Anubias not growing well

[GentesFish]

Hi,

I having trouble growing the anubias plants I got 2-3 months ago. I am a beginner aquarium enthusiast and have 2.5 gal tank with 1 betta fish, 2 golden ramshorn snails. I also have hornwort plants in the tank which are growing without any issue.

I believe my local water supply is quite hard (Kh 120 Gh 120), nitrites and nitrates are 0. I have a full spectrum light setup with timer set for 6 hours per day (to control algae which is also a huge issue with this tank setup).

The anubias plants' initial leaves when i bought them have lost their pigmentation (became yellow, then brown) and I read somewhere that this could be due to poor nutrients. I have tried to add some nutrients using Aqueon brand aquarium liquid plant food with every weekly partial water change (which has 1% K20, 0.2% Calcium, 0.03% Magnesium, 0.036% Sulfur, 0.12% Iron, 0.00012% Zinc, etc.). I also read somewhere that I need to soften the hardness of my tapwater in order for plants to access the nutrients I am giving so I have used generic epsom salt (rough dosing at quarter to half teaspoon per 2 gallon water change). This has lead to somewhat better looking new leaves but they are all small and not like the big leaves that originally came with the plants. The big leaves also have what look like algae growing on top of them, giving a darker green look?

I also have an algae problem which I realize is from too much light time and waste products in the tanks. I think the ramshorn snails are making too much waste and I have tried to suction out any big pockets of waste but the algae eventually would overtake the tank every 1-2 weeks and require me to do a complete water change and scrub off the algae from tank walls. Besides suctioning out the waste with a big turkey baster, I don't do weekly partial water change.

My questions are:
1. How do I get my new leaves to grow bigger and look like healthy anubias leaves?
2. Why do the original leaves have dark green patches? Is that from algae?
3. How do I control the effect of waste products on causing algae blooms?
4. Is there something I am missing regarding nutrients for my anubias?

I would appreciate any advice in all these matters regarding the small, new leaves and algae. Thanks.

 

[Mudminnow]

1. How do I get my new leaves to grow bigger and look like healthy anubias leaves?

It's a bit counter intuitive, but I've found anubias do better in low light. And, I mean really low, like in the shade. They aren't named after the god of the underworld for nothing.

I think this is likely the niche they've carved out for themselves. They grow where other plants can't. In brighter light, other plants out compete them and/or they get covered with algae.

Anubias grow very slowly. So, to get bigger, healthier plants is going to take time...a lot of time.

2. Why do the original leaves have dark green patches? Is that from algae?

Yes. This algae is known as Green Spot Algae (GSA).

3. How do I control the effect of waste products on causing algae blooms?

Dead leaves and poop are the main waste products the life in our tanks produce. So, slower plant growth and less food will limit this. Then, water changes, siphoning, and pruning your plants are the other main ways to remove these waste products. You can control the effects, so to speak, by making sure the tank's cycled with enough bacteria and/or add more plants to absorb things.

4. Is there something I am missing regarding nutrients for my anubias?

Unlikely. Anubias grow so slowly that they don't need much.

I would appreciate any advice in all these matters regarding the small, new leaves and algae. Thanks.

One approach: keep the anubias in much lower light, remove dead or algae smothered leaves, and exercise extreme patience.

 

[kallililly1973]

Keep them along the bottom under other plants and trim off any dead and dying leaves. They are very slow growers but I found they do better hidden under things. Just don’t plant the rhizomes in the substrate and they will eventually take off … over time

 

[GentesFish]

Thanks for your replies to my initial post. They were very helpful!

I have some followup questions:
1. Yes, I read somewhere that Anubias are slow growers but I see all 3 of mine sprouting new leaves for the past 3 weeks, especially after a complete water change, softening, and plant food. So is this an atypical sign that my Anubias are struggling and trying to send out new leaves in order to try and survive?

2. I did some research on Green Spot Algae and internet says it might be due to imbalance of nitrates and phosphorus (in addition to excessive waste, bright lighting). So should I start adding phosphorus rich fertilizer?

3. Do you guys feel the Aqueon brand of aquarium plant food is sufficient for Anubias?

4. If my Anubias run out of healthy leaves, would that mean it is dead or can the rhizome make new leaves in the future?

Thanks.

 

[Fishfur]

Your anubias were grown emersed - much like any potted houseplant.

With only a handful of exceptions, all the plants we grow in our tanks are grown emersed by the nurseries.

There are excellent reasons for this - it’s cheaper for one thing but plants are stronger & healthier growing emersed because it is their preference to grow that way. Given any choice at all. they always want to grow emersed.

