A pic could help for an with an over all view and the soil discription as you can best discribe. For now the browning and discoloration sounds like the crown of your Aloe had gotten to wet. It sits just under a soil line and could rot if left in a soil thats to wet for to long. Uncertain if it is crown rot and or white fly or fungus (all unknown) would prompt me to remove what ever plant is left from the pot and bare root it leaving crown and roots exposed on news paper or in a cardbord box while composing a different soil.

hi there - so i've been lurking to wait for more info and pics of your plants. actually, they seem to look pretty good, what are the indicators that they're not doing well - the fact that they're not growing quickly? generally succulents will be slow growers, especially if they're not getting a lot of sunlight. your herbs are growing quickly because a) herbs (and it seems lots of leafy plants) grow quickly in general and b) they're outside getting a lot of sun. just reiterating what everyone else has said, but i definitely would not water them at the same rate as the herbs. Also, the burrito tail, and any succulent that has particularly fat and juicy leaves will need less water than other succulents (elephant snack) because they are retaining a lot more water in those plump leaves. finally, in general, while the container size might not seem large, I think people are just wondering about the soil ratio - basically, if there is too much soil (due to not enough of a gritty mix, or due to a too-large pot and etc), then water stays in there longer than it takes for the roots to take them in, which then causes root rot. One thing about the pots (which are super cute btw) is that even though the pots have drainage holes, the way they are constructed (tall with a smaller opening) means less top surface area, which means slower rate of moisture evaporation, and so the soil will stay wetter for longer. anyway, all this just to say: water them a little less, like maybe just once every 2 weeks, and the watering doesn't have to be a total drench. if water is not coming out of the hole, that's ok! definitely if you can "let them out" and sit in the sun sometimes, i am sure they'd appreciate that. see how that goes before you go crazy trying to mix up the soil and disturb your plants. definitely if you figure out how to create your gritty mix then by all means do, but for now, yeah, less water and a some more sun. also, sorry for being wordy - not trying to be too technical, but i just tend to like understanding reasons for why things work the way they do.

I have about 25 succulents on an east-facing window that gets full blast morning sun. Plants with more delicate leaves like your tropical palm are going to get fried, but anything with thick succulent leaves will love an east window. Haworthia is a good choice, because they're compact and grow slowly. A small jade may last a few years on a small sill before getting too tall (though you can prune it as needed). Peperomia might be an option if you can add a hook to hang a plant.

It looks like one I have as well, it was labeled as Aloe Asst, I think it’s Aloe ‘Green Sand’ like mesembs suggested, although it’s just a guess