Tom,

I was trying to do a non co2 tank and I dose ferts so it is likely the co2. How then would I fix this? Is this a middle stage I have to deal with until the plants adapt or should I tone down my light wattage to try to match the co2 uptake? Growth rate is unimportant to me. Healthy plants is ;-)

My ozelot sword, rotala indica, pennywort, are all doing well and growing pretty quickly. I just put a Ludwigia repens in there and it seems happy. I can't tell if the Ludwigia has grown as it is pretty large to begin with, but theres no loss of leaves or coloring.

My val spiralis is producing new plants quickly(I had 20 I bet I have 40 or so now) and growth is good however the longer leaves turn brown at the tip and melt. Those were on the plant prior to my aquarium so I chalked that up to adapting to my tank.

I did have some brown algae and some green algae of some sort on my anubias nana but I moved it closer to my stems and I woke up this morning and it was gone ;-) I have a little bit of brown algae on some of my other plants but I heard this sometimes is common in new tanks. I've got 6 amano shrimp that seem to keep most other algae at bay. I have some fuzz algae on my plants but it comes and goes as the shrimp snack on it. I plan on getting about 5 or 6 ottos as soon as I can find them around me and some more shrimp when my LFS restocks. There is no algae on my glass or the substrate.

The only other thing in my tank that i have a question about is a dwarf aquarium lily bulb. The plant died in shipping but I planted the bulb anyway. It now get a bluish white fuzz on it and only it. I thought it was BGA. No new growth. I tried to pull it out and wash it a couple days ago but it grew right back. Also, the bulb stinks!! Is it dead? Should I just toss it?