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Hydrocotyle tripartita help

SusanneK

Member
Joined
28 Jan 2022
Messages
29
Location
Sweden
Hi!
I have just made my first aquascape and I love it! :) But I have some problems with my Hydrocotyle tripartita that are getting brown leaves, mostly around the edges as you can see on the photos. I'm dosing around 1-2 ml Profito every day and doing water changes every 3-4 days. I started it the 11:th of April so it's around 3 weeks mature. I have Chihiros wrgb on for 6 hours and not very strong light to start with the first days and then changed it to a little bit stronger light (red 80 %, green 40%, Blue 61%) and with 1 hour ramp time in the morning and evening. I have a DIY CO2-system that seems ok. But I can see that the Co2 is not distributed even in the tank (when I move the drop checker), and that it is less at the side where the Hydrocotyle tripartita is.
I have not had any algae problems (yet!), and the brown is not anything I can remove so I don't think it is algeas... What could be the problem?
2022-05-02 12.44.27.jpg
 

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If you're wondering about the plastic, I have just bought new Amano shrimps and don't want them to escape now in the beginning... :D
 
Your plants have a bit of diatom algae on the leaves, this is algae almost always appears in new tanks and will go away on it own after a while. Lovely tank!

PS: Make sure your tank covering has a few air holes
 
If you're wondering about the plastic, I have just bought new Amano shrimps and don't want them to escape now in the beginning... :D
Might not be a good idea as you are preventing proper gas exchange with a tight plastic seal. Caridina multidentata shrimps don't just escape for the pleasure in my experience. I think I commented on that in different thread you created.
so it's around 3 weeks mature
The brown stuff you see is most probably diatoms as mentioned by Hufsa. Your tank is still basically cycling. Diatoms will disappear as the tank matures and snails or suckers will take care of it.
I have a DIY CO2-system that seems ok. But I can see that the Co2 is not distributed even in the tank (when I move the drop checker), and that it is less at the side where the Hydrocotyle tripartita is.
Just be aware that DIY can lead to lots of CO2 fluctuations + it will cost you more at the end than pressurized CO2. The Co2 distribution is always something you would need to fix early on because that will be the source of lots of headache later.
 
HI @SusanneK, I am 100% with @Hanuman on this one. You absolutely do not want to have that plastic seal on there! For starters, you have about two inches of clearance... there is no way your shrimps will try to escape unless they are in serious distress... they could theoretically also climb out from that root thats sticking out of the water... again, if that's the case you will have to seriously look into your tanks conditions and water parameters overall! Lower your water level a bit further if that is still a concern, but get rid of that plastic. It hampers gas exchange and could potentially jeopardize your livestock (and plants).

Otherwise, there is absolutely nothing wrong with your tank at this juncture. Its still quite immature and the diatoms (the brown stuff...) will recede as the tank matures. Oh... those Cardinals look absolutely phenomenal! My all-time favorite fish! Your aquarium look absolutely fine.

Also DYI CO2 might be a bad idea for the same reasons mentioned by @Hanuman. Stable water parameters - including CO2 - are essential and DYI CO2 rarely delivers that. If you want to do CO2, get a proper injection kit with pressurized CO2. There is really no middle-ground with CO2 as far as I can tell... Either you do it 100% with proper equipment or you don't do it at all and just keep it low-tech and embrace the constraints - which really are not that many IMHO.

Cheers,
Michael
 
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Thanks so much for your help @Hufsa, @Hanuman and @MichaelJ!

I have removed the plastic now so the gas exchange can be better as you said. I made some air holes in it before and had it for 5 days so I hope all is fine anyway... Btw, I found 3 small Amano shrimps that must have been hiding since I bought them some weeks ago, as some of you told me could happen in an other thread! :) So now I'm have at least 5 Amano in the tank which is so nice to see!

You were right about the diatoms too! I had not noticed but when I was cleaning the tank after having removed the plastic, I noticed that there were some brown algae on the window behind the stem plants and on the outflow... I removed it but as I understood you I can just let it be and it will disappear by it self. Sound good. :)

Your help is so valuable for us beginners - so thanks a lot again! :)
Susanne
 
Amano shrimps that must have been hiding since I bought them some weeks ago, as some of you told me could happen in an other thread!
I had 50+ Amanos in a 500l and sometimes I could only see a few
 
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