Anubias Nana 'petite' issue

[jackychun]

Hi All,

Please can you advise what is the problem with my Anubias nana petite? The tank has been running for about 2 months and only now I see the leaves change to darker colour and looks like the leave is about to melt.

The photo is as below:



Appreciate your advice on this matter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[plantedpot]

Could be a case of emerse transition to submerged. Depends on the specimen you bought.

Sent from my Mi 4i using Tapatalk

[Urban Aquaria]

So far i haven't encountered that sort of darkening leaves effect in my anubias petite plants... looks like it might be phosphate deficiency (darker leaves is one of the indicators) or perhaps even a coat of algae? Maybe try cleaning the leaves and see if it works.

Anyways, i also see some leaves with brownish spots on them, its also an indication of other general nutrient deficiencies, those will eventually deteriorate so just trim the affected leaves away.

For such plants, the solution is to just dose more of all ferts to fill in any possible nutrient deficiency that might be occuring.

Note that anubias tend to show deficiencies in a delayed manner due to them being able to store and use reserves in their rhizome, so any deficiencies you see now might be due to lack of nutrients a few weeks back. Subsequently when you dose more nutrients, their response to the fresh influx of nutrients will also tend to be delayed due to their slower growth rate, so have to wait abit longer to see the growth improvements.

[jackychun]

Thanks plantedpot and UA for your advice. Today morning I just took out the anubias and trim all defective leaves away. The leave is soften and melted and a bit kind of sticky too. And I think it spread around like a kind of disease to other healthy leaves. If algae then I can just clean it away right?

It might be weaken because of nutrient deficiency too. For this tank, I only dose Potassium, Iron and Excel so far. And the tank has only sand substrate and light bioload, so I will dose more NPK and Flourish when I am back. Hope the plants can survive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Urban Aquaria]

Thanks plantedpot and UA for your advice. Today morning I just took out the anubias and trim all defective leaves away. The leave is soften and melted and a bit kind of sticky too. And I think it spread around like a kind of disease to other healthy leaves. If algae then I can just clean it away right?

It might be weaken because of nutrient deficiency too. For this tank, I only dose Potassium, Iron and Excel so far. And the tank has only sand substrate and light bioload, so I will dose more NPK and Flourish when I am back. Hope the plants can survive.

If the leaves are weak and mushy, then its most likely due to nutrient deficiency. Have to trim away. Healthy leaves should be strong and solid.

For your tank setup with inert sand substrate, it'll be best to dose more of all types of nutrients, so a general all-in-one fertilizer solution would be ideal, as it'll help to cover all possible requirements. If your bio-load is low, preferably also use fertilizers with ample NPK nutrient content too. Plants like anubias will absorb and store whichever nutrients they need and then direct the resources to new leaf growth.

Just for reference, to sustain the dense plant growth in my 2ft anubias tank with moderate bio-load (30+ cardinal tetras, 100+ shrimps, 5 zebra otos, 10+ horned nerite snails etc), i have to feed the fishes regularly and dose up to 5x the recommended dosage of Seachem Flourish, then the plant leaves stay green and healthy. Anytime i reduce the feeding or reduce the fert dosing, 1-2 weeks later i'll start to see yellowing and deficiencies showing up on the leaves. It all depends on observing the plant conditions and adjusting your fert dosing accordingly.

[jackychun]

If the leaves are weak and mushy, then its most likely due to nutrient deficiency. Have to trim away. Healthy leaves should be strong and solid.

For your tank setup with inert sand substrate, it'll be best to dose more of all types of nutrients, so a general all-in-one fertilizer solution would be ideal, as it'll help to cover all possible requirements. If your bio-load is low, preferably also use fertilizers with ample NPK nutrient content too. Plants like anubias will absorb and store whichever nutrients they need and then direct the resources to new leaf growth.

Just for reference, to sustain the dense plant growth in my 2ft anubias tank with moderate bio-load (30+ cardinal tetras, 100+ shrimps, 5 zebra otos, 10+ horned nerite snails etc), i have to feed the fishes regularly and dose up to 5x the recommended dosage of Seachem Flourish, then the plant leaves stay green and healthy. Anytime i reduce the feeding or reduce the fert dosing, 1-2 weeks later i'll start to see yellowing and deficiencies showing up on the leaves. It all depends on observing the plant conditions and adjusting your fert dosing accordingly.

I see. Thank you for enlightening me, UA. Any All-in-one fertilizer that you recommend? Is Seachem Flourish can do the work?

I cut those effected leaves in the morning and now I can see other leaves start having that issue again. May be I should quarantine that anubias then.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Urban Aquaria]

I see. Thank you for enlightening me, UA. Any All-in-one fertilizer that you recommend? Is Seachem Flourish can do the work?

