# Creeping Fig trouble



## hylaphone (Jul 5, 2006)

Hi all,
I've tried planting Ficus - cuttings and rooted - about 5 times in different spots of my tank and it seems to just wither within a few days. All my other plants (Peperomias, Selaginellas, Ferns, Alocasia, etc.) are doing just fine. Does this plant need constant misting or something? I'm confounded!


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Hmm. Its pretty difficult to kill creeping fig. If the plants you got are from a mother plant that was growing outside in full sun, sometimes you'll have a fungus attack and it'll die off if you don't acclimate it right. Other than that, it really isn't that hard.

Some cuttings I've noticed to need to be lightly misted everyday, so you might wanna try that. Don't soak them, just give them a little spritz. See how that works for you.


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## DaRkOmEn (Aug 23, 2005)

I' ve had the same problem...this will be my 3rd attempt. All other plants are doing great. The leaves just seem to slowly fall off, I dont get it??
How would I know if it has fungus, the leaves and stem are so tiny. How do I properly acclimate it into the Viv???


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Really, the easiest thing to do is put it into a spot of the viv that gets good light and isn't soaking wet. Then every other day or so, just lightly mist it. This plant likes humidity but doesn't always like being soaked at first. Once it acclimates and has some new growth, you can pretty do what you want to it.

Fungal infections aren't always obvious and sometimes normal die off can look like fungus. Easiest is the hairy stuff but those are usually molds.

Good luck.


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

You might want to try acclimating the plant as follows: simply take the potted plant and put in a spare tank with glass top and lighting (basically your viv setup without all the substrate). Prior to placing in the viv, water the soil well then subsequently use only light misting similar to what you would do with your vivs.

Then after a week or two, you can remove it, plant directly, split up and plant, etc. To Antone's point, creeping fig is pretty tough stuff but I have noticed that it can go through an initial shock after transplanting. 

I always have a spare tank or two 'incubating' plants, more from a holding setup perspective but started to notice that plants held there seemed to adapt to viv conditions a bit more readily than if I just plopped them down into a new viv. Perhaps just my imagination but something to consider.

Good luck.

Bill


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## DaRkOmEn (Aug 23, 2005)

Thanks for the replies guys! I do believe it does have a fungus of some sort but im not sure, the leaves are now showing spots that are dark around the outside edges and turning to a white/silver kindda chalky color in the middle and towards the edges. Yesterday the leaves looked healthy (no spots) the leaves started dropping slowly 3 days ago and now with the spots present they are dropping very rapidly! This is a new tank (no frogs) a 10vert with all new plants that are doing well except for the creeping fig. I'll try and post some pics if I can remember how...as i recall its a little tricky on this site. Is there anything you guys would recommend to try and save it?


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## DaRkOmEn (Aug 23, 2005)

Cant really tell how clear these came out using my camera phone and im on an (temporary loaner) old pc with a really old monitor and low resolution  Please forgive me if they look crappy and thanks for your help in advance!
































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