Most of our aquarium plants are amphibious, which means they have evolved the ability to survive being flooded for long periods of time by changing their leaves to a form that can exchange gasses underwater.

The submersed form is meant to be a temporary bridge that allows these plants to survive periodic flooding. It isn’t their preferred form though we force them to grow submersed for years on end.

What happens is that leaves which grow in air can only exchange O2 & CO2 with air but not with water, whereas leaves that can adapt to a form able to exchange O2 & CO2 with water can survive for as long as the flood conditions persist.

Anubias and a small group of other species are extremely slow growing and also extremely slow to fully adapt to underwater life.

Some plants can be near completely transitioned to submersion in as little as six weeks but the average is a little longer - maybe 8-10 weeks for many of them.

But for anubias it may take six months or even longer before it finishes transitioning to submersion.

So having the leaves that any anubias came with turn yellow & deteriorate one by one over several months and more is completely normal and is to be expected.

It’s got nothing to do with lack of nutrients though excessively bright light can stress them.

You might be sure to learn that an air grown anubias leaf that ends up underwater might continue to look healthy & normal for a very long time but despite appearances, it is not able to photosynthesize or take up any nutrients from the water column.

Because it can’t exchange gasses underwater, it can’t get any carbon and without carbon, photosynthesis is not possible. For this reason, there is also no point to feeding plants that are transitioning to underwater life until they have at least a few new leaves and roots.

Once a leaf starts to look very deteriorated, just cut it off. Whatever resources the plant could extract from it have been extracted and it’s of no further use to the plant.

Try to be patient. Please don’t go nuts with fertilizer because anubias rarely needs any supplemental feeding.

So long as new leaves are appearing, it’s just a waiting game and not a concern.

 

[Noroomforshoe]

Welcome to fishlore! Looks like you are doing somthing right so far! I want to adress some of your questions.
So , in no particula order.
1. I dont think that anubias needs any fertilizer other then the fish and food and plant waste. Hornwart is probobly similar.
2. The hornwort is hogging the nutriants, that is true, but your anibias is growing well!
3. Im sure that you have heard that a 5-10 gallon tank would be better for your fish and snails. well it would also be good for the plants.
4 100% water changes are dissruptive to everything inthe tank. I would avoid doing them outside of emergencies, say, your neice dumps an entire can or food in the tank..

Plants can lose all there leaves and come back to life. To be able to determine weather or not a plant is dead is tricky.

With anubias, I find it best to just ignore it completely,plant some faster growing plant, then one day several months from now, youl see you anubis and you will be surprised at how much it has grown!

 

[GentesFish]

Welcome to fishlore! Looks like you are doing somthing right so far! I want to adress some of your questions.
So , in no particula order.
1. I dont think that anubias needs any fertilizer other then the fish and food and plant waste. Hornwart is probobly similar.
2. The hornwort is hogging the nutriants, that is true, but your anibias is growing well!
3. Im sure that you have heard that a 5-10 gallon tank would be better for your fish and snails. well it would also be good for the plants.
4 100% water changes are dissruptive to everything inthe tank. I would avoid doing them outside of emergencies, say, your neice dumps an entire can or food in the tank..

Plants can lose all there leaves and come back to life. To be able to determine weather or not a plant is dead is tricky.

With anubias, I find it best to just ignore it completely,plant some faster growing plant, then one day several months from now, youl see you anubis and you will be surprised at how much it has grown!

How do you guys feel about adding Epsom salt to soften the water? My water Kh 120 Gh 120. Is there any recommended amount of Epsom salt to give per gallon?

Also, how do you get rid of algae after it has started to take over a tank? I had to do a complete water change to get rid of the snail/fish waste and scrape off the algae from the tank walls.

 

[ruud]

epsom raises GH

green algae with a 3 day blackout, cleaning and water change

preventing is a lot easier than correcting, it can take years to master or simply reduce the light intensity and if possible (for fish) the water temperature; this is for prevention, not for correction

people often don't understand the difference; they lower the intensity and continue to have algae....

 

[GentesFish]

UPDATE: Hi everyone! Thanks for the collective advice. My original anubias are doing well and have started creating new leaves while living in a larger 5gal tank!

I am writing now because I bought some new anubias congensis mini for a smaller 2.5gal which I bought 2-3 weeks ago are not doing so well. I noticed the leaves are turning yellow or having brown spots.

Is this again because of the transitioning from retailer to my tank? I think forum member, Fishfur mentioned most anubias are grow partially immersed in water, with the leaves sticking out of water? So this is just the plants transitioning to aquatic environment?

I have also noticed my Hornworts in the 2.5gal tank also lost or shed alot of its stems. Does this mean the water parameters are bad for aquatic plants in general?