# Brown Tips on Vallisneria's?



## ljezuit (Jan 15, 2003)

I am having a very similar problem also. My vals are growing like crazy, each of them sending off several runners. I am getting brown tips on my val leaves that reach the surface. The leaves that don't reach the surface are fine. I dose Potasium. Nitrates at zero and will dose that soon. The leaves don't die but just are brown on the part laying across the surface.


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## Doomer (Jan 5, 2003)

When I first planted my little jungle of Vals they grew like crazy. Spread all over the tank. Then they suddenly died on a scale that can only be described as a mass extinction. I still have a few left but most went the way of the doodoo. It started out as brown tips also. Hope yours don't suffer a similar fate.


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## aquaverde (Apr 15, 2003)

Doomer said:


> I still have a few left but most went the way of the doodoo.


LOL, I think you meant "dodo". 
On second thought, that fits too... :lol:


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## Doomer (Jan 5, 2003)

Whoops, musta been a Freudian slip.


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

Could this be a disease maybe?
Its weird that 2 plants only 2" apart can exhibit very different healths in the same conditions.

Most of my val's are very dark green and lush looking so i doubt that it is a nutrient deficiency.


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## Tonyd (Jan 22, 2004)

Did anyone ever figure out what was causing this? 

Mine are starting to do the same thing. Once they get long and start laying across the top the tips get red/brown. Some have red patches in the middles of the leaves also. They seem to be still growing, just discolored. The plants are sending out runners and new plantlets, so I think they are healthy overall. 

We talked about this on chat last night and it was suggested that I fertilize the substrate so I have added some flouish tabs and hopefully that will help. But, it sounds like yours were doing this even with a well fertilized substrate Buck? 

Any other ideas?

Tony


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## putty (Nov 19, 2003)

It seems that only the tips that hit the surface exhibit this? Is it possible they are just drying out?


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## Tonyd (Jan 22, 2004)

I initially thought that also, but it extends to below where the leaf contacts the surface and is even starting on some of the leaf tips before they get to the surface.

Tony


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## mousey (Jan 1, 2004)

had the same issues. read that the leaves going across the surface are changing color like tree leaves do.
also read that vals go thru a stage where they all go brown and die off except for a few, then start to grow again.
i had one plant that came up looking rotten from a little sprout. it grew into a huge val, but was brown and translucent. I started to use jobes spikes under it in addition to daily ferts ( hagen with iron) Color did not improve so i ripped it out. all the other vals are nice and green, but who knows??
A few have the tips going brown and breaking off. Perhaps it is just part of the cycle.
Tank will look prety funny if they all die off


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Tony,

About half of my vals do the same thing. It seems that those that lie in the shade stay green, and those that grow out under the light turn brown. This is just a loose hypothesis though. I'm going to spend the next couple weeks attempting to locate the cause through a series of crude experiments. I'll be sure to share my 'profound' :roll: conclusions.

Ted


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## mr hyde (Sep 7, 2002)

I had that problem with my vals turning brown even before they reached the surface. At the time I had never dosed nitrates and my levels were always at zero. Since I started dosing and keeping my levels up my vals stay green and grow about an inch a day and look very healthy.


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## Opiesilver (Nov 3, 2003)

I haven't had this problem with vals but with sag grass. I'm wondering if this is just a normal happening in the plants life span. It's been going on for 3 years in my Angel Fish tank.


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## Tonyd (Jan 22, 2004)

I was wondering about nitrates also. Mine have been a little low lately so I will try and dose them more and see if that makes a difference.

Tony


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Tonyd said:


> I was wondering about nitrates also. Mine have been a little low lately so I will try and dose them more and see if that makes a difference.


Same here. Noticed mine were at 0-1ppm last night. Upped the tank to 5ppm. I stopped dosing heavy ferts to kill off a staghorn algae bloom. Now that it's 90% dead/gone/removed, I'm slowly bringing the ferts back online.


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