Plant problems? New aquarium.

[jesso435]

Hi - new hobbyist here. I've had my tank for maybe a month or so. It's a 3 gallon, planted tank with one betta. I think it's cycled (no ammonia or nitrite, trace nitrate -- less than 20ppm), but the plants are showing signs of problems. See pics. The anubias are not planted in substrate. One has brownish spots that don't rub off, and the other has yellowing leaves. Do I need to fertilize?

Also, I'm getting this brown stuff on my rocks. It comes off easily, but is this normal? Thanks in advance!

 

[Aiken Drum]

A month isnt long enough to tell how plants are doing. They need to transition between being grown immersed (partially above the water line) and now being submerged (completely below the water line). Essentially they used to have easy access to CO2 in the atmosphere which it now doesnt and the plant needs to adapt to new conditions. Old growth might die off completely (melt) and new growth is more suited to its new environment.

Are you seeing any new growth?

The brown stuff is diatoms, sometimes called brown algae. Its normal to see this in new tanks and usually clears up on its own after a couple of months as nutrients balance out and green algae starts to compete with it. I last saw diatoms after the tank was set up 3 or 4 weeks and it cleared up a couple of months after i was cycled. Turning up the light can help to promote green algae. Easily cleaned up manually and some snails will eat it also. High nitrates, silicates and phosphates can be a cause, so water changes can help.

 

[jesso435]

Yes, I think I see some signs of new growth, so I will wait it out. Thank you again for all of your help.

 

[Caliban07]

You also have a protein film on the surface of the water which may suggest you need to do more water changes.