# plant rot and humidity levels



## 781frogger (Aug 26, 2014)

ive been having what i think may be root rot, but i am not sure, can someone please help me out on advice? this has happened to a few plants now and its frustrating! the parts of the plant seem to deteriorate into black junk, like the picture. is this root rot or something else? what can be done?

i have a 12x12x18 tank, at about 80-85% humidity. i mist it lightly once or twice a week, i doubt the soil could be too wet? the hydroballs under substrate look pretty dry. i do not have a fan to circulate air, is that a huge problem? 

some of you guys make it look so easy!!


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

This tank looks relatively new so my guess is that the plants are probably still acclimating to their new environment. Typically newly introduced plants will shed some of their leaves as they acclimate. As long as there is some new growth and the younger leaves look healthy you should be fine. If you keep having these issues and the plants are actually dying then a circulation fan will help but really shouldn't be needed with hardier plants like pothos.


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

You're soil may still be too wet even though the false bottom is dry. What are you using as substrate? Also, the plants may just be acclimating like jturner said.

John


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

If you want to hurry the procedure along...cut off not only the obviously bad leaves, but a bunch of the older ones. When you reduce the top growth on plants, more of the energy goes toward establishing roots. That plant can grow in either soil or water, so it really is an easy plant to start--at some point you'll be posting a thread on how to kill it......lol


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## AquaAurora (Jan 4, 2015)

On a slight tangent, your plants: Dwarf Palm, Syngonium, and Pothos will get *HUGE *for that small of a tank space, be ready with clippers to start cutting back the larger/taller leaves in a few weeks. I have those on a 55g riparium (fish tank with roots in water but stem/leaves above water), the first 2 are over 17" tall and the pothos leaves are larger than my hand and the vine is several feet long (probably as long as I am tall if I put it out straight)! They dominate the large tank visually... and literally.. major light blockers to the aquatic plants.


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## 781frogger (Aug 26, 2014)

thanks for the replies, i can see i have a lot to learn about this!

the tank is about 6 months old, i have hydroballs as bottom layer, a barrier, and the ABG mix, with mood moss on top . im not sure its just "settling" because ive lost 4 plants in that bottom left...same thing, turned black and to mush. the tank used to be pretty soggy a couple months back. perhaps the soil is still to damp.. maybe remove the moss and let it dry out?

also, are fans pretty crucial for healthy and vibrant grows? my moss is kinda brownish and dry. its just a hard balance to find, trying to avoid whatever rot this is, yet keep the moss wet. if it doesnt get better maybe i should re-soil and re-plant some day

and yes i see NOW, after the fat, bad choice of plants, they are all getting huge! any suggestions on "lower" lying plants for ground cover, that do well in humid tanks? my begonia also "melted" recently. i wasnt growing well anyways

think i just need to keep at it and slowly learn .. thanks for the help everyone.


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## 781frogger (Aug 26, 2014)

also, aqua.. any plants you would recommend for a smaller tank? i didnt realize all these would get so big. i probably should just bite the bullet and re plant. i like the setup but yes the plants are bothering me also!


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## 781frogger (Aug 26, 2014)

was just working on the viv, removing the moss. ABG seems damp, but not soaked. maybe just a little too wet?

also just noticed that my AIR PLANT, which was not even touching soil.. its root things melted and turned black. over christmas, i left my tank for 10 days, totally sealed up to maintain humidity.. 

poor circulation and too high humidity?


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

781frogger said:


> was just working on the viv, removing the moss. ABG seems damp, but not soaked. maybe just a little too wet?
> 
> also just noticed that my AIR PLANT, which was not even touching soil.. its root things melted and turned black. over christmas, i left my tank for 10 days, totally sealed up to maintain humidity..
> 
> poor circulation and too high humidity?


The soil should be good if it's the typical ABG mix. I would say the plants are probably just acclimating to the new conditions. 

Yup, Tillansia species will rot extremely quickly in poorly circulated environments. Usually they like to dry a little between mistings and sitting water is their archenemy.

John


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## AquaAurora (Jan 4, 2015)

781frogger said:


> also, aqua.. any plants you would recommend for a smaller tank? i didnt realize all these would get so big. i probably should just bite the bullet and re plant. i like the setup but yes the plants are bothering me also!


I cannot offer much past mosses and marginal plants (anubias, crypts, riccia, hydo sp. japan (looks like clover).. but these really prefer wet environments) as I am new into vivariums and have a stronger background in aquatic and riparium plants. 
... I'm not sure how they'd do in high humidity but some easy to find (smaller) house plants that I've seen used in vivariums (and I've used in my ripariums) include: Tradescantia zebrine (aka Wandering jew), Fittonia albivenis (sometimes called an angel plant, or pink angel (the pink variety)), I've also seen mosaic plant used but no experience with that one. Any Pilea family plant can be tried (including aluminum plan, friendship plant, and moon valley), oh and also Maranta leuconeura (aka prayer plant) but this one may get a bit wide (leaves/stems spread more out than up) for the tank. I don't know how humid/wet the vivarium conditions were for the mentioned plants from photos I've seen of them. They don't tolerate leaves being submerged, so I'd suspect they also don't like consonantly saturated leaves (let them dry off between misting).


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## jturner (Nov 26, 2014)

Its not always easy to grow plants in extremely humid vivs without airflow and sometimes its just a matter of trying lots of plants and seeing what survives. A few plants that have been extremely wet tolerant in my experience without rotting- 
wandering jew- pretty hard to kill but needs trimming constantly
aquatic mosses- java moss, christmas moss...
Rattlesnake Plant (Calathea lancifolia)
Alocasia 'Polly'
certain cryptanthus are also very good


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## 781frogger (Aug 26, 2014)

awesome feedback, thanks everybody!

i think the course of action will be for now to tear up the moss and dry the ABG out a bit, and figure out a way to promote air circulation while still maintaining good humidity

i will be sure to look into these plants you all mentioned... see what works with the conditions

thanks again !!


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## Gamble (Aug 1, 2010)

781frogger said:


> figure out a way to promote air circulation while still maintaining good humidity


FYI ... Good humidity is 60/65%+. You don't need it to constantly be 90%+


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