seeds Newbie.... Half of my seedlings sprout and wither and die immediately... Oh No!!

[N8thaniel]

wow so many ideas here ill add mine
 
remove the dome
remove the dome and then remove the dome
 
oh and also try and get some potting mix that is either organic or unfertilised or both as seedlings dont like chemical nutrients at all
 
also water seedlings with tap water as chlorine is antibacterial and will help with any kind of fungus/bacteria dampening off etc

 

[jacqui276]

It looks like the seeds were planted too shallow in loose starting mix and came up helmet head. the hulls were left on too long before removal and the would be cotys rotted. It looks like nothing else I have seen either from too hot a grow mix, a dome on too long or even light too close.

 
This was my thought seeing the picture. I've had this happen to 2 seedlings before where they looked like the OP's photo and this is what happened. They sprouted with helmet heads, I didn't assist in removing the helmet heads until days later and that is what my seedlings looked like - followed by them dying.
 
 
I would also remove the dome as soon as they have popped up out of the soil and put them under lights.