Teeny Tiny Plants!

[Volcano]

Look! I have miniature plants! No, but I almost killed them several years ago, they sent up these little babies as a last resort, now the little guys have not grown ONE BIT.  I DISTINCTLY remember these plants used to be bigger. I have sufficient lighting, and fertilizer. I am cheap, so I have neglected carbon dioxide...but I swear I bought Amazon swords and anubias nana...or was it barteri? I don't know anymore. Can you give me some advice for making them grow???

-edit: ran out of superglue-where can I find lots for cheap?

Edited March 11, 2021 by Volcano

[FrozenFins]

For the amazon swords I find that all they need to grow monsterious are root tabs. Amazon Swords are heavy root feeders and don't need a fertilizer and will do far much better with JUST root tabs. I would suggest root tabs like the Easy Root Tabs.

For the anubius, there isn't a whole lot you can do. Anubius nana petite are fairly small plants and on top of that are very slow growers. Just continue dosing your fertilizer, the root tabs wont do much for them as they are rhizome plants meaning that they grab the majority of their nutrients from the water colum.

 

[gardenman]

The plants on the rocks appear to be Anubias Nana Petite. They don't grow quickly, but are pretty darn indestructible in my tanks. The two plants in the bottom left look more like Cryptocorynes to me than than sword plants. The top left one in particular. It looks like it has ruffled edges on the leaves. The other one could be a sword plant. The advice given by JamesB is dead on. 

[Jungle Fan]

I'm with @gardenmanon the I.D.Anubias nana petite, and crypts, the Anubias nana petite will stay small, and the crypts are root feeders and thrive on root tabs because they crave that iron and potassium.

[Jungle Fan]

The super glue you can get at Wal-Mart as long as you get the Gorilla gel type; will give that wallet a break over using Seachem's products as well.

[Volcano]

1 minute ago, Jungle Fan said:

The super glue you can get at Wal-Mart as long as you get the Gorilla gel type; will give that wallet a break over using Seachem's products as well.

Thanks, Jungle Fan!!

[Brandy]

The anubias nana petit will grow more quickly with an extra shot of potassium I have found. I have a bonsai covered with it. It seemed frozen in time, until I started fertilizing consistently with extra potassium AND a bit of easygreen

[Ken]

On 3/11/2021 at 7:22 PM, Brandy said:

extra shot of potassium

@Brandy What do you use? I'm starting to see some holey leaves.

[Brandy]

I had some brighty K that was given to me--waaay too rich for my blood. I bought Seachem potassium.

[Will Billy]

On 3/11/2021 at 8:22 PM, Brandy said:

The anubias nana petit will grow more quickly with an extra shot of potassium I have found.

I can second that observation. My java fern was displaying potassium deficiency, and my anubias is growing like gang buster after adding it for my java fern. 

[gardenman]

Yeah, there are the "big three" ingredients in fertilizer in nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. Nitrogen promotes green leafy growth and is very high in fertilizers for things like grass as a result. Phosphorous is more important for flower and fruit production, not a big issue in aquariums as a rule. Potassium is important for good root development and overall plant health. Most general purpose aquarium fertilizers have a lot of nitrogen (nitrates),  a tick of Phosphorous (might as well), and then a decent amount of potassium. If you're short on potassium, it'll hurt the plants. Magnesium and sulfur can also play pretty big roles in plant growth which is why some people add epsom salt to their water. (I don't but I've read of others doing so.) 

[Daniel]

And a limitation in a critical nutrient can cause the plants to be stunted even if other nutrients are available in abundance.

[Lifeisgood]

This thread has been helpful to me too.  I am seeing some holes in some of my slow growers too. Any suggestions as to what form to buy potassium and do they give dosages on the packaging?  I use easy green liquid and root tabs for root feeders, but the rhizome plants are getting holes.

[gardenman]

If your tanks are consistently low in potassium you might consider changing fish foods to one higher in potassium. You can supplement many of the lesser nutrients plants need by using a fish food that's richer in those ingredients. The fish will absorb what they need and poop out the excess which will then become part of your tank's ecosystem. It's the lazy person's way to supplement the tanks. Instead of having to remember to dose the tank with potassium, you're doing it every time you feed the fish. The more you feed the fish, the more you're supplementing the tank. If you have plecos (also knows as poop generating eating machines) and you feed them high potassium foods like spinach, sweet potato, zucchini, etc. you'll likely raise your potassium levels without even trying and have fat, happy plecos in the process. They will gorge on those foods and poop out loads of potassium. (Along with other stuff.)

[Lifeisgood]

13 hours ago, gardenman said:

If your tanks are consistently low in potassium you might consider changing fish foods to one higher in potassium. You can supplement many of the lesser nutrients plants need by using a fish food that's richer in those ingredients. The fish will absorb what they need and poop out the excess which will then become part of your tank's ecosystem. It's the lazy person's way to supplement the tanks. Instead of having to remember to dose the tank with potassium, you're doing it every time you feed the fish. The more you feed the fish, the more you're supplementing the tank. If you have plecos (also knows as poop generating eating machines) and you feed them high potassium foods like spinach, sweet potato, zucchini, etc. you'll likely raise your potassium levels without even trying and have fat, happy plecos in the process. They will gorge on those foods and poop out loads of potassium. (Along with other stuff.)

Thanks for this suggestion.  Veggies coming up!  😊