# So many plant problems today



## Mer_ (Sep 11, 2011)

So a little back story. I have this viv it was doing well and all the plants were growing, but there was one problem; I had an infestation of earthworms and millipedes. Due to their disgusting appearance I decided to tear down the tank. I had all my stuff ready, took everything out, bleached it all with 10% bleach solution, and soaked the plants in a 10% bleach dip after having let them sit in water so that they wouldn't suck up the bleach.

I rinsed everything, put new ABG in, and then let the tank sit for a bit so that humidity and temperature could stabilize again. Well, I noticed that the plants were extremely droopy. This was weird so I asked for some assistance and I found out that I had done one vital thing wrong; I had forgotten to wet the ABG. So the next day I tore down the tank again and soaked the ABG, and squeezed out the excess water. I then planted it again and waited. Well, I waited and waited, but the plants just are not happy. 

My Ruellia Makoyana is droopy and my Streptocarpus is sort of melting away, what I mean by that is that some parts of leaves turned into black sludge nastiness. My Peperomia verschaffeltii is also not doing too well and has turned a bit yellow and my columnea lost all of its leaves. The only thing doing well is the Hoya and thats probably because its on the background. 

Here are some pictures of some of the plants:





































I dont know what happened.


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## R&Mfroggers (Mar 10, 2012)

i had the same problem with mine i think that there is to much water,humidity, or moisture for them because i decreased misting and it looks like there coming back, there drooping due to being over filled with water


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## Mer_ (Sep 11, 2011)

Should I stop misting for a couple of days and see what happens?


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## R&Mfroggers (Mar 10, 2012)

yea as long as there is a water dish for the frogs and if you can increase the uv lighting


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## habubak (Jun 7, 2008)

Please clarify for me what the UV lighting increase is for? That seems like a totally unrelated issue. Am I missing something, some trick that folks know of that I need to brush up on?

Anyways, to the OP: I agree - it seems to be too wet. Overwatered plants frequently look like they are drooping, which we've all been trained to associat with too little water. So we water the poor things some more, thinking we're helping. And the plant droops some more. And so we water... lather, rinse, repeat. 

Alternatively, the replanting and bleach treatment damaged the roots, leading to the plant not being able to take up enough water to support the leaf area it was previously supporting. However, while that may explain the drooping, it doesn't quite fit the melting you've observed, which is why I tend to lean towards the overly-moist diagnosis R&Mfroggers offered.

Break the cycle and see what happens - can you air out the tank (leaving the lid open), or are there residents to be concerned about? If not, that may yield quicker results than if you simply stopped misting, though I'd cut that way back too. It would be unfortunate and a pain to have to replant, but after tearing down the viv twice, it may be a more minor (bearable) job if you lose this cohort of landscaping... 

Keep us posted - and I don't know if I'd try the UV light increase yet, unless you're already setup for it and it doesnt require any more extraordinary effort on your part to implement (most of us aren't, though). If you're not setup with UV already, I'd wait and see what R&Mfroggers or others have to say. R&M may have meant "lighting overall" (not just UV) - which may help the plant use more water by juicing up photosynthesis (assuming all other inputs, nutrients, etc. aren't limiting factors), thus pulling more moisture out of the ABG mix, thus helping to dry out the system somewhat, etc. Not sure that's what was meant, though, and don't want to put words in the mouths of others, just trying to pose an interpretation that might help fill things in somewhat...


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

imo you don't need to have uvb lighting at all.


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## R&Mfroggers (Mar 10, 2012)

yes it is i use the t5 UVB grow lights and the plants love them


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

well plants don't need UVB they use UVA


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## R&Mfroggers (Mar 10, 2012)

it might be UVA then i know one is UVA/grow bulb and one is UVB for bone strength and healthy development of skin pigmentation mostly in reptiles but can be beneficial amphibians to i have both
in a zoomed dual T5 sorry for the mix up


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Sounds like they are both just being grumpy about the change - keep the lighting and misting the same as it was in the tank before you ripped it up, and be patient now that the media should be at the right moisture. The strep tossed a fit by tossing it's leaves and will grow new ones, the Ruellia is still be sulky but isn't too hard up about water (or the leaves would be straight down). These are things they do with too much water, too little water, or big changes (like a bleach bath and being torn out of their home unwillingly then shoved into a new substrate). The bleaching alone would have these guys sulking.

Part of it may also be due to the fact that the roots have not reestablished into the substrate so they aren't having an easy time getting water even if the media is perfect. Floppy plants until they root and establish again is pretty common, and I usually give them a significant root trim to get the plant into "OMG new roots NOW!" mode right off. Saves them from the "why aren't these things WORKING!" stage before they give up and grow new ones.

I wouldn't increase the UV lighting - if it's a trick to beefing up plants it's not one that is commonly done with terrarium plants and can be dangerous to other tank inhabitants. UV use with amphibians is in it's infancy and has shown benefits but needs to be used with the same restraint as with reptiles - only over part of the tank like a brighter, warmer spot so these animals can still easily get out of the range of it. These plants have been beaten up and smacked around, all they need is time under the conditions they were already doing well under.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

R&Mfroggers said:


> it might be UVA then i know one is UVA/grow bulb and one is UVB for bone strength and healthy development of skin pigmentation mostly in reptiles but can be beneficial amphibians to i have both
> in a zoomed dual T5 sorry for the mix up


What have you done to allow the UV to penetrate into you viv? Most dart frog vivs have glass tops. Typical glass does not transmit UVB.


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## R&Mfroggers (Mar 10, 2012)

replaced the top with 1/2 acrylic


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Pumilo said:


> What have you done to allow the UV to penetrate into you viv? Most dart frog vivs have glass tops. Typical glass does not transmit UVB.





R&Mfroggers said:


> replaced the top with 1/2 acrylic


I hate to tell you this, but you wasted your money on your UVB bulbs. It's not getting through. Acrylic does not transmit UVB either. Special, expensive, formulations are required.


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## habubak (Jun 7, 2008)

KeroKero - great advice... I thought the root damage or disturbance might have had something to do with it, but never thought of the pre-emptive trimming. Going to have to keep that trick in mind, good sound (eco)logic!


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## nonliteral (Mar 26, 2012)

habubak said:


> KeroKero - great advice... I thought the root damage or disturbance might have had something to do with it, but never thought of the pre-emptive trimming. Going to have to keep that trick in mind, good sound (eco)logic!


Root trimming is good; can also be a good opportunity to do a little judicious re-shaping; the way I look at it when I trim roots is that if the disturbed root system can only support part of the existing foliage, I can either let the plant decide which leaves to drop, or I can decide for it...


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## Scoobs (Nov 15, 2010)

Looks like something is eating the plant in your second picture?


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## Blocker Institute (Apr 19, 2010)

There is something chompin on your plants. Place some iceberg lettuce in that tank and see what evil monster comes crawling out. That's a great start.


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## Mer_ (Sep 11, 2011)

There is nothing eating the plants that I know of, and I'd be surprised if there was since I tore the tank down and bleached everything. The leaf that is missing a piece is the leaf that was turning into black sludge and started to disintegrate.


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## Scoobs (Nov 15, 2010)

Could be a type of bacteria or fungus rather than an insect of some sort


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