Leaves going see through

[cheryl]

all my plant leaves (elodea and banana lilly) are going see-through. is there a way of knowing whats causing this?

 

[skylar]

can be caused by either too much light, or too little. how long do you keep it on for and how many watts per gallon? i keep mine on for 12 hours and have 2.2 WpG and my banana lillies are doing fine

 

[sharn]

lack of light is what causes that i think

i have some swords in my tropical tank that were going see through, got a new bulb and they went back to normal

 

[cheryl]

rats. I was hoping to not have to get a light. i thought axies didnt like them? The tank is next to a window, and a small corner gets sunlight for an hour or two in the morning but no sun directly hits the plants. It is what i would describe as high natural light.

 

[skylar]

you can get a light that sits on top for about $80 for a 2' tank (double bulb), probably cheaper second hand. Its true axies don't like light, however mine were a bit skittish for about a week and now they rarely hide and are always in the open, sitting in the vallis

 

[beech]

I had the same problem with Ziggy too - I found that a small halogen bulb aimed at the plant does the trick. That way, the plant is spread out in front of the light source, and the axie is happily in the dark

Zigs tank is nearly pitch lol - but he'll be moving to a more suitable place next week.