Plant Deficieny Signs

Hey All

I saw this picture on an aquatic website. (Aquarium Basics)
I thought id share it here. Please remove it if its against the rules or something.



I figured every plant guy could benefit from it.

 

ive got this pic too.. helps since i dose dry ferts..

 

Thanks, very useful!

 

My amazon swords' leaves disintegrate until just the veins are left. It looks like a perfect outline of a leaf, but with no leaf. Any idea what deficiency that is?

 

its the pleco..

 

they love love swords when they get bored of the algae.. or if there isnt enough for them..

 

I have featherfins, no plecos. The plants were also doing that before I got the featherfins. Maybe the Swordtails?

 

na.. cant be.. can you take a pic? maybe snails?

 

Right, that wasn't so easy. Excuse the fuzziness, flash & orange wall

You can see it looks like a lacey memory of a leaf. However, it is still quite firmly attached to the plant. I tried to fish it out, but it's holding on.

I do have snails, which I think have been at some other leaves. Those are more like big holes in the leaf?

 

wow.. that is strange.. and it goes grey like that?

what are the processes of a new leaf? does it grow then go grey? or has it stoped growing? also, did u always have this problem or only recently?

what lighting system do u use? tank size, filtration, substrate, fertilizers? sorry for all the q's.. it'll help with your problem

 

The grey is because of the flash. The leaf is more of a rotting leaf brown colour.

This is another plant in my tank, which has no holey or rotting leaves.


This is the rest of the Amazon Sword with the weird leaf.


Some of the leaves do that strange lacey thing when they are still small, some grow quite big first. The plant does get new leaves, but you can see from the pic it's not thriving. When I first bought them they were long and leggy. The disintegrating has always been a problem. I was hoping that they would improve with new growth, but they haven't.

I have 2 fluorescent lights: 1 says WB 30W, the other BB 30W. Tank is 340l, 1200 wide; canister filter, std. gravel substrate. I have to confess I haven't paid much attention to the plants other than putting them in the tank. I'm afraid of fertiliser because I don't know if it's safe for the fish. When I hear T5 & T8 my eyes go screwy:blink: and if you say C02 thingy I will go and hide under the bed

However, I am willing to learn. My desire for a beautifully planted tank is greater than my fear of fertiliser

Thanks for all the Qs and for helping with the problem.

 

well first off.. i dont think you have enough lights over your tank for your amazons to thrive.. vallis (the grassy type plant) doesnt need much lights thats why its still ok..

the difference between T5's and T8's are

T5's have higher light intensity
T5's penetrate the water better
T5's are thinner (size wise)
T8's are cooler
T5's tubes stay brighter longer and last longer
T8's are cheaper but need replacing often (3-6months)

now looking at that list you would say that t5's are better? correct. but saying that, theres nothing wrong with T8's..

what u have are t8's..if i were u, i'd get atleast another t8 30w tube.. or 2x54w t5's.. only problem with this is that u need to get new balasts etc.. so adding another t8 will actually be cheaper..

with regards to fertilizers, they are plant and fish safe as long as you keep to the dosing suggestions on the bottle.

brands of ferts to look for are like sera, seachem, DSD etc..

types of ferts? just a general plant fert from one of those brands will be enough.. your plants will love you for that! also, your fish will love the new densely growing plants..

also, your plants are showing signs of stunted growth because of the lack of ferts..

step 1, i'd get another 30w tube..

also, when was the last time you changed your tubes?

 

jenn we in the same boat but dont worry the more money you spend the clearer it all becomes.

 

hahaha.. +1

 

@shihr - That doesn't sound so scary I last replaced the tubes when I bought the tank - Jan this year. So if you say T8s should be replaced every 3-6 months, then I have to look at replacing them soon. Where do I get DSD? Or is that a secret

@oscar freak - haha You mean when we make expensive mistakes, we learn better? Well I'm about to learn a lot about lights

 

One more question... Isn't that what fish poop is for?

 

Jenn,

those are the typical signs of nutrient deficiency that you would find if growing aquatic plants in the Western Cape. I have developed a fertilizer which I call "Dirk secret Drops" or "Dirk se Druppels" which overcomes these deficiencies and which you can obtain from me. Just search on this forum and you will also find reference to the use of this fertilizer on numerous threads. I have lost track of how many persons are using it, but it certainly works.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

@Jenn its because its not scary at all

fish poop is only one leg of the ferts.. fish poop converts from amonia/amonium ->nitirites -> nitrates and nitrates is what your plant takes up.. (nitrogen cycle)

nitrates are not sufficient for proper plant growth..

ferts are made up of your macros :NPK (nitrates, phosphates and potassium) and then your micro's: iron, magneseum, calcium etc (admit,i dont know much abt micros )

sound confusing? u dont have to be because all you have to do is buy a general fert and it should cover both macros and micros

t5's do last way longer.. some people have been using it for 1yr + and its still very bright..

 

"all you have to do is buy"

thats what i'm talking bout

 

That makes so much sense! My tank is also deep - about 65 cm. Does that mean I need more light?