Anubias Nana

[Marshall..]

Just set up a trigon350 and looking to grow anubias nana all over bogwood in there.The plants I have added have been tied to various pieces of wood but they are going brown round the edges.They are however sending roots out and the odd new leaf.Is there anything I can do to improve the growth,I have relatively subdued lighting and co2 in the aquarium?

 

[SNAIL]

Hello Marshall,

I have been growing anubias for a few years now.
When you say turning brown, is it decaying?
I have never seen my anubias do that.
Are you adding any ferts to your tank?
Anubias dosen't need much light and are slow growing.
Having CO2 is good but useless without nutrients.
Please provide more info:

1. nutrients(ferts) adding or not.
You've got CO2 as you mentioned.
2. Water changes (schedule)
3. Fish (How many, types)
4. Cleaning crew (snail, shrimp, Oto)
5. Any signs of algae...Anubias is susceptible to algae attack.

I started with one pot of Anubias in 2002 and now have half of my tank covered with it.
You need a lot of patience with anubias though they are low maintenance.
From what you have mentioned, I can only think of low nutrients as your problem.

 

[Aprilia997]

I have a few anubias in tanks with medium sized cichlids and they do not get brown edges. Either the tank is too brightly lit or the nutrients are too low as stated above. If the room is fairly bright anubias can live with no overhead light but they will grow even slower.

 

[Marshall..]

Thanks for your input I am using the original lighting that comes with a jewel aquarium which I know is not the brightest but probably good for the anubias.
I do have algae growing on the bogwood nearer the surface and it is attacking some of my Anubias that I have placed higher up.
I have only just added 15 rummy nose tetras today as I have only had the tank set up six weeks.
I have added leaf zone liquid fertilizer but am concerned too much may create an algae bloom.
Would you add more Anubias and do you think they will survive if new leaves are sprouting despite the original leaves browning round the edges?I will be doing weekly water changes of 25%

 

[Aprilia997]

As the new leaves grow larger you can remove the old leaves if they are unsightly. You can add new plants at any time.

 

[SNAIL]

Thanks for your input I am using the original lighting that comes with a jewel aquarium which I know is not the brightest but probably good for the anubias.
I do have algae growing on the bogwood nearer the surface and it is attacking some of my Anubias that I have placed higher up.
I have only just added 15 rummy nose tetras today as I have only had the tank set up six weeks.
I have added leaf zone liquid fertilizer but am concerned too much may create an algae bloom.
Would you add more Anubias and do you think they will survive if new leaves are sprouting despite the original leaves browning round the edges?I will be doing weekly water changes of 25%

Hello Marshall,

After doing some research on your tank and reading your latest post,
I would suggest getting some fast growing low light plants
to assist your anubias in getting your water stabalized.
Get some that will provide shade to the anubias to keep algea off of it.
Move the anubias that you have planted near the surface down to avoid further algea attacks.
Very important to get a cleaning crew in ASAP (snails, Amano shrimp, Otocinlus affinis cat fish <dwarf cat fish>)
The algea growing on the wood is not good.
The best thing to do is to scrape it off as often as you can
(outside of the tank during cleaning if possible) until your anubias settles in and starts to cover the wood.
Depending on the volume of plants you have, the instructions on the fert bottles will not apply.
The more plants you have, the more ferts needed (supply and demand) .
Do small increases to the ferts till you can see some improvements per say 10ml extra for the next two weeks.
Do remove the activated carbon as it will absorb everything including your ferts.
Follow Aprilia997 advice on removing leaves that are unsightly once the baby leaves have grown enough.
Anubias are very strong plants but still need some TLC.
Not to worry, they will survive as long as you don't neglect them.
Make sure you control your lights.
If you over expose your tank to too much light regardless of it being high or low,
it will trigger an algae attack.
Different types of algae will grow depending on the lights strength (spectrum).

 

[Marshall..]

Thanks for your time on this matter I will put what you have said into practice straight away.Cheers.

 

[SNAIL]

Thanks for your time on this matter I will put what you have said into practice straight away.Cheers.

Hello Marshall,

Just wondering how your anubias are doing?
Hope all is well. Would love to see your tank.
Any pics?

