# Blyxa Japonica Troubles



## Tvadna (Jan 17, 2013)

Blyxa Japonica is one of my favorite looking plants (at least is everyone elses tank). I can't seem to get it to take off in any of my tanks. I have tried it in 3 different tanks and at its best for me, it has shrunk to an inch or two and has turned mostly a redish brown. I have medium and some very high light and co2 in the tanks. I have tried it in flourite, flourite black and eco complete. I dose occasionally with flourish comprehensive and iron. 

Can anyone help me with what I may doing wrong? 
Or feel free with the basics on what this plant needs to thrive... Much appreciated in advance. 

Here are two pictures from two different tanks.


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## aznartist34 (Nov 19, 2010)

First picture looks like algae had taken over. How can you have high light and co2 without ferts and not run into algae problems? Flourish comprehensive is only micronutrients BTW.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

+1
This one is simple: feed them.
Read stickies in the fertilization part if the forum for fertilization overview. You can get complete fertilizers pretty cheap from the forum members.

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## jfynyson (Apr 15, 2013)

Well now explain this. I cannot get it (blyxa japonica) to grow either and I dose EI, have high light, and pressurized CO2. Other things like Rotala rotundifolia do not do too well either while things like Blyxa aubertii "Kimberley", water sprite, and amazon swords I have to trim weekly (if not more frequent). My L. Atlantis & L. Aromatica took a long time to acclimate but is doing well now. I have the the japonica where it's not shadowed my taller plants and I've even tried in shadowed. I've also tried in the substrate, floating, and even tied to taller stem plants and Nothing works!

Tank parameters:
pH = 6.3-6.5 (well water is 7.0 & tank was 7.5-7.8 before CO2 injection began) dH =4 or about 72ppm as CaCO3 GH =71ppm as CaCO3 and same as 4dH KH = 5-7ppm Phosphorus = ~7-8ppm after one week Nitrates = ~40ppm after one week avg temp = 75-80°F

substrate:
Eco-Complete & Flourite 3-4" deep laterite here & there w/ CariSea Instant Aquarium gravel (Peace River) w/ some river pebbles on top in certain areas w/ aquafertz trace & iron root pellets


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## Lucubration (Jun 20, 2013)

Could it be allelopathy with some of your more successful plants.


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## bitFUUL (May 14, 2010)

Lucubration said:


> Could it be allelopathy with some of your more successful plants.


Interesting. This is a term discussed in farming and agriculture, haven't seen it used before in planted tanks. Does it apply?


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## Lucubration (Jun 20, 2013)

I actually first read about it in Diana Walstad's _Ecology of the Planted Aquarium_. I don't know that I have any first-hand experience with allelopathy, but it seems like a plausible explanation for why some plants just don't thrive in certain tanks.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

@jfmyson: a picture of your Blyxa?
What happens?

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## jfynyson (Apr 15, 2013)

It'll be tomorrow or Sunday before I can get pics and uploaded. Basically looks similar to crypt melt. The bright vibrant green dissipates and turns brown, the leaves fall off then there's only one maybe two leaves per stem/pod, then the stem/pod begins to turn dark and melt. Once in a while a very tiny new leaf will show up for a while then never grows.

Maybe I have an inhabitant that likes to eat it and I just never seen them doing such ?


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## Tvadna (Jan 17, 2013)

Algae is not the issue with my Blyxa Japonica. 
Is this plant a heavy water column feeder or a big root feeder? I took a closer look and some of the leaves are taking on a redish tinge and there are a few leaves that are a distinct red. Could this be a sign up a nutrient deficiency? If so, what is lacking?

Also, I forgot to mention that my tanks are all RO water. Not sure if this matters...



aznartist34 said:


> First picture looks like algae had taken over. How can you have high light and co2 without ferts and not run into algae problems? Flourish comprehensive is only micronutrients BTW.


