# brown coloring on artificial plants?



## mileshs95 (Sep 24, 2011)

hello everyone, i have a 20g tank with artificial plants in it and the brand new plant was in it for about a month when the "leaves" started to turn brown... can anyone provide an explanation? this has never happened to me before
thanks


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

Sounds like it could possibly be diatoms(brown algae). Take you fingers and run them across the leaves and see if it comes off easily? If so the you can take the plants and wash them off in tank water that you have siphoned out of the tank during water changes. If not them I am not sure.


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## iamgray (Jul 16, 2010)

Could it be algae, or is the decoration itself actually turning brown?

If algae... has anything else changed in your tank recently? Lighting changes? And how long do you keep the lights on? Is the tank exposed to direct sunlight? Have fish been added to the tank (meaning more waste which equals more food for algae)? Have you been feeding more than usual (same reasoning as added waste from extra fish... except the decaying food would contribute the nutrients for algae). If it is algae and it's really bothering you, you'll just need to wipe it off every so often, and possibly adjust one or more of the factors listed above... but if it were my tank, I would leave it alone until it becomes REALLY unsightly, because in the absence of real plants, algae can be helpful with using up some of the waste from the water.

If the decoration itself is turning brown... then I don't know what to tell you. It could be poorer/different quality than the other ones you have... is it plastic or fabric? I'm shooting in the dark here because I don't have artificial plants so I don't really know how they can react to the surroundings... but if fabric, is it close to the heater? could that be burning it?


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## mileshs95 (Sep 24, 2011)

its plastic and i washed it in hot water and it wouldnt come off its so weird


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

?? Bad decoration? I don't know never had plastic decorations before. Though if it is just one I would take it out. Sorry not much help here maybe some one else can step in and give ya the advise you need.


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## zof (Apr 23, 2010)

A picture might help us diagnose the issue, also when you washed it did you use your finger nail to scrap it off? some algae is really tough.


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## iamgray (Jul 16, 2010)

Could just be a quality issue? Or is it maybe just fading under the light? If it were my tank and my decoration, and I had ruled out algae, I would remove it just to be safe.


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## mileshs95 (Sep 24, 2011)

here is a pic as you can see the leaves are turning brown towards the top of the plant


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