doktor zhivago Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Got some new holes in my dwarf lily leaves. I have a mixed community tank of rasboras platys and cherry shrimp. There are also some scuds in the substrate but the platys brutally punish any that dare swim out in the open. Also none of the other plants that are much less exposed to the platys have any damage to them so I'm not convinced it's the scuds. The plant itself is enormous and very healthy so it doesn't seem like a nutrient issue? I don't give it root tabs even tho I've heard they're big root feeders because it's already so big I don't think it needs any help. Maybe I'm wrong about all of this and it is the scuds or a deficiency? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 This happens to mine when I forget to put root tabs under it for a long time. The whole dang leaf will start wilting and the stem will turn to mush. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLFishChik Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 When I had my Dwarf Lily (which I aptly named Audrey 2.0) it devoured root tabs. Every month I was surrounding it with 4 or 5. They are ridiculously heavy feeders 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktor zhivago Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 On 8/12/2020 at 9:50 PM, Cory said: You can definitely maximize here, but for me I like it to be super easy. I sprinkle fry food and green water in there to feed them. On 4/10/2024 at 8:55 AM, jwcarlson said: This happens to mine when I forget to put root tabs under it for a long time. The whole dang leaf will start wilting and the stem will turn to mush. i put some root tabs in so we'll see what happens. i pruned all the pads back about 2 weeks ago and its already taking off again. i don't mind honestly if it struggles a bit i just don't want it to completely melt and rot. i'm glad i got the 'dwarf' bulb instead of the full size.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 On 4/10/2024 at 9:37 AM, doktor zhivago said: i put some root tabs in so we'll see what happens. i pruned all the pads back about 2 weeks ago and its already taking off again. i don't mind honestly if it struggles a bit i just don't want it to completely melt and rot. i'm glad i got the 'dwarf' bulb instead of the full size.... In my experience it seems to recover pretty quickly. One of mine went bananas and shot out like 8 or 10 babies over the last year. It melts a bit, but as long as I get root tabs to it when it starts, it's not catastrophic. I should probably pull some of the baby ones out and get them into other aquariums. It might be my favorite plant other than hornwort. I don't have much luck with plants, but the aquarium lilies have done pretty well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle_Aquarist Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 On 4/10/2024 at 5:05 AM, doktor zhivago said: Got some new holes in my dwarf lily leaves. I have a mixed community tank of rasboras platys and cherry shrimp. There are also some scuds in the substrate but the platys brutally punish any that dare swim out in the open. Also none of the other plants that are much less exposed to the platys have any damage to them so I'm not convinced it's the scuds. The plant itself is enormous and very healthy so it doesn't seem like a nutrient issue? I don't give it root tabs even tho I've heard they're big root feeders because it's already so big I don't think it needs any help. Maybe I'm wrong about all of this and it is the scuds or a deficiency? Hi @doktor zhivago, The holes in your photo are not nutrient related. That is physical damage either caused by snails or a fish species like a pleco...but most likely snails since plecos typically do a 'path' of rasping on the leaf surface. Nutrient related 'holes', are typically related to insufficient available potassium (K) and are small, sometimes pinhole size and round, typically occur in older leaves first. and expand maintaining the round shape over time. Potassium is a mobile nutrient and plants will move it from older leaves to new growth if their is insufficient available in the substrate or water column. -Roy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 (edited) @Seattle_Aquarist Do you think it could be that the leaves develop pin holes and then the snails start eating on them making these holes? That's the way I have explained it to myself because the holes are pretty obviously snail "damage", but I have figured they started as nutrient deficiency. Edited April 10 by jwcarlson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle_Aquarist Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 On 4/10/2024 at 11:22 AM, jwcarlson said: @Seattle_Aquarist Do you think it could be that the leaves develop pin holes and then the snails start eating on them making these holes? That's the way I have explained it to myself because the holes are pretty obviously snail "damage", but I have figured they started as nutrient deficiency. Hi @jwcarlson, that is certainly a possibility but I don't really see the small black pinholes of necrotic tissue that would indicate a potassium deficiency. -Roy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktor zhivago Posted April 11 Author Share Posted April 11 On 4/10/2024 at 1:04 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said: Hi @doktor zhivago, The holes in your photo are not nutrient related. That is physical damage either caused by snails or a fish species like a pleco...but most likely snails since plecos typically do a 'path' of rasping on the leaf surface. Nutrient related 'holes', are typically related to insufficient available potassium (K) and are small, sometimes pinhole size and round, typically occur in older leaves first. and expand maintaining the round shape over time. Potassium is a mobile nutrient and plants will move it from older leaves to new growth if their is insufficient available in the substrate or water column. -Roy I turned on the tank light late last night after it had been dark for a long time and the plant was absolutely covered in snails. I knew I had a bunch of ramshorns but the amount that were out at night was staggering..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 Bladder snails and pond snails eat decaying matter and algae, they won't damage leaves. Apple snails and the mystery snails eat vegetable matter that's new and healthy. I am not sure about Rams horn etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktor zhivago Posted April 14 Author Share Posted April 14 On 4/13/2024 at 11:20 AM, johnnyxxl said: Bladder snails and pond snails eat decaying matter and algae, they won't damage leaves. Apple snails and the mystery snails eat vegetable matter that's new and healthy. I am not sure about Rams horn etc I'm still not convinced it's the ramshorns. Only the lilly is getting damaged but they're all over all the plants, so I suspect it might be my scuds nibbling on the leaves and the snails just taking advantage of the damage already done. I recently switched from feeding only dry foods to feeding bbs several times a week and I think the lack of flakes and pellets hitting the substrate has made all my inverts unhappy. I had some shrimps suddenly die and the water clouded up and I had to get an extra filter to clean it out. I switched back to feeding bbs only once a week and my tank seems to be doing better already in the past couple days and I see the shrimps being much more active and hiding less. It's endlessly fascinating how fragile these mini ecosystems are and how hard it is to balance everything right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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