Another Anubias Question

[KatieF]

Hi all!

I’m back with another question for my fellow nerms. I have 2 fancy goldfish in a 20 gallon, up and running since early May. (Side note: Yes, I know they’ll need a tank upgrade eventually. 🙂) 

My question is about my anubias. It’s failing to thrive. It is growing new leaves, but old leaves are getting covered in algae and are looking pretty spotted. Nitrates in this tank stay low - I don’t think I’ve ever tested above 10. I use easy green, and have lately been double dosing every 2 weeks. This is not a deliberate strategy, but a result of an overwhelming life getting in the way.

Lights are on typically 12 hours a day. I turn them on sometime after I get up and shut them off last thing before bed. Intensity is already on the lowest setting. This tank is in my bedroom and I just love watching it when I’m in there, so reducing the time lights are on would be my last choice. 

There is frogbit in the tank that is crazy happy and grows like mad. About once a month I reduce to 4-5 nice plants and trim all roots. By the next month there is no empty space on top of the tank, and the roots have a jungle half way down the tank. 

I started using wonder shells, and did a small shell the middle of September, the middle of October, and now it’s due again. The two I added completely dissolved in a few days. 

There is no heater in this tank. My house runs on the colder side, so right now the tank is 62. It shouldn’t get much colder than that. 

I’m terrible at matching colors on the test strip, but attached is a picture if you’re able to tell anything from it. 

I don’t need a pristine tank and I don’t mind algae at all, but I do like the anubias and I don’t want to see it die out on me. 

So… nutrient deficiency? Too much light? Too little? Too much algae blocking leaves?

I’m not completely opposed to adding algae eater fish, but are there any for that tank size and water temperature? I do LOVE snails of any kind. I have trumpet, ramshorn, pond, and bladder snails between my 3 other tanks, but not an explosion of population in any of them. (That’s a later question - I’ve been TRYING to grow population the last few months and can’t seem to gain much.) Between all 3 tanks I could probably gather up a few bigger ramshorns, hopefully too big for the goldfish to eat. But I might get 10 or so if I’m lucky. (Seriously, how does everyone else get hundreds of these things??)

Thanks so much for any advice or ideas!

Note I took the posted pictures right after I pulled out and cut the frogbit so the tank is all stirred up. Water is normally very clear. Also, I have 1 spider plant and 2 pothos on top of the tank, so those are the other roots you can see. 
 

[Tanked]

I think I would start with 1 pump of Easy Green every other day, or two, and buy a timer.  I believe the Pothos and Frogbit are hogging all of the Nutrients.  For about $10.00 you can buy a timer with dual settings so you can turn the light off at some point when you aren't in the room, (siesta) and on again later.  You could also shave a little bit of time off of either end of your day.  The damaged leaves will not improve, but the new leaves help you determine what you need to do next.  I would try to keep the Nitrates  at a minimum of 20.

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/15/2023 at 4:14 PM, KatieF said:

Lights are on typically 12 hours a day. I turn them on sometime after I get up and shut them off last thing before bed

Cut the light to 6 hours until you see the anubias thriving and be sure to dose in your ferts. 8 hours is about the max you want to shoot for with 10 being about as high as I've ever been comfortable pushing it.

That being said, anubias is all about placement. If you're seeing green spot algae, the plant might just be too close to the light. BBA could be indicative of too much flow hitting a struggling plant and then it spreads from there.

Looking at the photos you have a very heavily caked in algae plant as well as leaves that are curling.

I would recommend the above light time changes as well as finding a riser for the light (if it is one that is on top of the lid).  These are on Etsy or you can make one out of Legos if you're feeling creative. Essentially, you'll get a lot better spread for the floating plants and won't burn them.  You'll back off the intensity of the anubias and give it a chance to recover.

So...

1. Let's fix the light window, drop light settings to 15-25% power (lower is better), and install a light riser.

2. Let's make sure ferts are happening.

3. Let's absolutely make sure we use something like a toothbrush and clean leaves off. You can also use an art brush and "paint on" hydrogen peroxide.

To do this, just pull the wood, or drop the waterline, and then paint on a section. Repeat that for a few days and you'll be good to go. You should see that alone make it easier to clean off any stubborn algae.

4. Remove any dying leaves and check the rhizome for any brown mush/rotting parts.

5. Make sure you're cleaning the substrate and filtration.

6. Consider attaching the anubias to other places so it's not sitting directly under the strongest part of the light.

7. Consider trying something easy in the foreground. I am not sure what works with goldfish. I would say microsword could.