Frogbit Rotting Away???

[Spaghider]

A couple of days ago, I got myself some floating plants! While the salvinia is has grown fine, the frogbit has been rotting(?) away. Almost all of the frog bits have been turning brown around the center, but the roots still seem fine. Some of the ones with more severe browning also have their waxy coating coming off. There’s also a strange sort of film around them, which I have no clue about. Does anyone know what could be causing this? There is currently an algae bloom in my tank (was cycling the tank, finished cycling, algae took advantage of unused nutrients), and a few mosquito larvae (not sure if this is normal) so those might be possible causes. 

 

AMMONIA: 0ppm

NITRITES: 0ppm

NITRATES: 20ppm

Edited March 22 by Spaghider
confused nitrites and nitrates

[Bsquared]

How is the flow in your tank? Sometimes floating plants don't appreciate too much flow and not having a calm spot to establish. Also, some floating plants don't appreciate the tops of their leaves getting submerged and can melt away if they were underwater or wet for a while (like in a bag from the LFS)

[Spaghider]

Very low flow, currently using a sponge filter with an air stone in it. Wetness could possibly be an issue, since they occasionally get wet from small bubbles, but not that much. Should I add something in the sponge filter to help decrease the flow?

[Bsquared]

Small bubbles from a sponge filter should be fine. They are probably just settling in still and may need some more time to become established 

 

[Spaghider]

I hope so. Should I leave in the dying leaves or prune them (already pruned some of the really extreme ones)???

[Rube_Goldfish]

On 3/22/2024 at 12:20 AM, Spaghider said:

I hope so. Should I leave in the dying leaves or prune them (already pruned some of the really extreme ones)???

I'd leave them, unless they're physically in the way or smell bad or something. I had Salvinia natans, which is obviously a different species, come in the mail. The starting leaves slowly rotted/melted away, but as they did, they also grew runner* plants and now I'm giving them away. So the dying leaves may make new, healthy plants first, and if not, you can always toss them later. Basically, don't discard them until there is a compelling reason to.

I had thought too-strong flow might have been the culprit, too, except the salvinia right next to the frogbit looks fine. Maybe just give it some time.

* Are they still called runners if it's a floating plant?

[JoeQ]

Frogbit is more tollerant than most floaters and doesn't usually need a 'settling in' period. I would suspect its cannibalizing itself in an effort to find more food. Id up my fertilizing routine a bit and see if things improve

Edit; also if you have 20ppm nitrites and no nitrates there is a problem with your tank being "cycled"

Edited March 22 by JoeQ

[Spaghider]

 

On 3/22/2024 at 12:46 PM, JoeQ said:

I would suspect its cannibalizing itself in an effort to find more food. Id up my fertilizing routine a bit and see if things improve

That might be it! The Salvinia and algae were probably using up all of the nutrients, leaving the frog bit with little to none. Definitely gonna up my fertilizer usage!

 

On 3/22/2024 at 12:46 PM, JoeQ said:

also if you have 20ppm nitrites and no nitrates there is a problem with your tank being "cycled"

That was a mistake on my part, I ALWAYS mix up nitrites and nitrates.

Edited March 22 by Spaghider
Accidentally added extra text

[JoeQ]

On 3/22/2024 at 1:33 PM, Spaghider said:

That was a mistake on my part, I ALWAYS mix up nitrites and nitrates.

A simple rule I use to remember is "plants eat Ates" as in plants eat nitrAtes.

Also I left words out in my inital post. I ment to say "frogbit is more tollerant when it comes to their top being wet than other floaters are"