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Scarlet temple not doing so well


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I purchased some scarlet temple a while back. I sunk into the substrate with a little lead.  It was doing fine but now the leaves are curled up and there is green algae on the leaves. I do not have algae anywhere else in the tank that I can see with my naked eyes.  I have been using easy green since the beginning and recently added easy iron to the mix. I read that the curled leaves could be due to iron deficiency.  Would adding easy carbon get rid of the green algae on the leaves? Also it appears that something is munching on them or they are developing holes.  Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.  My parameters are ammonia: 0 Nitrites:0 Nitrates: 50 PH: 7.4

20210629_094239.jpg

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On 6/29/2021 at 11:46 AM, WhiteShadow said:

I purchased some scarlet temple a while back. I sunk into the substrate with a little lead.  It was doing fine but now the leaves are curled up and there is green algae on the leaves. I do not have algae anywhere else in the tank that I can see with my naked eyes.  I have been using easy green since the beginning and recently added easy iron to the mix. I read that the curled leaves could be due to iron deficiency.  Would adding easy carbon get rid of the green algae on the leaves? Also it appears that something is munching on them or they are developing holes.  Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.  My parameters are ammonia: 0 Nitrites:0 Nitrates: 50 PH: 7.4

20210629_094239.jpg

AR is what I call the "whiny brat" of aquarium plants. Once they're established, they are actually pretty hardy, but they like consistency and well established systems and they hate being uprooted or disturbed. They also like higher lighting if you've got high macronutrients. Yours look like they're micronutrient deficient and stretching for light. You have two options, increase lighting and micronutrients, or decrease the nitrates and other macronutrients to create a more balanced environment. Keep in mind, increasing lighting and micros may create a demand for co2. It's always about creating balance, ya know? Micro to macro, co2 to lighting, all that good stuff. 

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On 6/29/2021 at 12:46 PM, WhiteShadow said:

No actually my tap water is hard.

Okay so yeah just start by water changing to decrease nitrates a bit. How long has the tank been set up? How long have these plants been in your tank? What light is on it? 

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On 6/29/2021 at 1:23 PM, WhiteShadow said:

This is my current light hygger 26W 24/7 Lighting Aquarium LED Light. I have it set to the 24/7 mode so it goes all the way through the day increasing light till brightest then decreasing it till totally off.

Okay so I think your main issue is lighting. In my experience, AR likes higher light and shorter photo period, and will tend to stretch for light if they've got the available nutrients. Using the 24 hour mode isn't really recommended for higher light demand plants, so maybe consider doing a custom setting where you're doing like 6 hours of full brightness and very short ramp up and down periods. Make sure you do full dark at night, that blue light setting can actually encourage algae growth. High nitrates will also cause algae growth, so try to keep your nitrates between 10 and 30 with regular water changes until the plants are mature enough to consume the amount of nitrates your fish produce. 

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On 6/29/2021 at 2:07 PM, WhiteShadow said:

Ok can i do like a 10hr full bright then darkness? My light is not fancy to do the ramp up and down outside of its 24/7 mode. I will also do a 50% water change to reduce my nitrates.

Try 6 hours to start, then bump it up as long as you aren't getting algae. 

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I have some scarlet temples that are not doing so great right now. They have been in the tank for 2-3 weeks. What am I doing about it? Nothing. I would love for the plants to do well with the lighting I have and with the intensity and timing of my  lighting and with the nutrients in my tank and with my water quality. But I am not going to do a lot more work and screw up the plants that are succeeding in order to change conditions to suit the new plants. The way I see it, I am trying to find plants that work in my aquarium. I like a little red color. For some reason red tiger lotus does great in my tank, so it is in the "right for me" column. The scarlet temples will either succeed in the tank as it is (I hope they do), or they will go in the "not for me" column.

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On 6/29/2021 at 5:44 PM, HH Morant said:

I have some scarlet temples that are not doing so great right now. They have been in the tank for 2-3 weeks. What am I doing about it? Nothing. I would love for the plants to do well with the lighting I have and with the intensity and timing of my  lighting and with the nutrients in my tank and with my water quality. But I am not going to do a lot more work and screw up the plants that are succeeding in order to change conditions to suit the new plants. The way I see it, I am trying to find plants that work in my aquarium. I like a little red color. For some reason red tiger lotus does great in my tank, so it is in the "right for me" column. The scarlet temples will either succeed in the tank as it is (I hope they do), or they will go in the "not for me" column.

It took 2 months for my AR to settle in and start looking decent, so yours may bounce back. They just don't like lots of change or low lighting 🤷🏻‍♀️ lighting appropriate for plants like AR is usually a shorter, brighter cycle, which thankfully works for most other plants, as well. You don't necessarily have to sacrifice the health of your other plants to keep higher care requirement or "higher tech" plants, and you don't really learn a lot by just giving up if you fail the first time. 

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I don't see it as giving up or failing. It is part of a process to find what works. Everybody does what they enjoy. If a person enjoys the challenge of growing plants that are difficult to grow, that's great. For me, it is about the fish. I want plants because they make the aquarium more beautiful and healthier for my fish. But plants are not my primary focus, so I am not going to do a lot of work to grow any particular plant. There are plants that grow great in my tank and plants that don't. I am looking for the ones that work. I know that everybody doesn't look at it that way. That's OK. That's even good!

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I totally get HH's point, and I would like that as well.  That being said, I am hoping to use my quarantine tank to give the AR time to fully convert, which seems to be my issue.  This is my 3rd attempt at this plant, but I was doing the opposite of NV's suggestion to lower nitrates.  I thought putting it in where my nitrates are highest would give it the best opportunity.

There's not much left on this one, delivered last week, but reading these tips gives me insight on how to make it work.  I now, after reading this, have it in nitrates of about 5, and also increased light level at 6 hours.

I don't expect this one to survive, but it's worth another go.  I think once it's converted, it'll be a lot easier to play with it.

IMG_20210706_173104512.jpg

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