Who Gives A Fish Forums

I've been thinking, we spend a lot of time discussing our fish's health, but what about our plants? It's easy to overlook their progress, given how slow they grow and our daily exposure to them. I've found taking a series of photos to be incredibly helpful in tracking their development - it's amazing how much I've missed just by looking at them every day.

Growth can be a good indicator of plant health, but it's not always a reliable one - if the plant's growth is weedy or it becomes thin and leggy, that's not a good sign. On the other hand, new leaf growth and root development are definitely positive signs. Leaf colour is another indicator, but you have to be careful to observe the actual colour and know what to expect - some plants start off with a nice red shade and turn green, while others do the opposite.

One of my favourite indicators of good plant health is 'pearling' - those little silver bubbles of oxygen are a great sign that the plant is photosynthesising properly. I'm curious, though - does anyone know if pearling can also occur at night, as a by-product of respiration, with CO2 instead of oxygen? I'm usually asleep by then, so I've never had a chance to observe it. What other signs of good plant health are there that I might be missing?

I think you raise a valid point, bronze_shield, it's indeed challenging to gauge plant health due to the slow pace of changes. Sometimes, simply existing can be enough to know it's okay.

In lower-tech tanks with slow-growing plants, noticeable growth can take weeks. Here, we look for signs like no leaves dying off or discoloring, and no holes or melting.

A good indicator of a thriving planted tank is the lack of algae. While some algae is inevitable, a balanced tank with healthy plant growth rarely experiences significant algae issues. However, an imbalance in light, nutrients, or growth rate can still cause algae, even with great plant growth.

I've found that many stem plants tend to get leggy, even in optimal conditions. It often takes repeated cutting and replanting to encourage bushy growth in common stem species.

While pearling is a useful indicator, I don't think it's a necessity for good plant health. In my low-light, low-tech tanks, I rarely saw pearling, yet plant growth was still satisfactory. Some plants pearl more rapidly than others, and pearling seems tied to growth rate. For instance, stem plants or Riccia tend to pearl more than Anubias. Oxygen content in the water also affects pearling.

As for pearling at night, I've never observed it. My guess is that plants don't produce enough CO2 to saturate the water to the point of pearling.

I've found that pearling is largely dependent on the plant's ability to photosynthesise, which in turn relies on sufficient light. It's unlikely you'll see pearling at night or in low light conditions, given that it's a byproduct of the plant's oxygen production.

When a plant is photosynthesising efficiently, it releases tiny oxygen bubbles, often visible as a stream of fine bubbles rising from the leaves.

I've observed that some plant species, particularly those from the Hygrophila and Ambulia families, tend to fold their leaves against the stem when they've had enough light for the day. This is a gradual process, starting with the top set of leaves and working its way down. If you notice that your plants aren't exhibiting this behaviour, it could be a sign that they're not receiving sufficient light.

A good indicator of adequate light is the size and spacing of the leaves on the stem. Plants with ample light tend to have shorter internodes and larger leaves, whereas those that are light-deficient often have longer gaps between the leaves and smaller leaves overall.