The New Aquarium Plants Are Turning Brown

When the leaves of your aquarium plants are dying, they will turn brown. It̵7;s normal for your plant to shed some leaves during its life cycle. If the brown leaves are few and far between, you can trim off the dead leaves to allow for new growth. However, if the entire plant is turning brown, there may be a problem with your tank environment.

  1. Phosphate

    • If you have an excess of iron phosphate in your tank, the leaves of your plants will turn brown, and you̵7;ll experience algae bloom in the tank. Often, too much iron phosphate is produced if you aren̵7;t changing the tank water at regular intervals, or if you aren̵7;t changing enough of the water. If you notice algae bloom, change your tank water immediately. Stick to a strict schedule and consider changing out more water than you normally would.

    Light

    • If an aquarium plant is not getting enough light, the leaves will turn yellowish brown and the stems will appear flimsy and frail. The leaves will be smaller than normal and sparser than on healthy plants. If you notice this, it could be that the lights in your tank don̵7;t have enough wattage or that you only have a small light color spectrum in place. Try adding more lights or lights with a higher wattage, and ensure that you have a full spectrum of light colors.

    Water Temperature

    • Water temperature has a strong effect on plant health. If the temperature is too cold, the plants will begin to die off. If the temperature is too warm, you will notice the leaves will be smaller and browner, and there will be fewer of them. The ideal water temperature for your tank is between 75 and 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Substrate

    • If the nutrients in your substrate are inaccessible, your plants will cease to thrive. If your plants are smaller than usual and have black roots, they may have a nutritional deficiency. One possibility is that your plant has used all of the nutrients in the substrate. The other possibility is that the substrate is compacted and the roots can̵7;t absorb the nutrients. If you suspect this is the problem, loosen the rock material at the bottom of the tank and consider adding a substrate fertilizer.