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## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

jfynyson said:


> Well now explain this. I cannot get it (blyxa japonica) to grow either and I dose EI, have high light, and pressurized CO2. Other things like Rotala rotundifolia do not do too well either while things like Blyxa aubertii "Kimberley", water sprite, and amazon swords I have to trim weekly (if not more frequent). My L. Atlantis & L. Aromatica took a long time to acclimate but is doing well now. I have the the japonica where it's not shadowed my taller plants and I've even tried in shadowed. I've also tried in the substrate, floating, and even tied to taller stem plants and Nothing works!
> 
> Tank parameters:
> pH = 6.3-6.5 (well water is 7.0 & tank was 7.5-7.8 before CO2 injection began) dH =4 or about 72ppm as CaCO3 GH =71ppm as CaCO3 and same as 4dH KH = 5-7ppm Phosphorus = ~7-8ppm after one week Nitrates = ~40ppm after one week avg temp = 75-80°F
> ...



What is the color of your co2 drop checker?


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## jfynyson (Apr 15, 2013)

Always yellow. I clean it out and add fresh 4dKH soln & indicator every week or so. I experimented last night. My tank pH stabilized at 7.2 w/o CO2. I have my pH controller set to 6.3 and it's calibrated every couple weeks & is never off by more than 0.1 units. In my tank I've seen mortalities at pH 6.1-6.2 but never seen fish grasping for air. So, I think my CO2 is max'd out.

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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Redish tint is normal and is the result of high light.

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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

if your leafs are red, that is a good thing. Brown would be it being taken over by diatoms but it turns red under intense light.

honestly, I think just feed it, put some root tabs under it. The only other thing I can think of, and I don't know enough about to comment....is maybe it does better in certain gh, kh, and hardness of waters.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

Blyxa is a heavy rooter so dosing the water column will only do so much. All of the substrates you have mentioned don't have much nutrient content. You got to add some root ferts. Properly fed and high light it will want to take over the tank.


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

Bronze/red can be a sign of good health high light, it can also be a sign of starvation/deficiency. The later is likely if there is not much growth over time, but leaves just gets redder. From your pics, its likely that its deficient. Does it look that way over a long time, or over the first week you introduce it into the tank? It may be a failure to acclimatize if its a new plant, especially if its from poor/weak sample stock.


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## samee (Oct 14, 2011)

gus6464 said:


> Blyxa is a heavy rooter so dosing the water column will only do so much. All of the substrates you have mentioned don't have much nutrient content. You got to add some root ferts. Properly fed and high light it will want to take over the tank.


I dont have any root tabs yet my blyxa has exploded and has a tint of red to it. I EI dose. Root tabs are not necessary for anything if you are dosing the right amount.

In the 1st pic I just see alot of algae. Something is def. off.


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## jfynyson (Apr 15, 2013)

jfynyson said:


> It'll be tomorrow or Sunday before I can get pics and uploaded. Basically looks similar to crypt melt. The bright vibrant green dissipates and turns brown, the leaves fall off then there's only one maybe two leaves per stem/pod, then the stem/pod begins to turn dark and melt. Once in a while a very tiny new leaf will show up for a while then never grows.
> 
> Maybe I have an inhabitant that likes to eat it and I just never seen them doing such ?


Yes, I'm quoting myself b/c I'm a retard....I meant to say I'm doing all of these things seemingly correct but cannot get Hydrocotyle tripartita to grow not blyxa. Everyone has said this stuff should grow into a full carpet very rapidly under my conditions but that's not the case. Maybe I have way too much light (I'm awaiting BuildmyLED.com PAR analysis).


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## Jahn (Apr 26, 2013)

Your meant hydro? Sorry to say but I think you were right the first time, the blyxa in that pic isn't doing that well either.

Edit- oh, you aren't the OP. I got confused! Maybe you can ask that question in another thread so as not to derail this one with a veer?


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## jfynyson (Apr 15, 2013)

good call...


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## Tvadna (Jan 17, 2013)

Useful information! I am putting this to the test right now in a dirt tank. Also going to add root tabs near the other plants in the other substrates.
Thank you!



gus6464 said:


> Blyxa is a heavy rooter so dosing the water column will only do so much. All of the substrates you have mentioned don't have much nutrient content. You got to add some root ferts. Properly fed and high light it will want to take over the tank.


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## aluka (Feb 2, 2013)

hmm, is blyxa suspose to be a high maintence plant? I totally had it in my cherry/pfr cull tank, with sand no root taps, no ferts, very low light, (completely blocked by water lettuce). They are a pretty green and looks happy. about 2 weeks ago, I moved all my cherries including all the plants to a new tank, same conditions without the floaters. still looks pretty.

they seems pretty easily to grow for me..


