• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Plant id and nutrition help please

Frenchi

Frenchi

Member
Joined
15 Jan 2014
Messages
670
Location
West Yorkshire
Hi ppl
This plant is very slow growing I haven't a clue what it is but it's spreading.. I don't even remember planting it, what I do know is that it always seems a pale green and it seems to pin hole quickly..

Could you help with the ID of it and also what can I do to help it grow a little better ..

I dose full standard Ei and pressurised co2 that bounces off the bottom of the tank 🙂

Thank you


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk31295ff104921cee714a46678093fd0d.jpg
 
Hi
Confusingly it looks like my Hygrophila Corymbosa.
But normally it's a quicker grower.Pinholes in Hygro's are usually co2 or K related I think.
 
Hygrophila-polysperma-2.jpg

I think it might be Hygrophila polysperma? And if dosing EI, pinholes are due to co2 defficiency normally. Unfortunately all plants dont have the same co2 demand and many things in the plant and outside it affect this demand. It might get better with time. Otherwise if you want to fix it you can up co2 a little bit or try to cover the light hitting the plant with something (maybe another plant?).
 
Thank you guys . I think your right on the co2 I'm on the limit for the fish and shrimp so it will have to put up with what it's getting lol .. 🙂


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I think you have Hygrophila corymbosa variant siamensis - and probaply siamensis variant "53B"........the relatively slim, bright green and pointed leaves indicate this plant. Hyg. polysperma usually don't have that slim leaves, and much less pointed.
In short; Hygrophila c. siamensis '53 B'
This variety is vey common, and can grow plants from a single, loose leaf (like most Hygrophila), making a "hitch hiker" very possible !! It is also considerably better at branching, then standard Hyg. corymbosa and the leaves are a brighter, light green colour.
- this variety also sometimes seem to prefere a little more CO2, than most other Hygrophila. Just like Hyg. pinnatifida does. Often the problem solves itself, as the plant grow bigger and stronger.
A very nice plant, that I personally use quite a lot for it's bright and bushy appearance and (relatively) moderate growth tempo.......
 
I know you are dosing potassium nitrate but some plants need a bit more potassium. I think I found I improved this problem by adding potassium sulfate for some of my Hygrophila variants......Right before my SAE ate it all. lol. I don't use CO2, only liquid carbon, so am only inputting my small amount of knowledge. Also this list suggests pinholes are potassium related. http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/deficiencies.htm
 
Mick.Dk said:
I think you have Hygrophila corymbosa variant siamensis - and probaply siamensis variant "53B"........the relatively slim, bright green and pointed leaves indicate this plant. Hyg. polysperma usually don't have that slim leaves, and much less pointed.
In short; Hygrophila c. siamensis '53 B'
This variety is vey common, and can grow plants from a single, loose leaf (like most Hygrophila), making a "hitch hiker" very possible !! It is also considerably better at branching, then standard Hyg. corymbosa and the leaves are a brighter, light green colour.
- this variety also sometimes seem to prefere a little more CO2, than most other Hygrophila. Just like Hyg. pinnatifida does. Often the problem solves itself, as the plant grow bigger and stronger.
A very nice plant, that I personally use quite a lot for it's bright and bushy appearance and (relatively) moderate growth tempo.......
Click to expand...
Mick this seems like a logical explanation to be honest.. I'm going to try and up the co2 a little more as the pinna holed aswell.. I know for sure the flow is right as it moves the tiny tears lol .. I'll up the co2 today,
As for the plant it's exactly as you explained so I'll go with that 🙂

Thanks again


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The pinholes seem to be on older leaves, meaning macro deficiency. If it was CO2 the pin holes would be all over the plant and not just old leaves and they'll be just pin holes, not necrotic spots with yellowing/browning edges.
Hydrophilas are pretty fast growing and pretty sensitive to nutrient deficiencies and makes them a great indicator in a tank as it will show up on them before other plants.

This looks like potassium deficiency. It's typical for hydrophila, if I don't dose it in my non-co2 tank and looks exactly the same. Seeing you've got some green spot too, some extra phosphate won't hurt either as sometimes it causes similar effect. I'd be pretty surprised if this is caused by lack of CO2.

