Anubias Leaves Falling Off

[Thomas McMillan]

This tank was set up in January and has been added to gradually since then. I've had anubias in there from the start.

Obviously the ones that were added earlier on are doing better because they've had time to establish themselves.

I don't know where they're coming from, but lately I've noticed a lot of leaves floating at the top of the tank - Anubia sleaves that have fallen off. I must have taken out at least ten.

I think the reason might have been I packed them in too closely and didn't give them enough space to themselves. I've sorted this out, but even so if this doesn't work has anyone got an ideas/suggestions/whatever?

The tank is 28l, 11w lighting, good filtration, I only dose Flourish Excel and TPN+ whenever I get a chance, which is basically once every month.

 

[ceg4048]

...I only dose Flourish Excel and TPN+ whenever I get a chance, which is basically once every month...

That might be a good place to start in your troubleshooting mate.

Cheers,

 

[Thomas McMillan]

...I only dose Flourish Excel and TPN+ whenever I get a chance, which is basically once every month...

That might be a good place to start in your troubleshooting mate.

Cheers,

Do you think? I thought they'd be okay, I've seen many other tanks where people dose this loosely with good results.

How much/often would you recommend I dose?

 

[ceg4048]

Yes, but one has to be very careful when copying other peoples procedures. Do you have their water? Do you have their stocking levels? Do you have their maintenance practices?

Adding Excel once a month seems counterproductive to me. I mean, why bother? That's like doing a water change on a non-injected tank. Once a month the CO2 levels rise which disrupts the plants CO2 sensing mechanism. One has to decide whether this is a non-injected tank or not. So there is a fundamental issue there because what you do to the tank affects how the plants behave.

There is very little els that will affect growth performance. Light, CO2, nutrients and temperature. That's it. I'm not drawing any conclusions or saying it's definitely this or that because I can't see the tank on a daily basis, but these are the only areas worth investigating unless there is something bizarre happening like Agent Orange intrusion or Gamma Radiation from extra-terrestrials.

Flow is always an issue, but only to the extent that it affects the distribution of nutrients/CO2.

If this is a non-CO2 tank then it ought to be treated as such which means no water changes and no Excel addition. If the tank is only lightly stocked, and the tap water is not rich in nutrients then one has to consider at least a bi-weekly addition of macronutrients. Barr's non-CO2 method calls for 1/8 and 1/32 teaspoon of KNO3 and KH2PO4 respectively once a week or two. A 1/4 teaspoon per 20 gallon of GH Booster with similar frequency takes care of the micronutrients. If using TPN+ then dose at least per bottle instruction.

If you're going to use Excel then this is the same as an injected tank and therefore the Excel ought to be dosed at least every other day for consistent results. If so then the nutrient requirements increase and you have to use more TPN+.

So these are the first areas to address. If leaf loss continues then one has to think about investigating the X-Files, but generally this is the most logical troubleshooting path because structural failure is typically a result of sub-par nutrition, not generally a result of an alien presence.

Cheers,

 

[aaronnorth]

dosing extra trace seems to go down well, as seen by Paulo's anubias

 

[Thomas McMillan]

Thanks for all the info 😀 that's really helpful.

This is a non-CO2-injection tank and stocking is neither under or over-stocked.

So I gather it's ok to dose TPN+ according to the bottle, no Excel and a water change say once a month?

 

[ceg4048]

Well, water changes should be avoided except for once or twice a year max. Doing a water change once a month is about the same as adding Excel once a month. Dose TPN+ per bottle instruction and see how things go after about three weeks. If things don't improve then double the dosage and take another reading.

Cheers,