Anubias rhizome rotted...was it me?

I got a beautiful big Anubias when I picked up my female betta. Put both in the QT. I was so happy, the leaves stayed green and healthy, the roots were green and healthy. Then during one water change in week 3 I moved the plant around and the leaf just fell off, then all the leaves just fell off, still green and beautiful. I pulled out the plant which was just the rhizome
at this point and it was a mushy, skunky mess. I clipped it back to try to find a section that wasn't mushy but it was the whole thing. The roots were still good with one or 2 starting to rot at the rhizome. It was in a 10g with my Betta, just floating as there's no substrate. I did every other day 50% WC and dosed with flourish. I had aquarium salt in the tank for the first week. How do I avoid this happening again? What did I do didn't do?

 

I got a beautiful big Anubias...It was in a 10g with my Betta, just floating as there's no substrate.

Anubias don't need substrate, so that's fine. I would find a stick or rock or something to attach it to though. It's probably not what did the plant in, but, if it is able to stay in one spot, it can angle its leaves to the light and such...which might help.

I did every other day 50% WC and dosed with flourish.

It's awesome that you're able to do so many water changes, but I doubt that many are necessary. Do you have a filter? If so, you can get by with far fewer water changes with just the one betta.

The flourish excel is certainly unnecessary though. Anubias grow very slowly...they don't need much.

I had aquarium salt in the tank for the first week.

Salt can stress plants. Anubias are tough, but too much salt can cause harm.

How do I avoid this happening again? What did I do didn't do?

It's hard to say. With just one plant dying, it may not be anything you did. I wouldn't worry about it unless anubias keep dying one after the next.

So, I think the best thing you can do is get another anubias, and see if it does any better.

 

The flourish excel is certainly unnecessary though. Anubias grow very slowly...they don't need much.

Agree. No need to fertilize Anubias, tho it won't hurt it. Also, Flourish is only trace nutrients. If you want to fertilize you will want an all in one fert that has the major nutrients.

 

Depending on concentration; salt will definitely kill a lot of plants and can severely harm or kill anubias. I made that mistake when treating the tank for ick with salt.

Having said that i've had a lot of anubias 'spontaneously' rot over the years - not really sure what triggers it. Some claim it is a disease other speculate it has to do with water chemistry or similar. I really can't say for sure but it does seem to happen a bit to myself.

 

Anubias don't need substrate, so that's fine. I would find a stick or rock or something to attach it to though. It's probably not what did the plant in, but, if it is able to stay in one spot, it can angle its leaves to the light and such...which might help.

It's awesome that you're able to do so many water changes, but I doubt that many are necessary. Do you have a filter? If so, you can get by with far fewer water changes with just the one betta.

The flourish excel is certainly unnecessary though. Anubias grow very slowly...they don't need much.

Salt can stress plants. Anubias are tough, but too much salt can cause harm.

It's hard to say. With just one plant dying, it may not be anything you did. I wouldn't worry about it unless anubias keep dying one after the next.

So, I think the best thing you can do is get another anubias, and see if it does any better.

Thank you for your reply. The leaves are still green and not showing any sign of decomposition yet so I'm allowing them to float around for my Betta. I was doing constant wc's because I had it in the quarantine tank with the new fish. I put some media from my DT in the filter but I was still measuring small amounts of ammonia so it must have been going through a mini cycle. It was my first QT and in hindsight I would just do frequent wc's and forget about the media. Live and learn. My last Anubias I lost a couple leaves but the rhizome stayed healthy and it adjusted quickly. When I get another one do I need to QT it or can I just give it a good rinse?

Depending on concentration; salt will definitely kill a lot of plants and can severely harm or kill anubias. I made that mistake when treating the tank for ick with salt.

Having said that i've had a lot of anubias 'spontaneously' rot over the years - not really sure what triggers it. Some claim it is a disease other speculate it has to do with water chemistry or similar. I really can't say for sure but it does seem to happen a bit to myself.

So frustrating. It was such a big gorgeous plant!

Agree. No need to fertilize Anubias, tho it won't hurt it. Also, Flourish is only trace nutrients. If you want to fertilize you will want an all in one fert that has the major nutrients.

Do you have a recommendation?

 

...When I get another one do I need to QT it or can I just give it a good rinse?

I've never seen a need to QT plants. Just rinse them off and place them in your aquarium.

Do you have a [fertilizer] recommendation?

When I said your anubias doesn't need flourish...I was assuming you were talking about Flourish Excel (the carbon supplement). That isn't needed. But, regular fertilization isn't likely to be needed either. After all, we're considering just one slow-growing plant in an aquarium that gets large frequent water changes. But, if it happens that your next plant comes to look deficient, an all-in-one I like for this sort of tank is APT Zero.

 

Do you have a recommendation?

