Anubias Golden Problem

[Martin]

Good morning all,

I have been having an inconsistently consistent problem each time I plant anubias golden.  Roughly half these that I plant tend to begin losing their leaves starting with some decay right at the base where the leaf connects at the stem.  Since the stem is the leaf's lifeline, it pretty much dooms the leaf as it slows creeps outward to until the leaf is too brittle to stay attached and eventually breaks/floats away.  This has only happened to me with this particular species of anubias and yet, it does not happen to all of them.  Some of these are newly planted so maybe normal melt?  Though at other times, it happens to some that have been established, though it is less prevalent.  I don't THINK it is a nutrient deficiency as I would expect the problem to be prevalent with all of the goldens...  I read up on anubias rot, but the rhizomes are strong an healthy and the leaves are not breaking off at the stem/rhizome junction.  Any thoughts?  Thank you in advance!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/27/2023 at 11:08 AM, Martin said:

Good morning all,

I have been having an inconsistently consistent problem each time I plant anubias golden.  Roughly half these that I plant tend to begin losing their leaves starting with some decay right at the base where the leaf connects at the stem.  Since the stem is the leaf's lifeline, it pretty much dooms the leaf as it slows creeps outward to until the leaf is too brittle to stay attached and eventually breaks/floats away.  This has only happened to me with this particular species of anubias and yet, it does not happen to all of them.  Some of these are newly planted so maybe normal melt?  Though at other times, it happens to some that have been established, though it is less prevalent.  I don't THINK it is a nutrient deficiency as I would expect the problem to be prevalent with all of the goldens...  I read up on anubias rot, but the rhizomes are strong an healthy and the leaves are not breaking off at the stem/rhizome junction.  Any thoughts?  Thank you in advance!

Anubias don't get planted into substrate; they (as well as java fern and bucephelandra) need to have their roots free and will feed from the water column. Most people attach their anubias to rocks or driftwood, but a shortcut is to just put a plant weight around the stems (not the rhizome) and that will keep it from floating around. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/how-to-plant-anubias-or-java-fern-on-rocks

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Martin]

Lol sorry, I should have chosen my words more carefully.  All of my epiphytes are tied down to rocks and wood.  I meant "planted" in a general sense.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/27/2023 at 11:59 AM, Martin said:

Lol sorry, I should have chosen my words more carefully.  All of my epiphytes are tied down to rocks and wood.  I meant "planted" in a general sense.

No glue used in your case?  Only thread or fishing line?

[Martin]

Yes sir, just thread.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

What kind of ferts are you using? Tagging @Mmiller2001 here who is really good w/ plants.

[Martin]

EzGreen 2mls about 2x weekly.  I say about because I've never fully gotten the hang of balancing my tanks to combat algea, so I'm watching my lighting and adjusting my ferts accordingly.  I also give a small dose of potassium supplement once a week for the Java ferns and have a few ACO root tabs down by my swords.

[Mmiller2001]

How many gallons is the tank? And what’s the pH?

[anewbie]

anubias don't need a lot of fertilizer; as most are found in relatively soft water. The roots should be on wood - i forget the exact reason but they function better on wood than rocks. water chemistry will impact them - also for reasons i don't fully understand i have found the golden variety more prone to rot.

[Martin]

20 gallons, pH pretty much smack dab 7.0.

I didn't know about the whole wood vs. rock pro's/con's.  All of mine are usually attached to small rocks to allow me to adjust their position if needed.  Regardless, this problem doesn't seem to be falling along those lines.

Edited July 28, 2023 by Martin

[MattyM]

I have one of these, and have fairly hard water and a ph of around  7.5/8. I bought it from Co-op, which has soft water. This species seems to be a little more fragile than the greener, more common kinds. I have one of these, along with several standard "green" ones, all from the co-op, all glued to wood or rocks, in the same tank - and this was the only one that had a hard time taking off. Now, several months later, it's finally seems to have settled in and I have new growth starting. It also gets the least amount of light, and is in a low tech tank FWIW. It's my betta's favorite hiding spot now.

 

 

[Mmiller2001]

On 7/28/2023 at 1:46 PM, Martin said:

20 gallons, pH pretty much smack dab 7.0.

I didn't know about the whole wood vs. rock pro's/con's.  All of mine are usually attached to small rocks to allow me to adjust their position if needed.  Regardless, this problem doesn't seem to be falling along those lines.

What’s your water change schedule and filtration?

[Martin]

Quote

What’s your water change schedule and filtration?

Roughly 20% weekly, using a HOB with a sponge on the intake and the usual goodness inside the HOB (additional sponge, porous filter media for colonization, and filter floss).  Just to fill in the remaining gaps:

Nitrate 20-40
Nitrite 0
dKH 6.7
dGH 3.4

[Mmiller2001]

On 7/29/2023 at 11:12 AM, Martin said:

Roughly 20% weekly, using a HOB with a sponge on the intake and the usual goodness inside the HOB (additional sponge, porous filter media for colonization, and filter floss).  Just to fill in the remaining gaps:

Nitrate 20-40
Nitrite 0
dKH 6.7
dGH 3.4

I’d up the fertilizer dose a bit.