 

[Marshall..]

Here you go. Looking pretty good don't you think.
Got some otto's to keep the plants clean(highly recomended)

 

[SNAIL]

Hey Marshall,

Thats looks GREAT!

Well, I'd like to share more experiences with you.
First of all, never rip the tank down to clean it. Thats a last resort should things get ugly.

Just do gravel cleaning with a gravel vaccum every 2 or 3 months.
Don't disturb the gravel too much when vaccuming because it will end up releasing a massive bioload into your water that could trigger an algae bloom. Just vaccum the surface of the gravel.

The Anubias tends to have growth spurts during Autum and Spring and most plants tend to do the same.
With CO2, they tend to grow faster and seasons don't affect them as much.
Pruning them a leaf or two every couple of months triggers them to grow a little faster as well.

You will see algae grow on them but don't worry about that to much. A little algae is good and is food for the Oto and snails.
If there's too much algae on any leaf, remove the leaf immediately.
The algae you must keep at bay are the Black Beard Algae, Film Algae, Hair Algae, Staghorn and the Thread Algae.
The spot algae is fine as long as you keep them in check which is easy to do with the cleaning crew and tank maintenance schedule.

You'll soon see some changes in your gravel. You'll notice that there will be layers of bands. This is a sign of the tank maturing. Leave it as it is. An odor may develop and is also a sign of the tank maturing. Should the tank develop a strong smelll, do a 50% water change for a couple of weeks or till you get the odor under control.

You may also see white fluffy things in the tank sometimes. If you do see these things, they are fungus. It grows on left over food. That means you are over feeding. Simply remove any left over food and other materials that are covered with fungus.
Never use those fish food tablets that you can put in the tank when you go on a trip. Those will get covered with fungus as well. Its better to use a food dispenser with a timer.

I hope that the info I have provided so far will help you more and steer you away from mistakes that I have done.
I do have spot algae in my tank and will try to control them with phosphate dosing which I've read about.
I'll let you and others know of the reults in a few weeks.

 

[Marshall..]

Thanks very much that is a beautiful looking tank snail. I am really impressed with your plants!

 

[lljdma06]

Snail, is your tank based on the principles of Diana Walstad? I am curious, because some of what you say falls along that method.

My second question is for Marshall. Is your tank based on the principles of Diana Walstad or is your tank just a standard aquarium? Because the maintenance regimen is certainly different between the two types, and what may work for one type of aquarium may not be the case for another type.

Your anubia is very nice, Marshall, a big improvement I'm sure over the browning portions. And your anubias, Snail, are stunning. I also grow anubias, as all of my tanks are low-light. It's a great thing when they are growing well enough, that you can divide the rhizome and distribute new plants to friends.

llj

 

[Marshall..]

Diana Walstad? I don't know what you mean.

 

[lljdma06]

Diana Walstad? I don't know what you mean.

Diana Walstad wrote a book called Ecology of the Planted Aquarium. It's a different way to keep planted tanks that utilize a more natural approach, often including soil substrate, natural sunlight, low fish load, no CO2, very infrequent water changes, etc. It's actually really specific and an interesting method. A link for you below that explains it in a nutshell.

http/theaquariumwiki.com/Walstad_method

By your reaction, then, I'm guessing that yours is a standard setup. There are many ways to skin a cat. I, for instance, take a more active approach to maintenance. I vacumn the substrate almost everyweek. I do weekly 30% water changes (my nanos get changed 2x a week). I rinse my filters once a week. But, I also tend to overstock my tanks, and that kind of maintenance is therefore good practice. My plant growth is very lush and my fish regularly breed (I have successfully raised several types of fry), so what I do works for me. I don't think Snail's way of doing things is wrong, but it may not be the best thing for your tank. You need to find what works best for you to ensure the good health of your fish and plants. In my experience, however, tanks don't smell, unless you've got a cyano-bacteria issue (Blue green algae), an ammonia issue, or a hydrogen sulphide issue from substrate compaction. They just don't smell.

llj

 

[Marshall..]

Thanks for that information.I too have a strict regime changing water etc hoovering the substrate. that is why I also chose anubias because they are easy to move round on the bogwood.