Why are my plants wilting?

[Tricia Desmarais]

I just added 10 plants to the top of my indoor 40 gallon fish tank two days ago. This is a well established tank so there shouldn't be any mineral deficiencies and the water level is high enough to cover the roots. These plants were originally in soil and I rinsed the roots off in order to put them in my tank. Did that stress the plants too much?

I read somewhere that it was alright to move plants from soil to an aquaponics system, so unless that information was incorrect I can't figure out why these plants aren't thriving. I have 5 parsley, 3 chives, 1 mint, and 1 rosemary.

Thank you for your help.

[Sylvia Bernstein]

Hi Tricia.  Plants actually develop different types of root systems in different environments.  Your plants have developed roots specifically for their soil environment, so will need some time to develop an "aquaponic" appropriate root system.  I would just give them low light, and maybe even cover them completely for a few days so you aren't asking them to photosynthesize much and give them some time to develop some new roots.  

[Tricia Desmarais]

Thank you so much! You just saved my plants :)