# What does 'melting' mean?



## Matthew Gabrielse (Jan 23, 2010)

The leaves become very soft, more of a gooey consistency than a leafy feel. Generally, a melting plant will have translucent leaves that desintegrate when you touch them.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

No need to hide in the sand, Ah Kua Tek!
It may have to do with nutrients, but I have found low light or high temperatures contribute to melting sooner and faster than a nutrient deficiency could cause it. Some plants seem to melt just because they have been moved to a new tank. I read some details on why this happens with Crypts, but it seems the answers are not all in on why it happens sometimes and not other times.


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## mumushummus (Sep 16, 2009)

melting means when your beautyful plants gone transparent and and disapear like the mist in water.... yeah melting sucks!


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## Ah Kua Tek (Jan 26, 2010)

Thanks for the responses!



Diana said:


> No need to hide in the sand, Ah Kua Tek!
> It may have to do with nutrients, but I have found low light or high temperatures contribute to melting sooner and faster than a nutrient deficiency could cause it. Some plants seem to melt just because they have been moved to a new tank. I read some details on why this happens with Crypts, but it seems the answers are not all in on why it happens sometimes and not other times.


So does this mean that the plant is dying, or is it just supposed to be a few leaves until new growth begins?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Ah Kua Tek said:


> So does this mean that the plant is dying, or is it just supposed to be a few leaves until new growth begins?


No, melting does not indicate that a plant is dying (though it could...) Usually a few leaves will melt away until new growth starts. Of course, sometimes the entire plant melts away before new growth begins.


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## Ah Kua Tek (Jan 26, 2010)

Thanks for all the answers. I've recently setup a new 30G planted tank a little over a week ago and there was definitely some melting after planting. But now they are starting to perk up and new growth has begun. Now if I decide to move any of the plants around, will this trigger another bout of melting due to the shock of being uprooted and re-planted? Or does melting usually happen as a result of water parameters/nutrient deficiencies?


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## Eden Marel (Jan 28, 2010)

Ah Kua Tek said:


> Thanks for all the answers. I've recently setup a new 30G planted tank a little over a week ago and there was definitely some melting after planting. But now they are starting to perk up and new growth has begun. Now if I decide to move any of the plants around, will this trigger another bout of melting due to the shock of being uprooted and re-planted? Or does melting usually happen as a result of water parameters/nutrient deficiencies?


I don't have the answer, but I am interested in the answer myself. Because I got my online order of plants delivered yesterday and I planted them and they started melting, I was told it was shock or the lack of light since I'm waiting for my hood to be delivered tomorrow... :icon_frow I don't want my $69 worth of plants dying on me within a few days and wasted money.


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## Olskule (Jan 28, 2010)

Ah Kua Tek said:


> ...I'm just going to ask the question that's going to make me look like a total newbie moron....


Don't feel alone, Ah Kua Tek, I'm a newbie here, too, and I'm still trying to figure out what all the letter abreviations are. I was so proud of myself when I figured out that "LFS" meant "Local Fish Shop"! :icon_redf



Eden Marel said:


> I don't have the answer, but I am interested in the answer myself. Because I got my online order of plants delivered yesterday and I planted them and they started melting, I was told it was shock or the lack of light since I'm waiting for my hood to be delivered tomorrow... :icon_frow I don't want my $69 worth of plants dying on me within a few days and wasted money.


I'm making a newbie assumption here, Eden, and in the same boat you are, except my plants haven't arrived yet. But since the site I ordered my plants from said they would be shipped without the leaves since the leaves would only "melt" in my different water, anyway, I'm assuming it is normal and as long as the crown (center "tip" where new leaves grow from) is ok, the plant will be fine. (Anyone PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong.)

Olskule


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## PRSRocker3390 (Apr 20, 2009)

Correct. The crown is usually the only part left when one of my new crypts melt after arriving in my tank. Give it a few days it it will have nice new growth again. I've never really had melting problems with many plants except for crypts but they are notorious for melting. 

If you ever receive a crypt with leaves and you want to avoid having translucent leaves falling off in your tank everywhere, then just cut off the leaves before hand. I do this with most of my crypts and with good conditions, they bounce back in no time.


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## Eden Marel (Jan 28, 2010)

Wait, what is the crown? I'm sorry. I have narrow leaf temple leaves melting on me the most and some of my others are also melting, but slower. So I should just snip off the messed up leaves on all my plants and they should be able to regrow?! Also will fertilizing them with Flourish Comprehensive and Root Tabs help them in the regrowth?

