Blyxa japonica shedding leaves

[Allen_1971]

I've noticed the same... the blyxa I have in the tank with low lights is lush and green... the blyxa I have in the tank with bright lights tends to be more yellow with hints of red.

[tawauboy]

i got some blyxa for teo's about 6 weeks ago. teo said the blyxa will melt some when planted in my tank. but there was no melting. now they are growing well and have a lot of side shoots and hints of red on the leaves. their height are about 4-5". one of the blyxa is shaded so it is pale green in colour and only about 2.5" high.
my tank does not have base fert but have bright lights and diy co2.

[FC]

I have the same problem in the past. For my case, it was caused by too high copper content in water (added by mistake) and wrong method of handling the plant. The plant after planting, needed to be moved up such that the all leaves are above the substrate and part of the roots exposed. Like for all high light plants, one can reduce lower leave decay or drop out by having suffient light.

[vinz]

I strip the leaves from the lower part of the stem before planting.

[jacian]

There is a chance that when you replant the plants, the stem is damaged which cause the shedding of the leaves.

[PEPSI]

Is those red colour kind of spot that appear on the inner leaves normal ? Thankz

[vinz]

Re: red spots, yes... under bright light.

[wks]

Hi guys, Latest development on my B. japonica. I noticed the top one third of the leaves were sheared off on almost every plant. It looks like a job of a grass cutter, but I did not cut them myself. Anyone has similar experience?

[Allen_1971]

errr no... been having blyxa in my tank for 2 years now... no sheared off leaves... you sure nothing is eating them?

[wks]

Allen, will pleco eat the leaves? I have one, L134.

[Allen_1971]

not sure... but its possible... I dun keep plecos.... mebbe you can check with the other Allen A.k.a Akoh... he might know better.

[FC]

Shrimps, especially, yamato, eat this plant on my tank.

[Allen_1971]

Hmmm yamato don't seem to touch the plant in my tank at all... they seem much happier chewing at the algae on my foam backing.

[vinz]

It's might be a nutrient deficiency and the shrimps may only be eating off the dead tips of the leaf.

[scoobydoo]

----------------
On 11/26/2002 7:18:10 PM

Hi guys, Latest development on my B. japonica. I noticed the top one third of the leaves were sheared off on almost every plant. It looks like a job of a grass cutter, but I did not cut them myself. Anyone has similar experience?
----------------

I used to notice that my B. Japonica never had the pointed tips. Then one day, I noticed my school of rummynose hovering over it and nibbling away at the leaves [:0]

[DEA]

blyxa will always shed some leaves
in times of plenty, they will shed those at the outer edges
when they're stressed, they tend to shed more
you just have to wait for them to reestablish

[lorba]

hi, can i cut the plant into half if the leaves are getting too long? Will it damage the plant? Thinning doesn't help as the leaves are still as long.

[Allen_1971]

I'm not sure what you mean by cutting the plant in half, but you can

1. uproot your blyxa
2. pull off some of the bottom leaves (leaving the stem area untouched)
3. break off some of the stem which you don't want (including the attached roots)
4. Replant.

Naturally don't expect your blyxa to do brilliantly after that, but once it starts to root again it should be fine.

[Addie]

I have 3 Blyxa for <1 month and have not seen new leaves. I also saw some shed leaves at the bottom part of the stem. I thought it was due to replanting recently. Will try to remove them.

BTW, my blyxa shows a little redish color on the leave but the overall color of the plant looks dull. Is the plant healthy? Notice that it also like to collect dirty (algea?) at the tip of the leaves.