Growing live plants in your freshwater aquarium can be tricky because you have to strike the right balance with the nutrients plants need to thrive. Too much of a certain nutrient can cause your plants to suffer, as can too little. If you are having trouble with your aquarium plants, here are a few of the most common problems seen with aquarium plants. Diagnosing Problems with Live Plants Without the right nutrients, your live plants might lose their color or fail to grow at the proper rate. Here’s a diagnosis guide for common problems with live aquarium plants: Slow Growth: If your plants aren’t growing quickly enough – or if the leaves are smaller than they should be – it may be due to a carbon dioxide deficiency. Plants need carbon dioxide in order to grow – it is a vital part of their respiration process and it gets converted into oxygen as a product of photosynthesis. To increase the CO2 levels in your aquarium you may need to reduce aeration to prevent CO2 loss.

You can also try using a CO2 injector to increase CO2 levels. Yellowing of Leaves: Most live plants are green in color, so if they start turning yellow it is probably an indication of a problem. One possible cause of yellowing leaves is too little light in the aquarium – using a full-spectrum bulb that provides 3 to 5 watts of light per gallon of tank volume will help solve the problem. If it is the edges of your plant leaves that are yellowing, it might be an indication of potassium deficiency. Fertilization is the best way to remedy this issue. Brown or Black Leaves: If the leaves of your live plants start to turn brown or black and die it might be an indication of excess phosphate levels in the tank – an excess of nitrates may also cause this problem. The best thing to do for this problem is to perform a large water change to improve water quality in your tank. After you improve water quality, keep up with weekly water changes to prevent the problem from happening again.

Holes in Leaves: When small holes start to develop in the leaves and the leaves start to break down, it is probably due to Cryptocoryne Rot. The cause of this disease is unknown but excess nitrate might be a factor. Poor water quality and insufficient nutrients are relevant as well. The best way to remedy this problem is to perform a large water change and to vacuum your gravel to remove excess wastes. Brittle Leaves: If the leaves of your live plants start to yellow and turn brittle, it may be due to an iron deficiency. It might also signal a potassium deficiency or a pH level that’s too high. To remedy this problem you can try fertilizing your substrate with an iron-rich fertilizer. Reducing the carbonate hardness of your tank water might help as well. Spindly Growth: If plants that normally grow thick stems, or leaves start to display weak, spindly growth, it might be a sign of inadequate lighting. The light bulbs might be too old, the bulbs might produce the wrong spectrum of lighting, or you might not be leaving the lights on for long enough.

Adding more lighting and replacing old bulbs will remedy the problem. Growth Stoppage: If your plants cease to grow and eventually start to die, it may be because the water temperature in your tank is too low. The only way to remedy the problem is to replace your heater or to add another one if the one you have isn’t sufficient to heat a tank of the size you have. Cultivating a tank full of thriving aquatic plants can be a challenge but it is definitely worth the effort. fish tank gravel bulkIf your plants start to develop problems, follow the tips in this guide to restore them back to the way they should be.fish tank plants fertilizer If you find that there’s something fishy about Kate Barrington, it’s because she’s been a lifelong lover of pets, particularly aquarium fish. fish tank plants dying

Since receiving her first 10-gallon tank as a birthday present in 5th grade, she has become an avid aquarium enthusiast as well as a freelance writer specializing in the aquarium niche. Kate is a regular contributor to several aquarium fish websites and has a column in a bi-monthly pet magazine.Happy Aquarium developer Crowdstar has shown us plenty of times in the past that it isn’t afraid of having a little fun with their updates. my fun fish tank diyMany items and fish that don’t (and couldn’t!) exist in the real world have been made available. marine fish tank brown algaeThe company has introduced a new collection of hippie fish and decorations, continuing this fine tradition.cheap aquarium designs Players can now purchase several groovy decorations for their fish tank, including a flower power bug and bus, and a 70s chair.

