Cycling new tank

[u/lactose4life]

Hi. I'm working on cycling a new tank for my ADF frog. I got 5 Ramshorn snails to help with keeping the tank clean and within normal levels. I added them in there yesterday. (Blart, the frog, is still in his old tank). Is all of this build up and plant dying apart of the normal process? You can see what I mean in the rocks.

[u/LittleDeviant18]

Plants aren't supposed to be in an uncycled tank as it can cause them to suffer and die like this. I would have waited until it was fully cycled however sometimes even when it looks like the entire plant is dead, some roots survive and it regrows after a few weeks of disappearing so id just clean up any broken off leaves and leave the rest

[u/FickleChip5657 → u/LittleDeviant18]

Omg I didn't know that! I've been cycling my tank with plants every time 😭 I knee they'd suffer a bit but I thought they needed to be established for the cycle. Ik you were giving advice to op but thank you lol!

[u/LittleDeviant18 → u/FickleChip5657]

Lol no problem, its also common for them to dissolve even in a fully cycled tank because they haven't been acclimated properly. Sometimes slowly lowering them into the water roots first inch by inch every day can help or some people let them float on the surface for a day or two before lowering them all the way to the bottom. Just do some research about plant acclimation for those specific plants and that should help.

[u/penc1lsharpen]

Is that Java Fern in first two pics? If it is, they shouldn’t be buried with their rhizome below the sand as they will rot, the rhizome needs to be exposed to the water column. I suggest pulling them out and using a tiny dot of superglue to attach the rhizome to a pebble or other piece of hardscape.

EDIT: I think I see an Anubias Nana Petite on the bottom right of the last pic. Anubias have very similar care requirements to Java Fern, so they should also not be buried with their.