Melting Anubias

Hello!
I have an anubias nana golden in my 20L that all but 2 leaves have melted and needed removal. How do I know if my anubias is dying?

 

Can you take a picture? Commonly, many people bury the rhizome and roots of Anubias plants, when they require that the rhizome be above the substrate.

 

I used superglue gel and stuck it to the top of a rock. The rhizome was out and in the light.

 

Do you dose fertilisers? I read in your other thread that you currently have one betta and a nerite snail. That level of bioload isn't likely to be sufficient in providing adequate nitrates. In addition,without ferts, there is likely the deficiency of other nutrients.

It would be worth reading the sticky "A Beginner's Guide to Fertilisers."

 

I do not use ferts. I took it off the rock I had it on, so this is how it looks now.

sad anubias nana

• Amanda McConnell
• Aug 26, 2018

 

Hello Everyone,

First post here after my introduction one, I have done a bit of research but just need some expert advice.
I am after some help with my Anubias.
Bit of backround, I have had the plant which was attached to a decent piece of driftwood almost 3 years now. Got it from a LFS in a pretty bad state covered in moss/algae, although it had a good amount of foliage.
Put it in my guppy tank with 2 bristlenoses as well and they cleaned it up good.
After that it lived most of it’s life in my 4ft 160L planted community tank.

Almost exactly a year ago I moved into an apartment and couldn’t fit the large tank so I sold most of the plant and live stock except for a male betta and a starlight Pleco and the Anubias. They have been moved into a 46L Fluval Edge, I do a 25% water change every week. With aquarium salts, Tap water conditioner and a tiny bit of fertiliser recommended by one of the better lfs in my area.
I have the stock fluval tank light on an 8 hour timer just for the aesthetic look.
The last month or two the Anubias has started to show spots everywhere, some large and some seem to be small algae ones, and it is melting. I have cut off many dying leaves at this point
I recently pulled it out and underneath the rhizome where it is resting on the wood at oldest piece of the rhizome it seemed to be rotting.
I broke the plant away from the driftwood at the oldest end. Chopped off the rotting bit and cleaned it up and reattached with an elastic band. Hoping this will solve it but not sure if that’s what’s slowly killing it. I have attached some photos for reference
Thanks in advance for your help guys
Josh

 

Welcome to Fishlore, I’ve moved this to the Aquarium plants board hope our planted members can help you today

 

Looks like an iron and potassium deficiency.

 

Salt is bad for plants, no need to dose salt in my opinion.

Likely need to dose a little more fertilizer.

How much of what exactly are you dosing? How often?

I'm seeing interveinal chlorosis which indicated a nutrient issue, and the rotting rhizome could be the plant cannibalizing itself to feed new growth.

 

Good point on the salt ^ tho Anubis is more tolerant of salt than many plants. Salt should only be used for specific treatment of illnes.

 

HI everyone, thanks for the response!

In the past I only used salts when my fish got ich. I bought the API branded stuff.
When I went down to Sunscape Aquariums in Richmond, Melbourne (the store is regarded highly by the other good LFSs in my areas, the guys seem really know their stuff) for the fert a few months back, one of the guys there sold me a fertiliser and suggested to only dose at half what the bottle recommends as Anubias doesn’t need much. So I’ve been doing that after water changes. He also told me to add salt with the water changes, but they make their own mix there so the sodium content might be lower than APIs generic stuff, as I was informed today at another lfs Nature Aquariums. The guy at Nature mentioned that the nitrates may not be high enough to feed the plant?

I forgot to mention the test results in my original post.
Ammonia was 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates between 0 and 5ppm on the API freshwater test kit.

I have attached a picture of what I’m fertilising with.

 

I really wish they broke down which nutrients and snake oil they used to make that solution, all name branded liquid fertilizers give a break down so we can dose what we want and not follow the label directions if we so choose.

I'll check a data base and see if it has the breakdown of that fertilizer... I doubt it but I can check.

 

Its my first product I’ve bought of fert, due to the fact every seems to say Anubias don’t need much.
The trace elements used would have been helpful, and I can’t seem to find much online other than pisces saying they won’t release it, but can confirm it is a complete plat food.

Could the issue just be that the light is on too much and it’s creating too much algae on the leaves?
Or I just don’t have enough stock in the tank to produce enough nitrates for the plant?

 

Its my first product I’ve bought of fert, due to the fact every seems to say Anubias don’t need much.
The trace elements used would have been helpful, and I can’t seem to find much online other than pisces saying they won’t release it, but can confirm it is a complete plat food.

Could the issue just be that the light is on too much and it’s creating too much algae on the leaves?
Or I just don’t have enough stock in the tank to produce enough nitrates for the plant?

I can almost guarantee you it’s not a true all-in-one fertilizer, there are so many companies that claim their products offers everything plants need, but are completely lying.

Anyways, because your NO3 is so low, I would suggest dosing a little more than they recommend. What are they recommending your dose should be? What it the stocking level, tank size and water change schedule on this tank?

Are you running blue only on that light? Or just took a picture with blue only? Plants would need more spectrum than just blue like in your photo’s

 

My tank is 46L, so minus the substrate, decorations ect I assume around 40L. Stock is only the male betta and a 5cm long starlight Pleco. I have been dosing 2.5ml every water change and I try do a 25% water change every week, sometimes 50% if I’m too busy and I miss one.

No I am running the full white and blue light at about 6hours a day atm. Tank is is a well lit room anyway.
Another leaf has wilted and died. Photos attached. And all new growth comes through with wrinkly curled over edges.

 

I'm going to strongly recommend a different fertilizer... one that lists out what is in the bottle so you can adjust to reach a desired level of certain nutrients.

Flourish Comprehensive + Flourish Trace would be a decent option for anubias, or you can use Thrive C. You can also use Thrive but at a very reduced rate.

Start with double dosing the fertilizer you have currently, 2.5ml's of pre-mixed liquid fertilizer is not a lot in a 40,000mL tank. That anubias is starving.

 

Okay, I’ll give that a try and I’ll see if it looks to be recovering.
Thanks Chanyi!

 

Hey everyone and chanyi, I went back to Nature Aquariums. I picked up a new fertiliser. They also told me I need a gh and kh buffer as Melbourne water has 0 hardness and plants can’t photosynthesis without hardness

Hasn’t been very long but no other leaves have died off and it’s appearing to look better so far.