Help with ID

[GeoCo]

I'd like to buy some more plants similar to the pics attached. They have long stems and broad greenish brown leaves.
Can anyone help with the identification of these?
Also any suggestions to stop algae growing on the edges of the leaves?

My tank is 450l, CO2 fed and fertiliser added daily.

 

[G H Nelson]

It could be Lagenandra sp below.

Lagenandra meeboldii "Rot" ("Red")

Lagenandra meeboldii originates from the south-Indian states Karnataka and Kerala on shaded marshy riverbanks up to a height of 1200 m above sea level.This Lagenandra is very variable, there are forms of different size, leaf form or colour....

www.flowgrow.de

 

[X3NiTH]

Looks like it may be Cryptcoryne Bullosa.

Unfortunately there is no quick fix for the black beard algae, you are best removing the affected leaves than trying to remove the algae from the leaves, this type of algae can penetrate leaf structure so attempt at mechanical removal usually ends up with damaging or tearing the leaf tissue, you are using CO2 and regular fertilisation which provides the best chance to replace the lost leaves quickly.

To reduce the incidence of BBA I would make sure that your CO2 is consistent daily and not fluctuating throughout the photo period, I would also try to be fastidious about cleanliness in the tank to reduce any organic detritus (uneaten food, decaying plant tissue etc.) for when it breaks down it can fuel the growth of BBA. There can be many factors at play with BBA so you may want to read the “What causes BBA” threads in the algae forums to get a better insight.

🙂

 

[X3NiTH]

Actually Lagenandra is a better match than my crypt suggestion.

 

[G H Nelson]

Good advice from @X3NiTH .......I have always associated BBA with organic waste and sporadic filter maintenance.

 

[GeoCo]

Looks like it may be Cryptcoryne Bullosa.

Unfortunately there is no quick fix for the black beard algae, you are best removing the affected leaves than trying to remove the algae from the leaves, this type of algae can penetrate leaf structure so attempt at mechanical removal usually ends up with damaging or tearing the leaf tissue, you are using CO2 and regular fertilisation which provides the best chance to replace the lost leaves quickly.

To reduce the incidence of BBA I would make sure that your CO2 is consistent daily and not fluctuating throughout the photo period, I would also try to be fastidious about cleanliness in the tank to reduce any organic detritus (uneaten food, decaying plant tissue etc.) for when it breaks down it can fuel the growth of BBA. There can be many factors at play with BBA so you may want to read the “What causes BBA” threads in the algae forums to get a better insight.

🙂

I've been removing older leaves but thought I'd ask re BBA. It is usually on the older leaves. Am I correct in turning CO2 off overnight? Currently comes on at 08:00 and off at 20:00. Lights come on: one 10:00 to 19:00 and the 2nd 11:00 to 18:50. The tank (450l) is filtered with 2 x Fluval 407's with maintenance staggered every two weeks so each one every 4 weeks. The fish tend to demolish any food within a few minutes so the tank is pretty clean. The 7 Cory's and 3 Marigold Bristlenose Plecs clear up. It's a pity the Plecs don't eat the BBA!!

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Tank looks good.

It's a pity the Plecs don't eat the BBA!!

You could try Ramshorn snail (<"Planorbella duryi">) if your water isn't too soft? They don't eat the mature BBA tufts, but they graze the sporeling off in the biofilm.

which provides the best chance to replace the lost leaves quickly.

That would be the thing to watch, just make sure <"you aren't removing leaves"> more quickly that they are growing.

cheers Darrel

 

[GeoCo]

You could try Ramshorn snail (<"Planorbella duryi">)

Could they breed and become a problem?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Could they breed

I'd certainly hope so.

My personal opinion is that a lot of the <"pest snail"> dialogue is created by people who want to sell you a product, either a snail you have to keep on buying (like Nerite), or a chemical like GastroPex, or <"an algicide"> etc.

If I had any of those agenda's? I would want to <"shoot the messenger"> too, otherwise all those revenue streams disappear.

Telling people <"that there is a simple solution">, that costs pennies as an initial purchase, and that you <"never need to purchase again"> would be commercial suicide.

and become a problem?

No, they don't eating living plants and you can crush them between thumb and forefinger, as fish food, if you really think you have too many.

I use them as a <"visible indication of dGH & dKH"> as well, mainly because I want to keep the water just hard and alkaline enough for them to maintain themselves.

Cheers Darrel

 

[X3NiTH]

Am I correct in turning CO2 off overnight? Currently comes on at 08:00 and off at 20:00. Lights come on: one 10:00 to 19:00

There’s no need to run the CO2 after the lights go out because by this point the plants will have switched to respirating and not up taking CO2 but giving it out, you can actually turn the CO2 off about an hour before lights out as the plants should have filled their requirement for it toward the end of that length of photoperiod.

You could try Ramshorn snail (<"Planorbella duryi">) if your water isn't too soft? They don't eat the mature BBA tufts, but they graze the sporeling off in the biofilm.

Could they breed and become a problem?

If the tank is Spartan clean and the fish can eat all the food before a Snail can reach it then the only food source left to them is either biofilm, palatable algae and decaying plant matter, they will only breed if you have more than one as even though they are hemaphrodite they can’t self fertilise. If the snails do manage to find a hidden source of food you are unaware of and they do breed they don’t reproduce anywhere near what Physella (pond snails) can so you don’t quite get an explosion, also because they are easy to see they are easy to remove if you feel that they have become a problem.

Telling people that there is a simple solution, that costs pennies as an initial purchase, and that you never need to purchase again would be commercial suicide.

And then you come across the subset of aquarists that will literally gag if you even say the word ‘Snail’, they are out there, they’re few but they’re out there!

🙂