Edit: Seeing that you are dosing EI, you either need more of these macros or your distribution is poor.
 
Last edited:
sciencefiction said:
The pinholes seem to be on older leaves, meaning macro deficiency. If it was CO2 the pin holes would be all over the plant and not just old leaves and they'll be just pin holes, not necrotic spots with yellowing/browning edges.
Hydrophilas are pretty fast growing and pretty sensitive to nutrient deficiencies and makes them a great indicator in a tank as it will show up on them before other plants.

This looks like potassium deficiency. It's typical for hydrophila, if I don't dose it in my non-co2 tank and looks exactly the same. Seeing you've got some green spot too, some extra phosphate won't hurt either as sometimes it causes similar effect. I'd be pretty surprised if this is caused by lack of CO2.

Edit: Seeing that you are dosing EI, you either need more of these macros or your distribution is poor.
Click to expand...
Thank for your reply here 🙂 I dose the standard Ei and it is strict I don't miss a day the tank is 85 litres, I put 15ml in there of macro/micro alternative days I can honestly say the flow hits these parts without fail .. There is a lot of plant mass in this tank so can you suggest what would be the best thing to do?
Most of the plants are not that high in demand or at least I don't think they are..

185953e35d772f65ecbe261b6c2cdc10.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all,
Tank looks lovely. I think the plant is Hygrophila corymbosa (and presumably cv. "siamensis '53 B'"). Not sure about the pin-holes, mine always look similar when they are submerged, but much healthier emergent.

Is your water very soft?

cheers Darrel
Click to expand...
Thanks Darrel .. I haven't tested my water in months if I'm honest.. But when I last checked I remember it being medium, it definitely isn't soft 🙂


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hi all,
Frenchi said:
But when I last checked I remember it being medium, it definitely isn't soft
Click to expand...
Not that then. In very hard water Ca++ ions can interfere with Mg++ and K+ ion uptake.

I've also found that Hygrophila corymbosa doesn't like my tanks with very soft water, although they are also low nutrient (conductivity is only about 60microS) and low tech.

cheers Darrel
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all, Not that then. In very hard water Ca++ ions can interfere with Mg++ and K+ ion uptake.

I've also found that Hygrophila corymbosa doesn't like my tanks with very soft water, although they are also low nutrient (conductivity is only about 60microS) and low tech.

cheers Darrel
Click to expand...
I will have do buy a test kit and find out for sure 🙂 to be fair it's not a massive problem it does seem to be spreading horizontal rather than vertical although it be slow .. Ill keep an eye on it
I appreciate the help/advice


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hi Frenchi, have a look at this website below and click on the pictures and see if yours looks like it.

http://deficiencyfinder.com/?page_id=598

The guy that set this website up is very thorough and he's only posted deficiency symptoms that have been treated with the said nutrient responsible and resolved. He hasn't taken random pictures and presented them as deficiencies.
 
Having said the above, my advise is do add more phosphate too. Maybe do one at a time. Take off all leaves with pin holes. Dose extra potassium for a week or two, if no improvement, meaning holes still appear, add extra phosphate for two weeks. I think phosphate can show up in a similar way so worth mentioning.
 
sciencefiction said:
Having said the above, my advise is do add more phosphate too. Maybe do one at a time. Take off all leaves with pin holes. Dose extra potassium for a week or two, if no improvement, meaning holes still appear, add extra phosphate for two weeks. I think phosphate can show up in a similar way so worth mentioning.
Click to expand...
I'm sure it won't hurt to add a little extra .. I'm just unsure how much to add without harming any livestock?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Frenchi said:
I'm sure it won't hurt to add a little extra .. I'm just unsure how much to add without harming any livestock?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

As much as you want. If it were me, I'd add double or treble the dose for phosphate recommended for EI for test purposes. It's hardly possible to harm your life stock, especially not with phosphate or potassium. After you know what solves the issue, you can adjust the dose eventually with a bit of observation.
 
I'll give it a go🙂 I've just dropped a dry pinch of each in as I have already dosed the macro today.. I have added some of the above to the premixed liquid🙂 thank you


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top