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Heteranthera Zosterifolia problems

Crossocheilus

Crossocheilus

Member
Joined
23 Mar 2014
Messages
539
Location
Oxford
The leaves of my heteranthera zosterifolia seem to be breaking up slightly despite promising growth from emersed, what you see is new, submerged growth.

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Some info:
180L 90x45x45cm tank
1 point pH drop at lights on ( 7.96 - 6.93) using inline atomiser.
Lights on for 6 hours, 2x 39w T5 30cm above tank.
Flow from 2x 1400lph filter through 2 spraybars each across the whole of the back.
3/4 EI macro (changed to full dose today) and double EI micro both dosed daily.
Tank has been set up 2 weeks today (no journal yet), no sign of algae.
No problem herbivorous fish (only otos, amano shrimp, cherry shrimp)

So whats wrong with my plants?
 
And I was hoping this would be an easy, fast growing weed of a plant!

HE = high efficiency = less light?
 
does it get direct flow near the filter outlet? :)

Leaves are very delicate and hate direct strong flow, get damaged, waved to death if flow is to strong.... That's what i see happening in front of my filter outlet.. The same damage as discribed here, blackening and holes, only the leaves which are constantly pounded by the flow. Got the same plant away from the flow, protected by other plants and this damage doesn't ocure that much on that one. Also because it's protected and somewhat shaded it grows slower, thinner, but with less damage. The one in the high flow gets tons of Co2 and also direct light, grows very fast, but as soon the tips hit the flow it gets damaged after a while, lower leaves don't..

because it's a slender grassy plant i more expected it to be flow tolerant, but i was wrong. It's a very sensitive and delicate plant.. :) Maybe needs more time to addapt and get stronger..
 
The flow is certainly strong, causing decent motion of plants at the bottom at the back however none of the H.Z. is next to the spraybars. I struggle to believe that it is being ripped a part by flow although I can't provide a better reason...
 
It just what is see happening with the plants in my tank, at 2 different places.. :) the blackening so far only occurs at the one in the flow. Also seems to be rather a soil feeder with a large rootsystem draining the soil even so much that older plants will compete and affect it's neighbour soil feeders. Tips they gave me on this plant is to trim it regularly like every 2 weeks to make it more bushy and stronger, than it will also make more smaller stars. if you leave it growing up the stars will stay thin, long and slender. Some say that even uprooting older plants and replant cuttings is a good practice preventing it to root to heavily and get bushy.. I guess root tabs isn't a bad idea..

Also i still got a little staghorn lurking in my tank, some older leaves develop a little at certain areas, the staghorn seems to damage stargrass leaves very quickly, like the staghorn feeds of it.. Staghorn is definitively a parasite instead of an epyphite.

My plants look as young as yours :) i only got them in there now for about 5 or 6 weeks. So also still playing and working on it to get to know it better.
 
Like said; leaves are very, very fragile on this plant. ......and like said;trim, trim and trim again. This is very, very benefitial to this plant, both regarding branching and keeping flow and light to enter.
 
Recently I read this plant is native to swamps with no current at all, so it should prefer less water movement around it, I guess.
 
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It's the same what the wind does to many terrestrial plants which need to suport their own wieght with stems. :) Take 2 stemplants of the same spieces and put them in different spots. 1 exposed to the wind and the other protected from it. After some time you'll see the protectect plant growing less stronger and thinner and the plant in the wind having ticker stem and stronger leaves. The constant air movement and the waving of the leaves and stem triggers the plant to grow more robust. In the end every stem plant that needs to support its own weight has that build in propperty. If the exposure is constant in the whole cause of it's life it will start doing that when it's still a plantet.

Like if the farmer in the nursery would put a fan in front of the motherplant and plantlets to simulate wind, than he would grow stronger plants. If a motherplant will grow in such exposure her ofspring will already start out with a thikker stronger stem and leaves. If the mother plant doesn't get this exposure it will stay a delicate and thin plant with an ofspring with the same properties.

If you get such a plant propagated invitro you will get it in it's most delicate form.. Water has about the same properties as air, flow acts like wind but just a little bit more agressive because water is much denser and the plant is exposed to an other G factor. The flow at the surface is in hour tanks mostly much higher than at the bottom and fast growing plants addapt slower in this matter because of its buoyancy when submersed. So when the delicate part suddenly hits the stronger current it can suffer damage. Anyway if given the chance the plant will eventuely addapt and grow stronger. in water submersed this process just is slower then in air emersed.
 
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