# Cryptanthus loosing colour



## Kim-B (Sep 8, 2018)

Hi everyone.
I have a cryptanthus sp. and I've noticed it has lost colour within a week of being in my tank. 
I'm thinking it might be getting bleached by the light?

Any thoughts?
First photo is from last week, second photo is from yesterday.


----------



## tropfrog (Sep 6, 2018)

I wouldnt be to worried for now. New plants can take a while to get used to new conditions. If it gets much worse, move it further away from the light.


BR
Magnus


----------



## joe23reptiles (Aug 7, 2016)

its the light source. it doesnt provide the right spectrum.

i had the same issue with fireball neoregelias. they turned green.

i bought different lights (IKEA VAXER) and they turned red again


----------



## Kim-B (Sep 8, 2018)

The LED light I have only has white and blue. 
Should I look for one with red, white and blue? 
Thank you for your replies


----------



## joe23reptiles (Aug 7, 2016)

im no expert at lightning at all but from what i gathered it has something to do with the spectrum the leds have.

i asked around in a fb group espacially in regards to leds which keep/ turn broms red again.

im the end the best options for me were either ikea vaxer or skylight leds.

but in the us u might have other options. so i wouldnt just go out and buy lights with red leds and then test it. rather ask around and take something tried and proven


----------



## kimcmich (Jan 17, 2016)

Cryptanthus are a little different than other broms and will produce color even in lower light. And Broms do not lose color so quickly from inadequate light (it takes more than a week). The speed with which your plant lost color makes me think it might be getting too much light in the spot you have it rather than too little or of improper spectrum. I think bleaching is the problem.


----------



## joe23reptiles (Aug 7, 2016)

kimcmich said:


> Cryptanthus are a little different than other broms and will produce color even in lower light. And Broms do not lose color so quickly from inadequate light (it takes more than a week). The speed with which your plant lost color makes me think it might be getting too much light in the spot you have it rather than too little or of improper spectrum. I think bleaching is the problem.


dont think so. bleeching/ sunburn looks different than how my broms looked.

mine turned dark green in some spots and purple in others.

they got back to red pretty fast too.

i still kept the old lightning above and just added the new plant lights above the areas where the red broms are.

so i doubt it was too much light in my case. rather wrong spectrum


----------



## kimcmich (Jan 17, 2016)

@joe23,

My comment was about the OP's Cryptanthus rather than your plants. The key detail here is the OP's statement "within a week of being in my tank". Color loss in Neos and other plants placed in inadequate lighting take weeks as the leaf cells stop production of photo-protective pigments and increase production of chlorophyll to gather more light. Only something like bleaching can happen in the span of a few days.


----------



## Kim-B (Sep 8, 2018)

Thank you everyone for your comments.

Yes it has only been in there for 9 days now. That's why I assumed the light was bleaching it because I placed it right at the top of the tank. 
First of all I noticed pale patches and then it all went a pale pink.
I've moved it to see if it makes a difference.

I do have a different led light I can put on it, however I didn't feel it was bright enough.
I may eventually invest in some grow lights. If there are any in the UK that you recommend please let me know 🙂


----------



## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

Cryptanthus are forest floor dwelling species. 
That said I doubt too much light is the issue. I tend to go with a lot more light than other people and I have cryptanthus that would be blasted with light compared to others and they are not doing that. 
I suspect the bigger issue is that cryptanthus tend to do better in the substrate like ABG, I don't mount mine up high unless there is a pot with soil in it. 

If you combine lack of nutrients with high light that can cause some bleaching in plants. 

LED light spectrum doesn't matter much to plants as long as you are talking about generally white light, its more about you the getting more efficient growth out of the LED per your watt of electricity. See all they do to make them plant spectrum is add more blue and red light as the plant doesn't use the green light. But any LED bulb has blue and red light in it I find that lighting really comes down to how much light more than anything. And most people when stating anecdotal evidence completely ignore this when making comparisons. Often they will compare a simply more powerful plant light to a less powerful white light. Get the light that creates the color and look you want, and use enough of it and you plants will grow doesn't matter if its 3000k or 10000k I have seen people produce great plants with any spectrum so long as its not completely deficient in red or blue.


----------



## tropfrog (Sep 6, 2018)

I Think pubfiction nailed it!

BR
Magnus


----------



## Kim-B (Sep 8, 2018)

I moved it to the bottom of the tank a few days ago.
It's turning green. All my other plants seem to be doing fine though.
I'm amazed how quickly it's changed.. it's only been in there 2 weeks tomorrow.


----------