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

OP and Blyxa:
What caught my eye was your 75-80 temp. Some plants don't take well to rapid temp fluctuations. Your symptoms parallel mine when I leave Blyxa floating for couple of days right under the lights sounds like a typical melt. Rotala also behave the same way.
Just an observation.

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## Tvadna (Jan 17, 2013)

samee said:


> I dont have any root tabs yet my blyxa has exploded and has a tint of red to it. I EI dose. Root tabs are not necessary for anything if you are dosing the right amount.
> 
> In the 1st pic I just see alot of algae. Something is def. off.


What kind of substrate are you using? Someone said it is a heavy root feeder so I'm curious now if they're right. Also, what temp are you keeping it at? I may have to test the tempt theory out as well.

My temps are high in most of my tanks and it hasn't done anything but die back and cling to life.


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## MrAlmostWrong (Jul 16, 2012)

From my understanding Blyxa japonica is a stem plant, but the stem is very small so it looks like it is a root feeder. Blyxa aubertii on the otherhand is a root feeder so it might be important to know which one you actually have. I have both, but only because some LFS was selling the aubertii as japonica and I didn't know any better.


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## samee (Oct 14, 2011)

Tvadna said:


> What kind of substrate are you using? Someone said it is a heavy root feeder so I'm curious now if they're right. Also, what temp are you keeping it at? I may have to test the tempt theory out as well.
> 
> My temps are high in most of my tanks and it hasn't done anything but die back and cling to life.



To tell you the truth, my 10" blyxa cluster is floating. I shifted gravel here and there and I ended up taking about all the gravel from underneath. They have many white roots going into the gravel gripping. Even then, majority of the stems are in water and not gravel. I have 4 year old flourite and another random brand I picked up from petco many years ago. I EI dose and dose iron separate. 

I saw a discussion about this a little while ago on the forum, it was said that water column dosing was the most essential vs all other. I know Im not being helpful but I cant remember much, all I know is EI dosing should solve everything related to plant food.

My water temps are all over the place, I took out my heater because I didnt have space. My tank is in the living room and the wind from my AC cools the tank. In the morning its pretty cool to the touch, I dont have a thermometer, but I have the sticker one outside on the tank glass. atm, at 11 pm, its reading 27c, which is quiet warm. I think thats the max my temps hit. My lights turn off at 8 pm. I have two T8 shop light right on my tank with a wooden hood, so it stays humid below the lights and water line and warms up the water. Ill check the temp tom morning if its really important to you. Although I question my sticker thermo. During late day its a degree or two warmer. During winters though our living room gets much warmer than during summer. So my tank temps are never stable.

I bought blyxa a year ago and they ended up dieing off. I later on read that they live in rice paddies and dont like water flow. Mine were in direct water flow so I thought that was the case. Currently, my big patch is partially in water flow, but so far so good.

Pic of my blyxa is in this thread (http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47106)


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

A comment on temperature because here in the tropics we get alot of temperature flux. In the tank in my room at night the temperature drops to 75 degrees fahrenheit due to air-conditioning, while in the day the temperature rises till 82/86 (depending on whether its a hot day, also cos I use metal halides). Blxya, HC seem to do okay. I'm not saying that flux or heat is good, in fact I think its de-stabilizing, but if your plants are healthy, they can take quite a bit of heat/flux without issues.


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## valsfreak (Apr 14, 2008)

jfynyson said:


> Well now explain this. I cannot get it (blyxa japonica) to grow either and I dose EI, have high light, and pressurized CO2. Other things like Rotala rotundifolia do not do too well either while things like Blyxa aubertii "Kimberley", water sprite, and amazon swords I have to trim weekly (if not more frequent). My L. Atlantis & L. Aromatica took a long time to acclimate but is doing well now. I have the the japonica where it's not shadowed my taller plants and I've even tried in shadowed. I've also tried in the substrate, floating, and even tied to taller stem plants and Nothing works!
> 
> Tank parameters:
> pH = 6.3-6.5 (well water is 7.0 & tank was 7.5-7.8 before CO2 injection began) dH =4 or about 72ppm as CaCO3 GH =71ppm as CaCO3 and same as 4dH KH = 5-7ppm Phosphorus = ~7-8ppm after one week Nitrates = ~40ppm after one week avg temp = 75-80°F
> ...


wow..R. rotundifolia is pretty difficult to kill. im puzzled


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## samee (Oct 14, 2011)

Ive upped my macros this past week and am dosing crap load of trace this week and my blyxa are turning red already. This is under T8s!!!!!!! No t5ho or led.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

I have my tank set to 80deg as I have GBR and Cockatoos coming from Matt and my Blyxa is like a damn weed spreading off-shots everywhere trying to take over. This is with a Ray 2 and Amazonia (with O+ tabs overkill) and 30ml of PPS Pro dosed daily.

