# Swords melting.. Major pinholes



## NeonFlux (Apr 10, 2008)

Hmm.. well, it may be potassium or nitrate deficiency.. Swords are heavy root feeders, so they get most if not all of their nutrients from the substrate. I recommend getting some root tabs to put under the sword's root system.. And also, perhaps you should dose a tiny bit more potassium to experiment, if it doesn't work out, try upping nitrate.. or increasing both of them. Good luck.


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## triggergun (Jul 2, 2012)

I did re apply root tabs a few weeks ago. I initially applied root tabs appx 3 months ago. When I originally planted them.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

+1 NeonFlux
Your root tabs run out years ago 
Check what's inside of those tabs, do you see a decent % of NPK?. Given your dosing, your tank NO3 looks pretty low to me also.

v3


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## triggergun (Jul 2, 2012)

OVT said:


> +1 NeonFlux
> Your root tabs run out years ago
> Check what's inside of those tabs, do you see a decent % of NPK?. Given your dosing, your tank NO3 looks pretty low to me also.
> 
> v3


years ago? what do you mean?


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Exaggeration. Joke. A long time ago. An expression of speech.

Take your pick 

The fact remains that your swords have been starving for a while, as that amount of damage did not happen overnight.


v3


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## triggergun (Jul 2, 2012)

I jammed O+ caps underneath the swords to see if that helps. What should my NO3 dosage be on a 75 gal? Should I shoot for 30 ppm


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## triggergun (Jul 2, 2012)

So it looks like a phosphate deficiency. Which fert should I increase? Mono potassium phosphate,K2S04? or both ? Thanks


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## Hardstuff (Oct 13, 2012)

I am going with snails eating your plants! I get the same problem but keep them in check by removing 80% of them every few weeks. My Anubius gets many pin holes from my snails & also my microsoriums will take a beating as well if I do not keep the population down. You will never see them actually eating the plants but some snails will eat plants if algae stays in check. They also cut my hygrows down like a lawn mower , mostly the small ones. 
My money is on snails , you can even see one on a leaf in your picture. 
I had a so called plant expert look at my tank over the net & said I had K deficiency because of the holes in my Anubius, but I know for a fact it was the snails. Also if there is no yellowing around the holes then it would not be k deficiency. They can fool you as well because they can start to tare into the structure of the leaf taking the first layer off which again looks like a deficiency. Your nitrates are not low at 10 ppms all though they could be higher but 10 is good. In nature they usually do not go over 5ppms. 
EI dosing should keep them at 10 or higher all the time.
When I use my DIY root tabs I have to stop dosing EI because my nitrates will go over 20 for a while. My 2 cents!


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

I got all kind's of snail's that don't touch healthy leaves.
I agree with KNO3,Potassium,deficiency.
Couldn't hurt to try adding a bit more of all nutrient's.
One photo does indeed look as though something has been nibbling on the leaf be it snail or Pleco, but they seldom bother healthy plant's. IME


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## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

This is pleco damage not a deficiency. I've seen this a million times. It happens on broad leaf plants that can support a pleco's weight, so anubias, swords and other large plants show this kind of damage.

Look closely, the leaves with damage are only the leaves that are horizontal - because plecos don't like to sit vertically as much as they enjoy sitting horizontally. Furthermore, both new and old leaves are affected. Only a few nutrient deficiencies have both new and old leaves affected and none of them show the random holes that these sword plants do.

Potassium deficiency is characterized by tiny pinholes not huge lesions like this. Phosphate deficiency shows larger lesions but they start at the edges and tips of leaves and you get yellowing of the leaf. Nitrate deficiency is yellowing of old leaves while new grow out fine until it becomes severe, then new leaves grow out smaller and smaller and progressively more yellow. It is not NPK deficiency.

The plecos are doing the damage at night when it is dark. They are mostly nocturnal and become much more active then. During the day they look placid and benign but many species will destroy large leafed plants as they rasp for surface algae.


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## triggergun (Jul 2, 2012)

I dont have a pleco.


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## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

What sucker fish do you have? What is the full list of fish and snails in your tank. Its not a deficiency.


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## triggergun (Jul 2, 2012)

I have appx 20 platys, 6honey gourami. 10 mollies no snails that I know of.


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## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

Something isn't adding up. Check your tank for plecos, perhaps someone put one in, or one jumped in from another tank that you don't know about. 

A deficiency would show up in all your plants more or less equally. Furthermore, bacopa, and moneywort are faster growers than the swords so they'd show signs first.

How long ago did this issue start?


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## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

Ancistrus (pleco) damage:




























This is what phosphate deficiency looks like in swords. Notice the browning occurs from the tops inwards not randomly across leaf veins like in your plants.


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## Hardstuff (Oct 13, 2012)

Im going with zapins with the pleco, but going right back to what I said the first time . Snails, snails do eat perfectly healthy leaves . I see it all the time in my tanks. They go after my anubius plant as mentioned before that has( nothing but healthy leaves on it. They also go after my hygrodiformis with savage cuts that snap the stems right off. 
You will never actually see them eating the leaves as I said before. I have had other tanks with snails that were not as aggressive , but at looking at your pictures it seems very obvious to me. 
Try an experiment. Remove 95% of them which could take days & in 2 or 3 weeks your plants will look 90% better. Then I would be right & you would not blame deficiencies! 
If it was K deficiency you would see brown or yellow around the holes in the leaves & the edges & tips should yellow some as well. You have obvious cuts & tares along with holes with zero yellowing around the holes. White is not yellowing either. Your problem is easy to fix but if you are not patient & put out daily effort it will not go away. You need to cut your snail population down!


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## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

Potassium deficiency looks like this:

Pinholes, between veins surrounded by progressively enlarging dead tissue ring, sometimes followed by yellowing leaves (mostly older leaves).


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

triggergun said:


> I dont have a pleco.


 
:hihi::hihi::hihi:

Add a little more of all nutrient's ,


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

My tank's are lousy with all manner of snail's,so much so that i have employed assassin snail's as well to help thin em out but the snail's seldom eat healthy leaves .
I also keep several species of Pleco's Bristlenose x5,Royal pleco,Mustard spot pleco,Rhino pleco, and rubber lip.they don't touch the healthy plant's but as the older leaves reach the surface (Sword plant's) ,they begin to get burned edges from the lighting and these leaves if not removed,,become lunch for the pleco's and snail's.
considering the sword plant's are heavy nutrient hog's.I would as mentioned look at increasing KNO3, and potassium a little, and also employ root tab's at the base of the sword plant's and replace them at first sign of leaf problem's.
I use "Osmocote Pot Shot's" I found at ACE hardware and place one under each swordplant and replace every two month's.
Just my two cent's.


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