite.

You problem had to have been something other than the Flourite. I wonder what it was?

Mike


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## mjproost (Feb 13, 2006)

The only issue with Blyxa in Flourite is keeping it down at first. After it grew some roots, it has grown similar to Momotaro's pic. Now, I am inundated in the stuff. I have given out lots of it since to members of our club. It has melted and did not recover for a lot of those people regardless of substrate. The thing that most of those people had in common in low levels of macros, they either did not dose macros or dosed only NO3. I don't know if thats the issue here, but, IME it does seem to have a lower limit of acceptable water parameters.


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## tom855 (Jan 31, 2006)

I have to agree that this plant just needs time to acclimate. I was sure my new purchase was going to croak but four weeks later it's absolutely beautiful. Hang in there - it will probably do just fine.


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