I cut those effected leaves in the morning and now I can see other leaves start having that issue again. May be I should quarantine that anubias then.

So far i've been using Seachem Flourish for the past few months and its sufficient for my setup (previously i used Tropica Specialized and Premium)... though if you find that bio-load is insufficient to generate enough macro nutrients, then have to dose additional N and P to further support the plant growth.

The other leaves that are starting to exhibit this effect are probably just experiencing the delayed follow-on effects of nutrient deficiency, so they are already destined to deteriorate over time anyways (rather than a spread effect). The best thing to do is to just keeping trimming any affected leaves you spot as they will not recover anyways, that will help the plant redirect resources to grow new healthy leaves instead.

Since the affected leaves are probably not due to a plant disease, there shouldn't be a need to separate and quarantine it.

[jackychun]

Thanks UA! Your analysis really makes sense. In that case I need to trim most of the leaves off already since they getting worse. I don't know if the plant still can make it if only rhizomes and roots left?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ivan Choo]

I think you shouldn't remove all leaves together, better to have some leaves with better condition intact. I usually "peal" the leaves off by hand, not cut them. Doing so will ensure a clean break without leaving the root of the stem on the rhizome. Lastly you can consider moving them to another location in the tank, maybe with more flow and less light?

[Urban Aquaria]

Thanks UA! Your analysis really makes sense. In that case I need to trim most of the leaves off already since they getting worse. I don't know if the plant still can make it if only rhizomes and roots left?

If the rhizome is healthy and green, chances are it should still have some nutrient reserves to grow new leaves (even if all of them are trimmed off)... but it will take a while for such plants to recover.

I have gotten anubias in such terrible condition that all the leaves melted and only left the bare rhizome, i just left it in my tanks for a few weeks and gradually new leaves grew out, but the process is very slow.

If possible try to leave a few healthy leaves on the rhizome (or the least badly affected ones), so that it can still generate some extra energy for growth. When new healthy leaves grow out, then trim away the remaining melting leaves.

[jackychun]

Thanks Ivan and UA for your advice. I will keep the better condition leaves to see any improvements in the next few weeks. I have check the nitrate level in the tank and it show quite high at 20-40ppm. So I guess it is not Nitrogen deficiency. Hence, I dose Seachem Flourish and Seachem Phosphorus in for sufficient nutrient for plant.

The light in this tank is not strong as it use Up Aqua 3C series for nano tank only. I use Dophin H80 filter and increase flow rate to the max now. Hope it will have better flow circulation.

Is there any kind of filter that you all recommend for this small tank (25cmx17cmx21cmH) to get better flow circulation?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jackychun]

Most of the leftover leaves are getting worse as of today as it is melting.





I still keep the plants in the tank to observe further since the rhizomes still look quite OK.

The other anubias in the tank are still doing fine on the other hand. But from the lesson learnt, I am dosing in more nutrient daily now so that they can be grown healthily.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Urban Aquaria]

The light in this tank is not strong as it use Up Aqua 3C series for nano tank only. I use Dophin H80 filter and increase flow rate to the max now. Hope it will have better flow circulation.

Is there any kind of filter that you all recommend for this small tank (25cmx17cmx21cmH) to get better flow circulation?

That lightset you are using is actually okay for the tank, due to its lower height. So the plants should still grow well.

The H80 filter is also suitable for that tank size, i use the same filter for my small tanks too.

Alternatively, if you really want to improve filtration and circulation, can consider compact canister filters like Eden 501 or Shiruba XB-303 or ISTA 360. Just install a tap at the outflow hose to regulate the flow rate to match the tank size.

[jackychun]

That lightset you are using is actually okay for the tank, due to its lower height. So the plants should still grow well.

The H80 filter is also suitable for that tank size, i use the same filter for my small tanks too.

Alternatively, if you really want to improve filtration and circulation, can consider compact canister filters like Eden 501 or Shiruba XB-303 or ISTA 360. Just install a tap at the outflow hose to regulate the flow rate to match the tank size.

Thanks for your advice, UA. I might still try H80 for this time being since I find it perform quite well for this tank size. With the highest flow rate, it still can stir the substrate. For now, the leaves that melted become the good food for my fire red shrimps.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jackychun]

I have "peeled" off the bad condition anubias leaves as per Ivan's suggestion and dose more nutrients. Now I can see some hopes pop out from the rhizomes.



Hope the anubias can come back again!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ivan Choo]

The rhizome still looks healthy. It'll bounce back, don't worry.

[jackychun]

I hope so, Ivan! Really learn a lot from you guys! Appreciate it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk