Cycling New Aquarium with Plants (new to Plants)

[Mary Mckinny]

I am currently cycling a brand new 75G tank, its been up for a week now, and I believe its in the Nitrogen spike. I am fishless cycling so fish food is being added along with bacteria (the refrigerated kind)  and fertilizer for the plants. I have Very small Amazon swords and two types of Anubis. Taller Anubis that I cant remember the name of and some Nano petits. The Taller Anubis are melting back greatly, while cycling should I cut the dying leaves or leave them in the tank and on the plant for ammonia production?

 

Pictures below are Tank on day plants were added and today one week later.

[Patrick_G]

I always cut off my dead or dying leaves so the plant puts its energy into new growth. I think that is more important than the Ammonia the rotting leaves will contribute to your fishless cycle. 

Edited July 27, 2021 by Patrick_G

[FrozenFins]

Welcome to Plant Keeping!

Your anubias is called "anubias nanna petite" I believe is what you were trying to say.

I have created a playlist with youtube videos that have tremendously helped me in my aquatic plant keeping journey. I would encourage you to take a look:

 

[Mary Mckinny]

On 7/27/2021 at 3:17 PM, James Black said:

Welcome to Plant Keeping!

Your anubias is called "anubias nanna petite" I believe is what you were trying to say.

I have created a playlist with youtube videos that have tremendously helped me in my aquatic plant keeping journey. I would encourage you to take a look:

 

Yes My smaller ones are "anubias nanna petite" I have Larger ones that are melting that are a different type of anubias but I cant remember the name of them, I got them from my LFS and am pretty sure they were grown out of water and I am seeing the melt back.

I've watched the Plants deficiencies 101 video, but they don't answer my questions, I am working with a brand new uncycled tank, with New to the aquarium plants,  its only mentioned in passing that new to aquarium plants will melt back (turn brown and yellow) but I was not seeing information on what to do in regards to that plant. Should I :

• A) Cut dying leaves and leave in tank for nutrients?
• B) Cut dying leaves and Remove from Tank?
• C) Leave the dying leaves on the plant and wait for new growth?

I tied the Taller anubias, to some sticks as I was told to not plant in substrate, but the roots appear to be covered with a Bio-film from the wood, should I remove the plant and rinse this off, or leave it be and wait? There are no fish in the tank to eat it and I don't know if its harming the plant or not.

[Patrick_G]

Are you talking about the plant on the right side? I’m not exactly sure that one is an anubias, but I’m a newbie and it’s hard to tell from the pic. I think it’s fairly uncommon to have that much melt from an Anubias, especially after one week in the tank. 

[Mary Mckinny]

On 7/27/2021 at 4:31 PM, Patrick_G said:

Are you talking about the plant on the right side? I’m not exactly sure that one is an anubias, but I’m a newbie and it’s hard to tell from the pic. I think it’s fairly uncommon to have that much melt from an Anubias, especially after one week in the tank. 

Yes, the one on the right with a single green leaf left, I am not concerned with what Type of anubias it is, I really am looking for how I can help it, Or is it beyond help?

[FrozenFins]

What are your water parameters? You said you had the rhizome tied to a peice of wood? 

[Mary Mckinny]

On 7/27/2021 at 6:57 PM, James Black said:

What are your water parameters? You said you had the rhizome tied to a peice of wood? 

Yes the Plants were tied to a Piece of wood. I went to my LFS and talked to them, I am still cycling the tank so my parameters are high Ammonia ~ 2.00ppm, Nirates ~2.0 PPM Nitrite ~20 PPM, and PH was ~7.4. The tank is sitting at 79-80 degrees. The Tank has no animals in it, and its only room heated, light was indirect sunlight from a window, I just got an actual light yesterday

I decided to remove the plants to trim off the dead/ dying leaves and they all fell off so now they are just a rhizome with roots, I put them back in the tank not tied to anything. Hoping they recover.

 

The anubia is a anubias frazeri

Edited July 28, 2021 by Mary Mckinny

[Guppysnail]

Cut and remove. Your plant will use all the ammonia to produce new and you will have a beautiful plant. Leaving the leaves on hinders the plant. Leaving them in the tank is unnecessary and messy and you do not want ammonia to go to high it will stall or crash your cycle. Just a tip fish food directly releases nitrite so just having nitrite during fishless using food is no guarantee you are at stage 2. Make sure your ammonia is decreasing not just nitrite increase. Hope that helps. 
rhizome alone is a 50/50 chance of recovery 

Edited July 28, 2021 by Guppysnail
Add info

[Mary Mckinny]

On 7/28/2021 at 3:52 AM, Guppysnail said:

Cut and remove. Your plant will use all the ammonia to produce new and you will have a beautiful plant. Leaving the leaves on hinders the plant. Leaving them in the tank is unnecessary and messy and you do not want ammonia to go to high it will stall or crash your cycle. Just a tip fish food directly releases nitrite so just having nitrite during fishless using food is no guarantee you are at stage 2. Make sure your ammonia is decreasing not just nitrite increase. Hope that helps. 
rhizome alone is a 50/50 chance of recovery 

Thank you, this helps tremendously, The rhizome is all that is left on the plants, took them out to trim it the leaves completely detached, I put the rhizome and roots back into the tank, hoping they recover.  How long before you consider the plant dead beyond recovery?

Edited July 28, 2021 by Mary Mckinny

[Guppysnail]

As long as rhizome is green and firm leave it. If it loses color or gets mushy throw it out. 2 weeks- month maybe

[Jungle Fan]

As @Guppysnail said if you notice the rhizome to turn brown and get mushy take the Anubias out immediately and get rid of it. Anubias rot is a relatively new disease that can befall only the different varieties of Anubias species, it can infect a whole tank with different types of Anubias in a matter of days. How exactly it works is not quite known yet but according to some reports it might be related to varieties of Anubias like variegated, and Gold Coin that were created by growers through manipulation with viruses.

As long as it's just the leaves that melt you can cut them off and let the healthy plant build new leaves, Anubias are very resilient.  I've previously had them in a paludarium, moving them back and forth between emersed, and submersed without melt, but if some melt occurs just cut the affected leaves off, the plant will build new ones. You can even multiply the plant if it gets to big by cutting the rhizome into several portions with a clean razorblade and it will develop these pieces into full grown plants.

Only if the rhizome wastes away will you know it is rot, and at that point, at least for now there is nothing that will save it.