Anubias.. Comments, suggestions, advise, guidance..and scolding?

[IfIhadaboat85]

Hey gang! Thanks for checking one of my many posts out and offering up your help!

SO... on to business!*crazysmil

I have one rather large anubias in a well lit area.. not quite the corner, but along the back, of my 30 gallon. It seems to be doing ok, but I find that there is a new stem with a leaf on it floating around the tank every other day or so and the largest leaves are collecting lots of brown algae. I rub the brown algae off but there still seems to be some I can't get off without possibly damaging the leaves. My ammonia is 0, nitrites VERY low but Nitrates rather high. I've got a well planted 30 gallon now (someone once said that as soon as you try the real plant route.. you fall in love and become addicted, and of course, that's exactly what I've done...) and I really love my anubias but I'm worried about it's longevity and health. I understand that they are slow growers so I want to do all I can to maximize health, growth and longevity.

Also looking for some advice or guidance on how to propgate it too. Anubias small and large, young and old, add really great decor, shelter and oxygenation to a tank.

Any and all thoughts, opinions, advice and suggestions warmly welcomed.

Thanks!!

also... Happy St. Paddy's tomorrow!! *BOUNCINGS*celebrate

 

[lauraf]

Make sure your anubias aren't planted into the substrate above the top of their rhizomes. And here are pics that I was dorky enough to take of splitting an anubias into two - just use a sharp knife, slice vertically through the rhizome, with at least three leaves left on each piece . . . .

 

[IfIhadaboat85]

I feel horrible asking this.. however.. care to explain just what exactly is the rhizome?

 

[IfIhadaboat85]

Also, I've re-planted the stems with one leaf each that have parted ways with the main clump.

I may be referring this 'rhizome' thing as the 'clump'

 

[OrangeCones]

If you have nitrites and also high nitrates, you have too much of a bioload for the plants and bio filter to process. Overfeeding may be a problem (too much food = decaying food and/or excess fish waste).

Anubius is a slow grower and not normally good in high light. What watts of light do you have? Your signature shows a 29 gallon tank and 8000K light. Is this the tank you have the anubius in? What watts do you have? What type of bulb (T5, T8, T12)? If your light is high, the anubius may need to be shaded.

 

[IfIhadaboat85]

it's an 8,000k bulb that came with the tank and hood.

Yes it's the only tank I have.

Not good in high light.. does that mean it will die or just not grow to the best of it's ability?

 

[lauraf]

Yeah, the clump thing is the rhizome. Leaves that have separated completely from the rhizome won't throw off any new growth.

 

[OrangeCones]

it's an 8,000k bulb that came with the tank and hood.

8000K is the spectrum it puts out, not the watts. I have 24watt, 55watt and 65watt, all with the same 9700K spectrum. The watts should be written on the end of the light, where it attaches to the hood itself.

Not good in high light.. does that mean it will die or just not grow to the best of it's ability?

Anubius is a slow growing plant. If you have an imbalance of light/fertilizers/carbon source, you will get algae. The fact that your largest leaves (which are oldest) are gathering algae indicates that there is an imbalance. The older leaves are not growing much once they get to a certain size, so algae will attach and use the excess fertilzer in the tank (as shows since you have nitrites and high nitrates).

 

[IfIhadaboat85]

gotcha. well, I'm hoping i'm at a stage in my cycle where I'm fast approaching a sharp drop-off in Nitrites and I'm slowly adding more and more plants to help (in the future) take control of the high Nitrate and algae issues. It's just becoming apparent to me that you've got to have a LOT of plants in there to really do anything about high nitrates. Thinking about making a DIY C02 apparatus my weekend project though. Sounds super easy, inexpensive and fun and I've already got plenty of airline tubing. Interested to see how it works and turns out. Anyhow, I've basically just given my old toothbrush a 2nd life by using it to scrub the leaves of the anubias to get the algae off. Seems to be working pretty well. Gets the algae off, doesn't seem to hurt the plant, especially since the leaves are usually pretty thick and waxxy.

