# Oh No!, Brazilian Pennywort melt???



## livingword26 (Oct 28, 2010)

Some people might be able to tell by looking. But I would need to know more about your tank. How big? What kind of lighting fixture? CO2? Any fish? Other plants? Nitrate? Phosphate? A full tank picture could help also.


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## JMN16150 (Jul 21, 2012)

My aquarium is a 12 gallon cube masters tank. I'm not sure what kind of lighting fixture, but if you mean like incandescent, than it is fluorescent lighting...(sorry if I misspell any words)
The aquarium isn't equiped with any Co2. No fish, I am going to add red cherry shrimp and make it a shrimp-only tank. I don't know the phosphate or nitrate, because my dad won't let me use testing equipment and says that it's fine. Other plants include anubias nana, marsilea quadrifolia, cryptocoryne wendtii, what I think is java moss, an unknown nymphaea(possibly green tiger lotus, let me know if you know or think what type of nymphaea it is please), failing nymphaea sp. bulbs from petsmart, and hydrocotyle leucocephala or the topic brazilian pennywort that is melting...
I hope that this could help


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## JMN16150 (Jul 21, 2012)

Excuse me, I meant let me know if you know or think you know what type of nymphaea it is


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## livingword26 (Oct 28, 2010)

Plants need (N,P,K) Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphate, on top if micro-fertilizers. The Tetra Flora Pride specifically says it does not contain Nitrate of Phosphate, and since there are no fish in the tank, we can assume that there is not Phosphate or Nitrate either. There are several ways to add Phosphate and Nitrate to your aquarium. Seachem makes a whole line of fertilizers, though it would be cheaper to by dry fertilizers on line. If you can only have 1 fertilizer, then you should use Seachems Flourish comprehensive fertilizer. It has a small amount of N,P,K, as well as plenty of micro-fertilizers. I think your aquarium was designed for a saltwater aquarium, which means it has a lot of light, but that is a different discussion. Also, make sure that your water has some surface agitation, so you have good gas exchange between the water and the air, so your plants don't use up all the co2 in the water. I would have no way of guessing what nymphaea species you have without seeing it.


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

^+1
Fast growing plants often die fast too and if you aren't giving them all they need the older stuff doesn't live as long. Pennywort stems are fragile and it is easy to damage them no matter how carefully you plant them.

I think I do okay growing the stuff and when I pull it out the stems are often more than a couple feet long which is 2-3 weeks of growth. The bottoms of the stems and lower leaves look just the way your plant looks and are probably only a month or so old.x

The tops of your plants look great I don't think you are losing it. Get some of the stuff livingword26 wrote about, NPK, into the tank and it will do even better. Pennywort is a weed and a nutrient hog. Once conditions are right you may post again complaining about having to prune it!


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## JMN16150 (Jul 21, 2012)

whoops, I am so sorry, livingword26..., Thanks for the advice :biggrin:
Here are some pictures of the nymphaea and whole tank for livingword26

Some people suggest that it is nymphaea stellata or pubescens, but usually they are just pinkish green without any different colored splotches...
The new leaves growing in my aquarium have a bright green mixed with a little pink(very similar to nymphaeas stellata's and pubescens's, but a bit more on the green side) with red splotches similar to nymphaea zenkiri's. Do guys know what type of cryptocoryne the redish pink one is?(Excuse the cycling driftwood)
Thanks guys for replying and I hope this helps!


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## livingword26 (Oct 28, 2010)

To me it looks like Nymphaea zenkeri. But whether it is supposed to be red or green, I'm not sure. Perhaps it is not coloring up correctly due to nutrient deficiency, but I don't know that for sure, it may be the color it is supposed to be.


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## JMN16150 (Jul 21, 2012)

Thank you very much, I appreciate it!!!!


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