I think I do need to snip those melting leaves, they have clearish whitish fuzzies covering the entire leaf likes a jacket and mostly affecting the melting leaves, but some unaffected ones has a little bit on them...


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## Olskule (Jan 28, 2010)

Eden Marel said:


> Wait, what is the crown? I'm sorry. I have narrow leaf temple leaves melting on me the most and some of my others are also melting, but slower. So I should just snip off the messed up leaves on all my plants and they should be able to regrow?! Also will fertilizing them with Flourish Comprehensive and Root Tabs help them in the regrowth?


Ok, I had to look up your narrow leaf temple plant (newbie :redface to see if it grew in a rosette (like swords) or a stem, which it looks like it does. I could be wrong (again, "newbie"), but I think at long as the stem isn't mushy, it is still ok, and, if like regular house plants, as long as everything else is to its liking, it should bud out at the "nodes" (where the leaves are or used to be). Budding out at the nodes of dropped leaves can be encouraged by nipping the apical bud (the leading growth bud at the tip of a branch or stem). Rooting from stems usually occurs at the node as well. I'm not exactly positive about fertilizing now, but my guess is that if the roots are good and white, they are still hungry, so feed them with the tabs, but if they are brown and dead (reacted to transplanting like the leaves did), I would trim them off and wait for the plant to put out new roots, then feed them. I know that in most plants, strongly fertilizing a weak plant can sometimes shock it, with the worst results; I suspect aquatic plants are similar (but then, did I mention that I'm a newbie to planted tanks?:tongue



Eden Marel said:


> I think I do need to snip those melting leaves, they have clearish whitish fuzzies covering the entire leaf likes a jacket and mostly affecting the melting leaves, but some unaffected ones has a little bit on them...


Melted leaves won't come back to life and are basically just rotting on the stem, so why keep them on the plant? It sounds like fungus (or possibly bacteria) is setting in on them to help finish off their decaying process and now it is spreading to the good leaves. SInce the melted leaves are "gonners" anyway, better to remove them than to let them contaminate your other leaves, plants and possibly your entire tank. You wouldn't leave a dead fish in your tank, would you? Same thing. Rot begets rot.

Olskule


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## Eden Marel (Jan 28, 2010)

Yea I came home after school and after buying a hood and proceed to do a water cahnge. I went to grab some plants to wash and prune and my entire bunch of Temple melted, except for a single small piece of stem. T_T


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## Olskule (Jan 28, 2010)

Maybe it will come back from the piece of stem (hopefully). Are the roots still good?

Olskule


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## Ah Kua Tek (Jan 26, 2010)

Olskule said:


> Don't feel alone, Ah Kua Tek, I'm a newbie here, too, and I'm still trying to figure out what all the letter abreviations are. I was so proud of myself when I figured out that "LFS" meant "Local Fish Shop"! :icon_redf
> Olskule


I'm also still figuring out what certain abbreviations mean. One I can't figure out at the moment is "MTS". I've read it being referred to as "multi tank syndrome", but apparently it's some kind of plant. LOL. Any hints as to what it is?

So far, melting has slowed down in my tank and I've re-planted some stems. I'll give it a few days and see if the uprooting and re-rooting will trigger anymore melting.


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## PRSRocker3390 (Apr 20, 2009)

Hopefully if the roots are good, the plants should come back after a melt. 

"MTS" is Malaysian Trumpet Snail.


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## Eden Marel (Jan 28, 2010)

Olskule said:


> Maybe it will come back from the piece of stem (hopefully). Are the roots still good?
> 
> Olskule


They didn't have roots. :icon_frow


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## Olskule (Jan 28, 2010)

Eden Marel said:


> They didn't have roots. :icon_frow


Then perhaps, like many house plants, simply letting them lay in contact with the substrate might encourage them to put out roots from a node, then you could stand them up once good roots are fromed. Some plants just rot if they are stuck in the ground when they have no roots, some like it and root good that way, but I'm not sure about aquatic plants yet. I do know that some propigate naturally by breaking off and drifting until they get dropped by slowing current or get wedged in a new spot, hence the "let it lay" idea. If you have a few, you might stick some in the substrate enough to cover one or two nodes and leave some laying on top and see which works better.

Actually, I wish someone with much more experience would pipe up and help you, but I don't see that, so.....:icon_conf

Olskule


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

I think this is happening with my Dwarf Subulata. Should I simply trim them back?


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