[Is this a snail?]

Are they invasive and should I remove them?

[Is this a snail?]

I have a 5g community tank. Recently my snail passed away, and I took a trip to Aquarium Coop for some new plants. It’s been around a month since i had them, but I spotted this weird thing that moves, it looks like a snail but it has two shells…what is it? Also, is it an invasive species and should I remove it?

Thanks for the help!

[Anubias Barteri dying or melting or being eaten?]

On 10/14/2022 at 10:32 PM, Torrey said:

 

Let's start with the plant on the left:

A- algae is growing on a weakened plant. Either a nutritional, lighting, or carbon imbalance (frequently a combination of them) See chart to help identify deficiencies that make plants susceptible to being nibbled on, and susceptible to algae growth

B- Plant has cannibalized itself where the leaf meets the stem. This leaf can't repair itself, and is no longer feeding nutrients to the rhizome. It needs to be removed at this point. (Fun experiment: You can do the reverse respiration soak to kill the algae, and see if the single, salvaged leaf attempts to grow roots. I have had it happen, rarely. It's a type of propagation, and is always worth a try if you have the space and the patience)

C- Looks like some new growth, may also be an unhappy rhizome. My anubias do better when I suspend in the tank and don't let any part of the rhizome touch the bottom.

Plant on the right:

D- definitely an unhappy rhizome. Gently lift up and out of the tank. Rinse *very gently* in clear, dechlorinated water. Gently slough off any mold, mildew, or "funky smelling" parts. If it's mushy to the touch, get clean scissors (sterilize with rubbing alcohol, then rinse with distilled water, cut off the rot until you get to firm rhizome, then wipe scissors down with rubbing alcohol again. Please don't get any rubbing alcohol near your tank or near your plant, I don't want you to curse me when the alcohol kills the bacterial filtration in your tank if it somehow gets into your tank.😅

Once you have revealed some healthy rhizome, use Guppysnail's airline holder method of suspending the healthy rhizome in your tank. New groth will appear in 6 to 8 weeks, if we can identify what is causing the imbalance and correct it.

 

E- More algae, but this leaf still has a healthy stem, so it can probably be saved.

 

 

 

 

 

This is my favorite "identify the deficiency" chart.

Anytime a tank's balance is disturbed with a large water change, a fish/snail population explosion, a change in lighting, or even something as simple as a change in fertilization schedule/amounts, the tank is going to be "out of balance" until all the various components (fish/animal stock, plant stock, nutrients, pH, TDS, beneficial bacteria, etc) rediscover their "new" homeostasis "sweet spot".

This temporary imbalance (what I call growing pains in new tanks) causes a predictable sequence of algal growth. Having sufficient numbers of algae eaters (shrimp, snails, etc) will help shorten the amount of time the tank is in its "awkward teen stage". Diatom, followed by hair algae is a natural part of the cycle.

The anubias is telling you, something is out of balance.

The amount of algae in the tank is telling you there is an imbalance.

The lack of clarity in the water is saying there is an imbalance.

The rhizome condition is saying the rhizome isn't happy touching the substrate (some anubias can really be that picky. They give new meaning to "they need to feel free"). The most likely scenario, based on what I can see, is the rhizome on your one year old plant decided it didn't want to be on the substrate anymore, possibly a fish moved some substrate or mulm onto the rhizome, or it didn't appreciate a gravel vac that kicked something up on top of it.

Doesn't matter what started it disliking the substrate, now it's a matter of making her happy again. So move her off the substrate (some of mine don't even like to be touching wood. They want to free float, and find their own happy place).

The fuzzy stuff needs to come off, it's interfering with photosynthesis which causes an imbalance.

Personally, unless a tank is on CO2, I prefer siesta lighting so that I can see my tanks earlier in the morning, as well as later at night, when I can actually enjoy them. My plants are happier, and I no longer have algae problems, by limiting my tanks to 4 hours of light at a stretch. All of my tanks now have dimmable lights, so I start tanks at 10% lighting until plants are established, and increase by 10% every 2 weeks (this is a new approach, but all tanks and plants are responding well for nearly 6 months now).

My plants and tanks weren't always algae free, this past spring I was struggling with Blackbeard, cyanobacteria, filamentous green algae staghorn and hair algae.

This post on reverse respiration didn't save my temperamental Roseafolia (I didn't try it in time), but it did eliminate algae from everything else, improved plant health, and 3 months later I am very happy with the results.

 

Hope all of this helps! Don't give up, try to view it as a learning opportunity. I have no idea how many foreign languages you know, this is an opportunity for immersive learning of how to speak anubias. I see hopeful potential in each plant, I suspect the substrate touching them started an unhappy rhizome, which interfered with nutrient absorption, which made them vulnerable to algae, which has led to inadequate photosynthesis.

I would take them both out, clean any rhizome rot, soak *completely submerged* overnight in plain seltzer water (literally liquid CO2 in H2O) in a completely dark space (covering a container with a black plastic trash bag works), then rinse off with fresh, dechlorinated water in the morning (or just add an airstone and light after 12 hours to allow the plant to use the CO2).

