Red root floaters losing their color

[lilsd]

Red root floaters in my 10gal tank used to have a very rich deep red/purple color to their roots, but over the course of the last several weeks they’ve lost almost all of their coloring and I don’t know why. The tank has been set up and running for about 4 months, water parameters haven’t changed. Any idea what would be causing this?

 

[Rocky998]

Red root floaters in my 10gal tank used to have a very rich deep red/purple color to their roots, but over the course of the last several weeks they’ve lost almost all of their coloring and I don’t know why. The tank has been set up and running for about 4 months, water parameters haven’t changed. Any idea what would be causing this?

Any changes in lighting or fertilizer?

 

[lilsd]

None. My light is a Fluval Aquasky set for planted aquariums and has been on the same timing and settings for months. I’ve been using small doses of API leaf zone when I do my weekly water changes, that’s also been consistent for a few months now.

I have been dealing with a pretty heavy snail infestation, and a lot of the floating plants were being eaten for a little while, there are still snails in the tank and on the plants, but their numbers have significantly decreased. That’s really the only significant change I can think of…

 

[GailH]

I actually lost all of my red root floaters in one of my tanks where my love of snails let the snails get out of control. They were rams horn and bladder snails, mostly rams horn, which I've heard so many folks say "don't eat living plants" but that was not my experience. The first thing I noticed was the color was lost, as you have seen, and then the roots started to disappear and holes in the leaves. Even after realizing it was the snails eating the plants and getting the snails under control, it was too late, the plants were too stressed.

 

[lilsd]

I actually lost all of my red root floaters in one of my tanks where my love of snails let the snails get out of control. They were rams horn and bladder snails, mostly rams horn, which I've heard so many folks say "don't eat living plants" but that was not my experience. The first thing I noticed was the color was lost, as you have seen, and then the roots started to disappear and holes in the leaves. Even after realizing it was the snails eating the plants and getting the snails under control, it was too late, the plants were too stressed.

Thanks. This is kind of what I suspected/feared, as the only thing that’s changed recently has been the snail population explosion. I just did a big water change and I separated the floating plants and manually removed an insane number of tiny baby snails….. probably several hundred snails the size of pinheads I got rid of the plants that looked too far gone and put the rest back…. So fingers crossed maybe they’ll start to improve. I also skipped the fertilizer after reading somewhere else that they can be sensitive to it, which I hadn’t heard before.

 

[Colin_T]

check the tank water and tap water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. If the water company has changed water sources that might cause it. If the aquarium water has changed drastically (maybe a pH drop) that can also cause it.

Check the water temperature. Sudden changes in temperature can affect plants.

Snails chewing holes in plants can harm the plants.

If the plants have grown they might be using all the fertiliser in a few days and they will have to go without until you add more. Maybe add fertiliser more often and see if it helps.

 

[Essjay]

Maybe try a different fertiliser? Leaf zone contains only potassium and iron, and the red root floaters may need other minerals. Byron used to recommend Seachem Flourish Comprehensive Supplement and Brightwell Multiflorin.

 

[GailH]

an insane number of tiny baby snails

That is exactly what I saw too. But with these old eyeballs and progressive lenses, I did not realize it was that horde of micro monsters that was causing the damage until one day I pulled out the magnifying glass and took a much closer look. I suspect that when there is such an explosion of snails, even if they are not normally prone to eat live plants, when there isn't enough other food for them they are going to eat what is there.

I have never fertilized any of my plants and they do well, but I also run my tanks with a balanced ecosystem that (once you get it right) supplies the nutrients to the plants, which in taking up the nutrients, clean the water and give back some level of oxygenation.

 

[lilsd]

Wanted to give an update in case it might help someone else in the future. I’ve been pretty aggressively tending to these plants for the last couple of weeks, taking them out of the tank and carefully removing the snails by hand 1-2x per week (there were hundreds and hundreds of tiny snails) and I’ve also upped the fertilizer dosage to the maximum recommended on the bottle (I was only dosing at half strength before). I’ve also culled out the plants and leaves that looked too eaten or stressed. I have to say they are looking much better, I’m seeing new growth, they’re flowering again, and color is starting to come back to the roots and leaves.

In hindsight it does seem the obvious answer to my original post was that they were under fertilized and also being massively stressed by the snails. I didn’t realize just how many snails there actually were until I really looked close. It’s taken some effort to get things back on track but it does feel like it’s moving in the right direction. Live and learn, but it’s nice when things turn out the way you want them to!

 

[sharkweek178]

Check your nitrate levels. When nitrates are low, they're red. When nitrates are high, they're green.