New Tye-Dye and Disco tank wallpapers have also been released. The highlight of the expansion is the the new John Lennon lookalike fish, however. It comes complete with a gigantic bushy mustache, and can be purchased for $5.20, or 62 pearls. There are only 1500 copies remaining. Happy Aquarium developer Crowdstar introduced the item collection feature several months ago, but hasn’t done much with it since. A new item collection was finally introduced this week, though – the game’s fifth. Players level 21 and higher can now complete the new Leaf Collection. As with other Happy Aquarium item collections, there are nine items in total players will need to find. Three common, three uncommon, and three rare. Once all the leaves have been collected, players earn a special prize: an exclusive Leaf Fish! Have you had any luck uncovering any of these collection items yet? Leave a comment and let us know. Happy Aquarium is celebrating its first birthday, tomorrow. Time flies in the world of social games, doesn’t it?

To celebrate the milestone, developer Crowdstar is giving all players the opportunity to get an exclusive anniversary fish, but only if they log on at a specific time. Tomorrow, September 15th, players that log in to Happy Aquarium between 10AM and 11AM PST will be awarded the exclusive anniversary fish. Crowdstar has set up an official Facebook event page for the giveaway. We’re of the opinion that free items, no matter how they’re given away, are always a good thing. But it still seems a little strange that the free fish are only being given away for one hour, doesn’t it? I mean… it’s Crowdstar’s own anniversary celebration. Why not let players that log in all day long get their free fish? Happy Aquarium developer Crowdstar added an exotic new fish today, but it is only available to players willing to buy it with premium currency. The new Oriental Flying Gurnard is currently being offered to all players, with a price tag of $4.80, or 58 Pearls. The colorful blue and orange fish is typically found in the Indo-Pacific Oceans, according to Crowdstar’s in-game information panel.

Right now there are about 2700 copies of this special fish left. Happy Aquarium developer Crowdstar has released another handful of decorations themed after L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz. New decor options include: Dorothy’s House, Ruby Slippers, The Castle in the Sky, and two members of the Lollipop Guild. Two Oz themed tank wallpapers have also been released. Additionally, the new Toto and Good Witch tank mates have now been made limited editions. Originally these items appeared to be permanent additions to the Happy Aquarium store. But now, like the rest, they will be gone after about 5000-6000 more copies are sold. Happy Aquarium developer Crowdstar has added a variety of fish and tank mates that follow a Wizard of Oz theme. Some of the items are permanent additions to the in-game store, while others are limited additions. The new items are: Good Witch, Toto, Bad Witch, Flying Monkey, Cowardy Lion, Tin Man, Mini Dorothy, and Scarecrow. Only Toto and the Good Witch are permanent additions – the rest are limited editions, with about 7000 – 9000 copies left.

Their names might sound standard, but each has been given a fishy makeover, with gills, fins, scales, and plenty of other details to make them more fish-like. Happy Aquarium developer Crowdstar introduced a new limited edition creature today: a Whale Shark! The developer is calling it the biggest shark released in Happy Aquarium. It can be purchased for 50 FB$ ($5.00), or 60 Pearls. It is only available in very limited quantities, however. 4500 copies were made available earlier today, but that number has already dwindled to about 3600. So any player that wants one better scrape together the required currency while they still can. Happy Aquarium developer Crowdstar has released a small collection of magic themed props. Players can now purchase Randolph the Wizard, a Book of Spells, a Disappearing Cat, a Magical Wizard Fish, a fairy tank mate, and more. It wouldn’t be a true Crowdstar update if it didn’t also include a few random odds and ends, though. New unthemed additions to the Happy Aquarium store include a Three-Eyed Fish, a Heart Shaped Blowfish, and animated twinkling stars.

Happy Aquarium developer Crowdstar introduced a new Pearl Lotto promotion this week, designed to get players to return to the game each day, and to provide players with a little gambling excitement as they tend to their virtual fish tanks. Every five days, a lotto drawing takes place. If the numbers on a player’s ticket match the winning numbers, they win 1000 pearls! It’s as simple as that. Players can fill out one free ticket per day. Additional tickets can be purchased for $0.50 each. We aren’t math whizzes, but with 50 numbers to choose from and a winning combination of just five numbers, it seems a little easier to win this lotto than one in the real world. But there are still millions of possible winning combinations, so players shouldn’t get their hopes up too high. Happy Aquarium developer Crowdstar added a new fish today, but it is only available to very high level players, and players willing to part with their FB credits. The new Rainbow Wrasse unlocks at level 60, making it the highest level Happy Aquarium fish by a wide margin.