Hrm, browning of pygmies

[kwende]

I've had some pygmies now for about a month, they grew from gemmae.

They have seemed happy and grew quickly to their present state. But they appear to be in decline now. I'm wondering if I have been giving them insufficient lighting as it is less lighting than I typically have given my other sundews. Here is a photo of some browning I'm seeing near the base:

The thing is, they're not in a poorly lit spot. I have them in a 6-inch pot sitting at the bottom of a ten-gallon tank. The ten gallon has about two inches of standing water in it to keep it high-humidity (currently there are two small Nepenthes and two small pots of adelae in the tank that are thriving). Atop the tank there are three t-8 bulbs (small). The temperature is a steady 80 degrees and the humidity is a steady 75%. All in all the pygmies are probably about 8-9 inches from the light source.

Any thoughts?

My other sundews do receive vigorous lighting (6 t-8s, just inches from the light), but I just never put these pygmies under the same lights due to restraints with room.

 

[BioZest]

I am not completely sure, but I think it is normal for pygmies like this (is it D.scorpioides?) to brown at the base after they mature a bit. They don't look too bad to me health wise.

 

[kwende]

This is actually D. Roseanna. The friend of mine who gave them to me suggested I up the lighting as he - like you - noticed they were stretching upwards quite a bit. I will take a less high-res photo and post it here in a moment so you can see the colony as it stands right now (in addition, I'll take a picture of their current setup).

 

[kwende]

Here is the tank they're currently in. It's just a starter tank for some baby Neps I got recently and my Adelae...

Here is a less zoomed-in view of the plants.

And here is a better view of the three T-8 blubs set atop the tank (am I not giving them enough lighting?):

 

[BioZest]

I Think the lighting looks good, and I also think that the plants look good, but pygmies are not my area of expertise. IMO they are fine, but you might want to wait and see if someone else thinks otherwise. Best of Luck to you and your plants!

 

[kwende]

I talked to my friend. I'm going to cut the distance by about half. He says the browning is natural too. So I overreacted.

I'm overly protective of my plants, so I tend to overreact

 

[BioZest]

I think we all are

 

[Not a Number]

Those look pretty "leggy" to me - indicative of not enough light.

Compare:
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?132575-drosera-pygmy-roseana-rising-1-week-etc

 

[kwende]

Yeah. I was instructed to halve the distance to the lights. I'm planning to this weekend. Thanks!

 

[tommyr]

I keep my Scorp babies about 4-5" below the light. Some are in a west window with late afternoon Sun.

 

[Nepfreak]

I grew roseanna about 3 inches away from T8 bulbs and they did great (see avatar). Browning isn't a problem, it happens gradually as they mature.