You could continue with seachem, but that means a bottle for each individual nutrient. There are many All-in-one ferts out there. I have only used a couple, but popular brands that come to mind (and are recommended by many) are Aquarium Coop: (Which Planted Tank Fertilizer Is Right for You? | Aquarium Plants 101), 2Hr Aquarist, NilocG, and Tropica, but there are more.

 

You could continue with seachem, but that means a bottle for each individual nutrient. There are many All-in-one ferts out there. I have only used a couple, but popular brands that come to mind (and are recommended by many) are Aquarium Coop: (Which Planted Tank Fertilizer Is Right for You? | Aquarium Plants 101), 2Hr Aquarist, NilocG, and Tropica, but there are more.

Awesome thank you! I never know what to look for, advice seems different depending on who you ask, and I know there's a deficiency in my tank (nothing to do with the Anubias however, that was not this tank) Can I bend your ear a bit more? Some plants that were doing great since May are now failing. Yellowing leaves on one, greying leaves on the red plant with little leaves and the whole top of that one just basically died. They're planted in seachem stratum/gravel. I had not been dosing anything in this tank and it seemed to be well balanced. Everything was thriving up until recently. When I saw a couple plants struggling I started with Flourish and Excel. Yesterday my nitrates read 0, first time this has happened. I've been reading a ton trying to figure this out....iron? I have to do a water change today and many plant sites say don't vacuum the gravel in this situation...does that make sense?

 

But, if it happens that your next plant comes to look deficient, an all-in-one I like for this sort of tank is APT Zero.

APT Zero is trace minerals only. If you want APT all-in one, you want APT Complete.

They're planted in seachem stratum/gravel. I had not been dosing anything in this tank and it seemed to be well balanced. Everything was thriving up until recently. When I saw a couple plants struggling I started with Flourish and Excel. Yesterday my nitrates read 0, first time this has happened. I've been reading a ton trying to figure this out....iron? I have to do a water change today and many plant sites say don't vacuum the gravel in this situation...does that make sense?

Did you mean Fluval stratum??. Fluval stratum is mostly clay I believe. It has no added nutrients, but may have some small amount naturally occurring, which would be depleted quickly. It is also designed to decrease the pH to the mid 6s, which I think is still ok for Betas.

It's possible that your plants were doing fine while using up and nutrients in the soil, but now have depleted them and have begun to suffer. If you have zero nitrates, then it's safe to assume there may be other deficient nutrients. If it were me, I'd try and All-in-one fert, but don't over do it. Give it 2-3 weeks to see if it is helping. Also, you want to observe the new growth to determine if the fert is helping. The old leaves probably won't recover, so it's the new growth you should use as an indicater.

It's possible you've been told not to vac so the detritus on / in the soil remains to breakdown and feed the tank. Ammonia is going to come from fish respiration, poop and decaying plant matter. Phosphorus will come from fish food.

 

APT Zero is trace minerals only. If you want APT all-in one, you want APT Complete.



Did you mean Fluval stratum??. Fluval stratum is mostly clay I believe. It has no added nutrients, but may have some small amount naturally occurring, which would be depleted quickly. It is also designed to decrease the pH to the mid 6s, which I think is still ok for Betas.

It's possible that your plants were doing fine while using up and nutrients in the soil, but now have depleted them and have begun to suffer. If you have zero nitrates, then it's safe to assume there may be other deficient nutrients. If it were me, I'd try and All-in-one fert, but don't over do it. Give it 2-3 weeks to see if it is helping. Also, you want to observe the new growth to determine if the fert is helping. The old leaves probably won't recover, so it's the new growth you should use as an indicater.

It's possible you've been told not to vac so the detritus on / in the soil remains to breakdown and feed the tank. Ammonia is going to come from fish respiration, poop and decaying plant matter. Phosphorus will come from fish food.

Yes, sorry, fluval stratum. That makes sense with regards to the nutrients being depleted. I believe that was the reason for skipping a vacuum. I did a light vacuum yesterday anyway because I just have to. My PH remains at a constant 7.4 . My water where I am is acidic, 6.0 - 6.4, but I found that running an airstone has somehow kept my tank at just over 7. My java ferns, anubias and vallisneria are doing well so I may try some root tabs in the problem areas. I'm starting to make sense of it all. Thank you so much for all of your help. I'm really not good with plants in or out of water so it's a huge challenge for me.

 

APT Zero is trace minerals only. If you want APT all-in one, you want APT Complete.

APT Zero is trace and Potassium (K). It leaves out N and P, but I think that makes sense in a lot of situations. Tanks with few or slow growing plants, tanks with lots of fish, or tanks with rich substrate fertilization are examples of situations where a fertilizer like this makes sense.

In this case, the OP just has one slow growing plant. It probably won't need any fertilizer at all. And, even if it turns out to need some, it won't be much. There's also a betta in this tank providing a little N and P. So, something like APT Zero makes sense to me here.

