Why did my Anubias Barteri rhizome rot?

[AndreaW]

I have only had this Anubias Barteri in my tank 2-3 weeks and it was glued to a rock, nestled between some spider wood. The rhizome was exposed. It fell apart as I was cleaning. The leaves and some of the roots are still firm but the entire rhizome is mush. My Anubias Nano Petite (Front center, also glued to a rock) had some leaves that were mushy at the base, but overall it still seems fine and the rhizome is firm. All other Anubias and Java in the tank are fine so far (I think). It was the center plant in the tank.

Any idea what could have caused this? I would like to try again. Maybe there wasn't enough water circulating around the rhizome? Maybe the biofilm on the spider wood affected it?

[Seattle_Aquarist]

Hi @AndreaW

This not not something you did.  The rhizome no doubt had the fungus / disease when you purchased it.  It is called exactly what you described - "Anubias Rot" and it started showing up on plants in tanks around the early 2000's.  It can spread to other Anubias in a tank so be on the lookout but does not seem to effect other plant species or fish.  Here is a link to two forums that have multiple threads about Anubias Rot.

https://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/search/21451/?q=ANUBIAS+ROT&t=post&o=relevance

https://www.plantedtank.net/search/131976/?q=anubias+rot&o=relevance

Sorry, I wish I had better news for you. -Roy

[Jennifer V]

You may be able to contact the seller and receive a refund for the affected plants. It's definitely frustrating to have anubias rot away like that. I bought four for my 5g and three had rot but luckily, one survived even though it was right next to another affected plant. It seems like there is no rhyme or reason to the disease. 

[AndreaW]

On 2/12/2022 at 5:41 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said:

"Anubias Rot"

Sorry, I wish I had better news for you. -Roy

Thanks Roy. It sounds like I'm in for it since I only have Anubias and Java -- and unfortunately Anubias is my favorite! It sounds like it might eventually kill off all the Anubias in the tank.

Now the question I have is will it always affect Anubias in my tank, or should I be okay after a certain time to add more Anubias (assuming it does kill them all off)? 

[AndreaW]

On 2/12/2022 at 7:28 PM, Jennifer V said:

luckily, one survived even though it was right next to another affected plant. It seems like there is no rhyme or reason to the disease. 

That's good to hear. Hopefully only the two will be affected. Anubias is my favorite by far so I'm really sad. 

I'll contact customer service but I'm not sure if I should get a replacement or give it time to see if all the Anubias are affected? 

[Jennifer V]

On 2/12/2022 at 7:52 PM, AndreaW said:

That's good to hear. Hopefully only the two will be affected. Anubias is my favorite by far so I'm really sad. 

I'll contact customer service but I'm not sure if I should get a replacement or give it time to see if all the Anubias are affected? 

They may be able to give you some insight as far as whether you should try replacements or not. I opted for bucephalandra to replace mine because I was concerned if I got new anubias they would rot too. But like I said, the other anubias in the tank are fine so maybe you could try again? 

[Seattle_Aquarist]

On 2/12/2022 at 6:47 PM, AndreaW said:

Now the question I have is will it always affect Anubias in my tank, or should I be okay after a certain time to add more Anubias (assuming it does kill them all off)? 

Hi @AndreaW  I've read posts that say it can live dormant and then return when new Anubias are added.  I've never had this issue myself but I remember reading many posts about it in the past but this is the first one I've seen in the last few years. -Roy

[whomeverwiz]

I just got into the hobby last summer, and the very first anubias plant I put in my tank rotted away over a few weeks. I had no idea what was going on, but I trimmed away all of the rhizome except for a tiny bit with the hopes something would survive. The miniscule portion of rhizome has grown new leaves and is coming back to life... however it's a quarter-sized plant now instead of a soda can.

I have purchased new anubias of different varieties from different sellers, but none have been immune. I've done great with all the rest of my plants, but I'm worse than 50/50 with anubias. It's super frustrating because it's my favorite plant to look at!

[AndreaW]

On 2/23/2022 at 10:18 AM, whomeverwiz said:

I just got into the hobby last summer, and the very first anubias plant I put in my tank rotted away over a few weeks. I had no idea what was going on, but I trimmed away all of the rhizome except for a tiny bit with the hopes something would survive. The miniscule portion of rhizome has grown new leaves and is coming back to life... however it's a quarter-sized plant now instead of a soda can.

I have purchased new anubias of different varieties from different sellers, but none have been immune. I've done great with all the rest of my plants, but I'm worse than 50/50 with anubias. It's super frustrating because it's my favorite plant to look at!

I know the rhizome can rot from too much glue and other factors besides "Anubias Rot". Curious if yours smelled? Mine had a horrible smell you could pick up a few feet away. There was nothing left of the rhizome on my Barteri to do anything with. Most of the roots were also gone, with only a few white tips left. The base of the leaves were mush too. It seemed to happen quite quickly; one day it looked fine and two days later it disintegrated when I bumped it, even though the leaves still looks beautiful. 

I did contact customer service and sent them the photos and they refunded the money. I'm just bummed as Anubias is my favorite. I still have two Anubias Golden in the tank I"m keeping an eye on but so far they have been okay. (fingers crossed)

[whomeverwiz]

I don't recall an odor, but my wife informs me that I have a terrible sense of smell. The first plant was rubberbanded to a rock, no glue. Other plants have been glued conservatively to rocks or wood. So far I have trimmed the rot and each plant has survived, but they are a fraction of their former size.

[anewbie]

I've had several anubias rot in my aquarium. I hope it can't spread; but it seems to happen to several of my older plants (2+ years). In my case the plants were quite large and the rot wasn't totality with part of the plants salvage though it might come back. 

 

I've also had several plants from one particular store (not sure i'm allowed to mention it) that have mostly rotted after a couple of months. Most of them were gold green nana; which is a lovely plant and quite annoying that it rots. I - of course - will no longer buy plants from that store.

-

Not sure it actually spreads from one plant to the next as I have several anubia in the same aquarium that have not rotted after 2 years.

[AndreaW]

On 2/23/2022 at 10:42 AM, whomeverwiz said:

I don't recall an odor, but my wife informs me that I have a terrible sense of smell.

  I don't think you could have missed the smell! It is like rotting garbage. It smelled even after drying out after I took it out and photographed it (I kept it wrapped in a paper towel until I got a response from customer service.)