Holes in Anubias leaves?

[Eleven13]

Hey everyone,

I have an Anubias plant in my 10 gallon planted tank. Up until now it has been growing great, aside from a leaf or two being plagued by black algae which I'm trying to get rid of.

However, yesterday I noticed the majority of the back of one of the leaves was turning yellow, so I decided to just keep an eye on it and see what happens.

Come to find out today, there are small holes in the leaf now, and I have no idea why. I have a 15 watt 6500K light, no Co2 injection (yet), and I dose with Nutrafin PlantGro (not anymore though, starting with my weekly water change Sunday I will be dosing Flourish Comprehensive).

The only different thing that I had done this past week was spot treat one of the leaves with Excel, but the leaf I spot treated is not the one with the holes

I currently only have 2 zebra danios in the tank, but I also have snails that hitched a ride with my plants a while back, but they haven't been an issue so far (at least I don't think so) and none of my other plants have this problem.

What could be going on? And if I figure it out, would I be able to save this leaf, or is it a goner?

Thanks!

 

[aqua_chem]

Any other plants in the tank?

Holes in leaves can describe multiple deficiencies, many of which caused by macronutrient (Nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium) deficiencies. Yellowing of the leaves strong indicates nitrogen, but a good picture will help us further identify your issue.

Can you check your nitrogen levels? That will help rule out N.

 

[Eleven13]

Thanks for the reply aqua_chem, I do have other plants in the tank, a java fern which is doing awesome and is growing new growth, micro swords which aren't doing a whole lot but still look pretty nice, an amazon sword that overall is doing well, but once in a while I'll need to trim off a yellowing leaf, and hygrophila, which I can't really tell....2 stems melted entirely when I first got it, but I have 2 left that are bright green, but the leaves are tattered and although there are small new leaves on the stem, they don't seem to be growing at all and also look tattered.

By nitrogen do you mean nitrate/nitrate? Or is it a different test? I will update tomorrow and hopefully be able to get a picture, thank you for the help!

 

[Eleven13]

Okay, here are two pictures, one from the front, and one from the back, sorry for the bad quality,I only have my built in laptop camera to work with at the moment.

After doing a Nitrate/Nitrite test, it turns out my Nitrates are very low, I'd say anywhere from 0-2ppm judging from the color chart. Nitrites are at 0ppm.

Could this be due to a Nitrate deficiency? If so, what could I do to remedy it?

Thank you!

 

[aqua_chem]

Nitrates are plants' major source of nitrogen in our tanks. If you don't have any in the tank, this very well may be your problem. Remember thought that you need to shake the heck out of the second test kit to get an accurate reading. Failing to do so often falsely gives people a 0-5 ppm reading.

Hygro species are complete hogs as far as nutrients go. They're probably out-competing slower growing species. Also, is that anacharis that I see? It's another fast growing nitrate-sucker.

Your issues can be fixed by adding more nitrogen. Seachem and other aquarium suppliers make nitrogen supplements as well as phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Although I generally don't recommend liquid ferts, for a 10g non-CO2 injected tank with reasonable light they would probably be the least hassle. I believe Flourish Comprehensive does have some nitrogen in it, but if it will be enough, I do not know.

 

[Eleven13]

Yup that is Anacharis, can't believe I forgot to mention that in my other post! That isn't doing so hot either...I'm not sure if it is because of the nitrate deficiency, or whether it is from my use of Excel to spot treat the Anubias. Some stems seem to be melting, but I'm going to try and save it so hopefully I'll be able to.

I will try and see if I can get my hands on a nitrogen supplement today, and if not I may have to order one. Even though the tank is small, I'm using this more as a learning experience so I'll probably take a stab at dry ferts at some point as well, and I'm going to be setting up a DIY CO2 system this coming weekend.

Thanks for your help, I'm hoping I'll be able to solve this problem before it takes down another leaf!