 

APT Zero is trace and Potassium (K). It leaves out N and P, but I think that makes sense in a lot of situations. Tanks with few or slow growing plants, tanks with lots of fish, or tanks with rich substrate fertilization are examples of situations where a fertilizer like this makes sense.

In this case, the OP just has one slow growing plant. It probably won't need any fertilizer at all. And, even if it turns out to need some, it won't be much. There's also a betta in this tank providing a little N and P. So, something like APT Zero makes sense to me here.

How about a 32 gallon with a Betta, 9 guppies, 1 platy, 3 zebra danios for stock - java Fern, anubias, vallisneria are doing well, 3 others are not, including crypt, a plant with little red leaves (can't remember the name) and these other ones that look like dill. Fertilizer tabs or all in one? Sorry for so many questions but when I research I find that the advice can be confusing, or really just vague. So I'm dealing with low to no nitrates, some plants doing well, others are not. Lighting? Do I have the wrong mix? Maybe my duck weed is too thick. I scoop out half once a month. Oh and yes I have an air stone, if that matters.

 

APT Zero is trace and Potassium (K). It leaves out N and P, but I think that makes sense in a lot of situations. Tanks with few or slow growing plants, tanks with lots of fish, or tanks with rich substrate fertilization are examples of situations where a fertilizer like this makes sense.

In this case, the OP just has one slow growing plant. It probably won't need any fertilizer at all. And, even if it turns out to need some, it won't be much. There's also a betta in this tank providing a little N and P. So, something like APT Zero makes sense to me here.

OP mentions that "Some plants that were doing great since May are now failing. Yellowing leaves on one, greying leaves on the red plant with little leaves and the whole top of that one just basically died. They're planted in seachem stratum/gravel. I had not been dosing anything in this tank and it seemed to be well balanced. Everything was thriving up until recently."

OP has more than one plant, the substrate is not rich, and the tank is lightly stocked and now we now that there are low-to-no nitrates.

I aggree with your assesment of when to use the different ferts. I have used APT zero for the exact reasons you mention. However, OP was already using Flourish (not Flourish Excel, which is an algaecide), so I see no sense in replacing it with APT zero.

Wendybrass, I don't have a lot of experience with tabs. I used to use Flourish tabs with poor results. I then realized the were only trace nutrients so I tried all-in-one tabs and my nitrates went from 10ppm to 40ppm overnight from just 4 tabs in a 29 gal tank, so I stopped using them. Aquatic plants can take in nutrients from the water and the water permeates the substrate, so I don't worry about tabs.

 

OP mentions that "Some plants that were doing great since May are now failing. Yellowing leaves on one, greying leaves on the red plant with little leaves and the whole top of that one just basically died. They're planted in seachem stratum/gravel. I had not been dosing anything in this tank and it seemed to be well balanced. Everything was thriving up until recently."

OP has more than one plant, the substrate is not rich, and the tank is lightly stocked and now we now that there are low-to-no nitrates.

I aggree with your assesment of when to use the different ferts. I have used APT zero for the exact reasons you mention. However, OP was already using Flourish (not Flourish Excel, which is an algaecide), so I see no sense in replacing it with APT zero.

Wendybrass, I don't have a lot of experience with tabs. I used to use Flourish tabs with poor results. I then realized the were only trace nutrients so I tried all-in-one tabs and my nitrates went from 10ppm to 40ppm overnight from just 4 tabs in a 29 gal tank, so I stopped using them. Aquatic plants can take in nutrients from the water and the water permeates the substrate, so I don't worry about tabs.

Thank you so much for being so thorough. I'll just keep with what I'm doing with Flourish and see if my struggling plants improve. My understanding is with ammonia/nitrite at 0 I shouldn't worry too much about the nitrates.

 

Well, you do want nitrates for your plants. Ammonia and nitrite should always be at zero, but your plants need nitrate (or ammonia), so if it is hovering around zero you might want to adjust something.

-You could try an all-in one like we've discussed.
-You could also increase the nitrate and phosphate (the missing ingredients in Flourish) by increasing the stocking of your tank.
-You could keep your current stocking and just feed them more, unless they already are maxed out.
-You could cut back on water changes. It will be hard to grow plants without fertilizer if your doing water changes when the nitrates a near zero.

 

Well, you do want nitrates for your plants. Ammonia and nitrite should always be at zero, but your plants need nitrate (or ammonia), so if it is hovering around zero you might want to adjust something.

-You could try an all-in one like we've discussed.
-You could also increase the nitrate and phosphate (the missing ingredients in Flourish) by increasing the stocking of your tank.
-You could keep your current stocking and just feed them more, unless they already are maxed out.
-You could cut back on water changes. It will be hard to grow plants without fertilizer if your doing water changes when the nitrates a near zero.

Thank you for this!