Also, I'm at work right now (shhhhh !) but I'll check the wattage when I get home. I have a nice combination of high light, moderate light and low light guys in there, it's just a shame that my anubias is the largest with the biggest leaves so there's really nowhere for it to hide yet.

As for the other plants in there though, I'm happy to report full-rich-green coloring and rapid growth on my cryptocoryne's, swords, aponogeton's, and what looks like a java fern (thanks for not labeling PetCo).

Also- Lauraf- I've since pulled a the anubias a little farther up out of the substrate so the rhizome is fully exposed as well as a few of the roots so, I'd really love some advice on how to supercharge this bugger's growth. This rhizome has shed a few of the other stems and leaves that were attached but still has three or 4 relatively big leaves and thick stems on it.

Also, if anyone was wondering, the jungle labs fertilizer tablets seem to work wonders on turbo charging growth, coloration, etc. and the effects really last.

 

[OrangeCones]

It's just becoming apparent to me that you've got to have a LOT of plants in there to really do anything about high nitrates.

Plants take in ammonia as a first choice, then nitrite, then nitrate. They work opposite the way the beneficial bacteria work.

Bacteria change ammonia to nitrite, then nitrite to nitrate. Water changes is the best way to lower nitrates.

Plants will use ammonia first. If nitrite is the only thing readily available, they must spend energy (sugars) to turn nitrite to ammonia. If nitrate is the only thing readily available, they must spend even more energy to convert it to nitrite, then to ammonia to be able to use it.

Plants can help keep nitrates low (by consuming ammonia, there is less to be made into nitrite and less nitrite into nitrate). But (most) are not good at removing nitrate quickly. Floating plants consume the nitrates better than most submerged plants, but they also block a lot of light. For fry grow-out tanks, I use floating plants as the 'bio-filter' when they are tiny.

Better to step up water changes to bring nitrate down, and the plants can help KEEP it down if they are growing properly.

 

[IfIhadaboat85]

Thanks Orange. Truly.

However, and I know I'm probably going to be crucified for suggesting this, but I honestly feel that this excessive advice from everyone on the internet, LFS, big chain fish stores, youtube.. etc. etc. about constant water changing is a little overkill. I got the best results in the chemical properties of my water, the establishment of my cycle and the happiness of my fish when I actually went away for a long weekend, didn't feed the fish a drop except for the moment I left and the moment I returned home and didn't change a fluid ounce of water. Water changes to me seem to delay the cycle dramatically and remove too much beneficial stuff in the water. I can't really explain why but the constant badgering and hounding to new people about water changes seems to be soo much overkill. Perhaps I'm wrong or it just works better for my setup to not perform so many water changes but I mean, my cycle took FOREVER initially and my fish didn't look quite so happy, my water was murky and frankly, the water smelled worse when I did routine (two to three times a week) 20-30 percent water changes. I'm trying to get to the point where maybe I'm doing monthly water changes of 20-30 percent but who knows. There's an amazing article I found once from a professor that did so much experimenting with his planted tanks that he was able to get himself to a nearly maintnence free set up that looked beautiful but I'll have to find it. I'm also going to be posting pics later this evening so hopefully some of you might be able to help me with plant ID's.

I really appreciate the advice and help, I just, if I may put in my thoughts and opinions which are free (because that's how much they're worth as a newb) I think that the benefit and necessity of constant water changes is drastically overstated in this trade/hobby.

 

[OrangeCones]

You asked about how to deal with the algae buildup on the older anubias leaves. Excessive nutrients in the water (over feeding and/or excessive waste) is what is causing it. The plants you currently have cannot use the available light, available carbon, and available other nutrients in the ratio they are in now. The algae is taking up the niche left by the excessive wastes.

How often you do water changes is up to you and the health of your tank.

I have 8 planted tanks. 5 of those tanks get water changes every 2 or 3 MONTHS as they do not show ammonia, nitrites, and seldom show a reading of nitrates. In fact, with those tanks, I must ADD a nitrogen source (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are nitrogen sources) in the form of liquid fertilizers to keep the plants healthy.

