Glossary
Plant melt
The dieback of older leaves that often happens after planting stems or new species while roots settle in.
Plant melt is the term for older leaves turning translucent, soft and eventually dissolving after a plant is introduced to a new tank, often within the first one to two weeks after planting. It looks alarming, especially in a carpet or stem planting that melts across a large area at once, but it does not always mean the plant is dying.
Melt typically happens because the plant was grown emersed, meaning above water in a nursery, and the leaves it developed in that environment are not suited to being fully submerged. Rather than adapting those leaves, many plants simply drop them and grow a new set adapted to underwater conditions, which is a normal transition rather than a sign of poor water quality on its own. Melt can also follow a stressful move between tanks or a big change in light or CO2, even for plants that were already growing underwater beforehand.
During a melt, it helps to remove badly decaying leaf matter so it does not foul the water, while leaving healthy new growth undisturbed. A common mistake is pulling an entire plant out or giving up on it at the first sign of melt, when many species recover fully within a few weeks once new, submerged-adapted growth appears from the base or roots.