While any affected plants are getting their spa treatment of reverse respiration, this is a good time to check that filters are working properly, water parameters have been staying stable, glass is cleaned, and change the light schedule if you aren't using CO2.

Check on the health of all residents in the tank.

Is there any decaying food?

Evidence of underfeeding/overfeeding?

Other plants having problems?

Notate what you discover, so you have a hard copy to refer back to. Memories are fallible to anchoring and selection bias. Physical notes make it easier to identify what is going on.

It'll take several weeks to see new growth to indicate if there are any environmental nutritional deficiencies, so be patient. Old growth can't heal, only new growth lets you know if you made the proper corrections.

Thank you for responding so throughly. It was a big help to me. What is guppysnail’s airline holder method?

Should I submerge them in carbonated water like talking rain?

[Anubias Barteri dying or melting or being eaten?]

Then why is the plant dying? There appears to be no growth. My other Anubias nana’s leaves started falling off too, and I bought it a year ago.

[Anubias Barteri dying or melting or being eaten?]

How do I cure/remove the cloudy water? I have been doing water changes with a siphon every week. I have my LED light for 7 and a half hours. Should I change the light hours? I have a sponge filter, and a heater.

[Anubias Barteri dying or melting or being eaten?]

On 10/10/2022 at 6:57 AM, JoeQ said:

Are you on a regular dosing schedule?  Is it getting enough light on account of the clarity of your water?

Can you add on to what the clarity of water is? Should I put in more or less light if my water is cloudy?

[What music are you listening to these days?]

 

[Anubias Barteri dying or melting or being eaten?]

Should I keep using easy green or just let it be?

[Anubias Barteri dying or melting or being eaten?]

On 10/7/2022 at 4:31 AM, JoeQ said:

What is your nutritional plan? It could be cannibalizing itself in search of nutrients.  Did you burry the rhizome? 

I did not bury the rhizome, I did put in easy green.

On 10/7/2022 at 3:48 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Normally melting only really happens around the leaf edge on anubias. Is there any new growth around the stem?

 Leaves are only falling off, there is no sign of growing.

[Anubias Barteri dying or melting or being eaten?]

So in the past week or too, I got an Anubias barteri. I don’t know why but its leaves have been falling off, and some of the leaves are partly transparent or have a hole. What is causing this and how do I fix it?

[Just a Pygmy Corydora's Journal]

My Anubias barteri is dying or melting, and my Kuhli loach has this very odd red line. What is the cause of this? I did get my honey gourami and named her Lemon! I hope she lives a long life.

[Just a Pygmy Corydora's Journal]

The Kuhli loach is doing worse. I am not sure what disease it has. There are white patches on its body. Is this normal?? I did start treating it with maracyn.

[Is my Kuhli loach sick?]

It was from Aquarium Co-op and it’s been a year since I got the loach. What medication should I use? I started using Maracyn.

[Just a Pygmy Corydora's Journal]

I am planning on getting a honey gourami once my Kuhli loach gets better. I don’t know what disease it has so I’m just putting in everything.

[Is my Kuhli loach sick?]

Ammonia is 0, nirates and nitrites are 0. I suspect it is a fungal infection.

[Is my Kuhli loach sick?]

On 8/21/2022 at 6:33 PM, anitstuk said:

What are your water parameters and what are the tank mates?

Tankmates are 5 Pygmy corydoras and a nerite snail. Parameters are 6.5

[Is my Kuhli loach sick?]

So one of my Kuhli loaches recently died, and had the same white spots as this one.

What disease is that? What meds do I have to put in? This has been going on for about a month now. Please help in any way you can. Thanks!

[Just a Pygmy Corydora's Journal]

Thanks @Hobbit, and hey, isn’t that fish in your profile picture a honey gourami? Also, will it act mostly like a shy betta?

[Just a Pygmy Corydora's Journal]

Would just one of the honey gouramis be suitable? I am also rescaping the tank for the better. I am also CONSIDERING an African dwarf frog.

[Just a Pygmy Corydora's Journal]

So do you think that a gourami will be a good addition to the tank? I do have a lid, and the aquarium is a mild jungle right now. The are no dither fish yet but I do still have the Pygmy cories.

[Just a Pygmy Corydora's Journal]

@Torreythanks. Do you think honey gouramis are better or sparkling gouramis? Perhaps powder blue gouramis?

[Just a Pygmy Corydora's Journal]

Kuhli loach is addicted to the heater. Planning to buy some sort of gourami in the tank, since a Kuhli loach suddenly died.

[More stocking on 5.5 gallon tank?]

It COULD work, but I think sparkling gouramis would be a smarter choice.

[How many YouTube channels?]

I have 104 subscriptions. Around half of them I actually watch, some are friends and family, and others have been inactive for a long time. Approximately 20 of those channels are aquarium-related. The remaining channels are just what interests me.

[Kuhli loach suddenly dead]

The temperature did not change in the aquarium and stayed between 70 and 75 Fahrenheit for as long as I remember. I did acclimate the fish for 30 minutes using the drip method. I bought the Kuhli loaches from aquarium coop on August 21, 2021.