Would I recommend to a newer aquarium keeper or newer planted aquarium keeper to 'do as I do'? No way. I seldom even discuss it. But it can be done if you know what to do. If you are not going to do regular water changes, then you MUST test the water's parameters to see where you are at. Ammonia that is lethal is not 'visible' to the naked eye. Neither is nitrite or nitrate. Once you get to know the plants you keep, you will learn which ones will begin to show signs of nitrogen deficiency, so you know when to dose fertilizers (or up feedings to the fish, which will make more nitrogen). If a tank you usually have to dose once a week suddenly show that those that show the nitrogen defieciency early are healthy and growing great, time to check the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. Something is not 'normal' and you may need to do a water change.

The fish that live in the tanks are healthy and breeding, and other than the loss of my original Badis badis male (in my avatar), I've not had a loss of life in 2+ years. The fish that died was a wildcaught fish and I'd had him for 4 years. Not much is known about their lifespan, but he was an adult when I got him. He fathered hundreds of fry over the years in a planted tank that gets 4 or 5 water changes a year. When he had fry with him, I did more water changes. Not because the water parameters dictacted I needed to, but all fish put off hormones that can stunt the growth of others. By doing water changes, that chemical does not have the ability to build up and affect growth rates.

Anyway, just my 2cents.
OC

 

[skjl47]

Hello; I used a partial water change cycle of around a month for a lot of years with good results. Water quality was seldom an issue, but the detritis that built up was siphoned out. I keep live plants in all of my tanks, either floating or rooted. I have convinced myself that live plants are a key to keeping healthy tanks. It seemed to me that salts and minerals will remain behind when tank water evaporates and that an occasional water change should help with that.

Perhaps an opinion thread dedicated to a discussion about the topic of water change frequency can be started.

 

[IfIhadaboat85]

good idea skj-

Update... Orange.. you win.. I've done two water changes since the last time I posted. Also, I moved the anubias to another corner and came up with an idea, which, of course, I find brilliant.. I simply cut up a few pieces of cardboard and placed it over the glass under my light (which is a T8, 8,000K Full spectrum, by the way[thoughts and opinions welcome]) and so my anubias is in a new corner (rhizome and some root portions fully exposed) and pretty well shaded. I've also taken the toothbrush today and scrubbed probably 98% of all the algae off too. Hopefully this works. I'm just worried now though that a few of the plants in that area might suffer because of the new much lower lighting. It's not completely dark, but it's significantly darkER.

Still havin' issues with being stuck at the stage in the cycle where my nitrites and nitrates are really high. I've heard that some can get stuck there for weeks. It seems to stay the same regardless of water change or not. Was thinking of heading to PetsMart today to pick up some biospira.

Will post pics very shortly.

 

[IfIhadaboat85]

Pictures are here! Let me know what you guys think. Cameras don't always do the real thing justice so just keep in mind that the left side of the tank is the more heavily shaded area with my anubias and red crypto and the rest (that I know of) are moderate-high light plants. I've also left a lot of my fake ones in there until my real ones fill in and fill out the tank more. Not gonna take them out until i have to actually start trimming and pruning my live ones to keep them from taking over. Hope you like them!

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Have an view on algae based on my experience, but have no way to prove it. It seems that some algae is always going to be present with enough lighting to grow plants. Playing around with intensity by shading is a way to go. I have found that glass panels under lights tend to become less translucent over time from mineral deposits and algae growth which allows some level of adjustment of the shading.
You can also try different light/dark periods (photoperiods), bulb intensitys (watts) and frequencies ( I like the look 6500k bulbs give and they do grow plants.)

Several years ago I set up a planted tank without any snails and after some months a sheet algae/bacteria growth began to cover all surfaces of the tank. I eventually found that an antibiotic took care of that growth. I got some rams horns and malaysian trumpet snails for the tank and the growth did not returned or been in any tank with the snails before or since. You have not indicated sheet algae/bacteria. I have some ramshorn in all currently set up tanks and feel they help keep the worst of regular algae growth in somewhat in check.

 

[IfIhadaboat85]

Update all-

Went to petsmart yesterday and swapped out my 17w T8 8000K, for a 20w T8 2800K bulb that's supposed to more heavily mimic the best light wavelengths for plant growth and more naturally mimic sunlight.

Thoughts?