The Blyxa jumped the the rock containment and wants to take over the HC's turf.


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## Jahn (Apr 26, 2013)

Hmm was thinking about this, the only variable from the OP and me is the light. He has medium to high, I have low to medium with floaters to help block too. All else is the same- Eco complete, CO2, some micro fert tabs and PP2-Pro dry ferts. Water is 82F, 6.4pH, i have rams from Matt too. Every week they all seem to want to split, it's getting ridiculous! They all stay green, no reds. 











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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

I pulled some Blyxa out last week and it had very long and thick roots. It propagates by spreading runners just like any grass so how can it not be a root feeder?


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## Jahn (Apr 26, 2013)

Yeah it's weird, it acts like a grass but its actually a stem plant- a bunch of tiny narrow stems that bush when they multiply, versus sending out a long runner before popping up (which grasses like dwarf sag do). 


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

gus6464 said:


> I pulled some Blyxa out last week and it had very long and thick roots. It propagates by spreading runners just like any grass so how can it not be a root feeder?


It doesn't propagate by spreading runners. It's a stem plant and propagates like other stem plants by forming sideshoots. It can take nutrients in from the water column as easily as it can from the roots. I grow it in inert aquarium gravel with water column dosing and it does very well. As long as you have adequate nutrients, which can be done either through the water column or substrate or both, and adequate light it comes down to having enough CO2. It's a pretty undemanding plant if it's needs are met.

Sorry only pic I have of mine at the moment, more of a shrimp pic, which is growing healthily under 1x54 T5HO in my 75g.







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## Tvadna (Jan 17, 2013)

Jahn said:


> Hmm was thinking about this, the only variable from the OP and me is the light. He has medium to high, I have low to medium with floaters to help block too. All else is the same- Eco complete, CO2, some micro fert tabs and PP2-Pro dry ferts. Water is 82F, 6.4pH, i have rams from Matt too. Every week they all seem to want to split, it's getting ridiculous! They all stay green, no reds.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


Are you also using O+ tabs heavily like gus? 

I love that these tanks are nearly the same. Its basically an experiment. It helps me eliminate the lighting and other differences and focus on what you both have the same as factors of your success.


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## Tvadna (Jan 17, 2013)

People have wrote contradicting things about nutrient uptake on this thread. Some say its a root feeder and some say it prefers water column. 

I'm leaning towards the root feeder idea. Here is why:
I've tried this plant in every kind of inert plant substrate I can think of (except Amazonia). It has always had high light/co2 in these tanks and no ferts or root tabs. (I started the thread, check out the pics)

I've recently tried blyxa in a dirt tank (high light/co2) no ferts. It has finally started to show promise. Growth is steady and it is tinting toward red. 

This is showing me that its a root feeder.. unless the nutrients are leaching into the water column but I don't know how to test for this.

Here is what Blyxa Japonica looks like in my dirt tank. Compare this to my original post and draw your own conclusions. (only difference is the substrate)










I have some EI dry ferts on order as well as some O+ root tabs. I have blyxa in two other tanks right now. The question is, do I want to root tab one and dry fert the other for the sake of science?


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## Jahn (Apr 26, 2013)

I put one api root tab under there, just has micros I think. I did buy 0+ caps but haven't needed to put any under the blyxa yet. 


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## Jester946 (Mar 30, 2013)

I have gone full circle with this plant.....

The small stems I was getting from my LFS were dying and melting quickly, with no future.

I obtained 1 MASSIVE bunch of stems from my local plant club, and planted, and it's done AMAZING. Pearling like crazy every day, and well, not melting. I termed this as my last go-around with this plant, and I have been happy with it. EI dosing, Amazonia, and high light w/ co2.


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