# Holes in leaves



## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

Are these holes mostly on new, old or all leaves?

Do they have yellow/brown discolored boarders?

Specifically how much KNO3 and K2SO4 are you adding to your tank (grams or tsp) and how often are you adding it?

Can you take better pictures of it? It is hard to see exactly what is going on.

I assume this is the 10g you are talking about.

Do you have miracle grow soil in it too?


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## BBradbury (Nov 8, 2010)

*Damage to Plant Leaves*

Hello Dj...

It's likely your fish rasping bits of algae from the leaves. If you have a lot of fish, then the constant chewing by the fish can cause leaf damage. If the leaves are severely damaged, then remove them, so the plant uses its energy to grow a replacement. Make sure the water chemistry is good enough that the plant gets the minerals it needs, so the new leaves are healthy.

B


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

Yes, this is the 10 and I've got MGOCPM substrate. I figured the plants were growing so much better with the MGOCPM that I might as well unlimit any ferts.

The ferts were 1/4 of the amounts listed below, and for the last several weeks have been 1/2 of the amounts listed below (from Zorfox's recipes) I have missed a couple of weeks doing water change, ferts, so the ferts haven't been too stable. See amounts below:

5ml/10 gallons

KNO3 46.3 gm (approximately 9 teaspoons)
KH2PO4 7 gm (approximately 1 1/4 teaspoons)
Plantex CSM+B 29 gm (approximately 6 3/4 teaspoons)
Optional: K2SO4 19 gm (approximately 3 teaspoons)

I do a 50% water change and dose NPK the first day, the second day CSM-B, and the fourth day another shot of NPK.

The holes do have yellow and brown on the edges of the holes. Pretty ugly, huh? Nothing around the borders. The older leaves seem to be all right, some of the middle ones that you can see in the picture have holes, and the new leaves seem fine. However, I'm seeing some floating leaves, some with the same holes. They are not new leaves.


Thanks for your help.


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## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

How often are you adding the amount of fertilizers shown above?

Are you making a solution of all of the nutrients listed above and dosing 5 mL?


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

either not enough co2 or its potassium deficiency.


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

Zapins said:


> How often are you adding the amount of fertilizers shown above?
> 
> Are you making a solution of all of the nutrients listed above and dosing 5 mL?


- I'm adding KNO3 and K2PO4 in solution in water 2x per week and CSM+B once per week in solution in the amounts I showed. However, I started off at 1.25 ml. and afterwards (two weeks ago) 2.5 ml., so I never got to the full dose of 5 ml. That is certainly a problem, but the plants responded very well in terms of growth. Maybe I thought the recipe was for the full IE so I dosed 1/4, but it was clearly posted in the context of planted tanks. I will make up the difference in today's dose with another 2.5 ml.

Here is a link to the original thread of the recipes: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=647697&highlight=recipes


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## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

I doubt this is a deficiency. You have miracle grow soil. One of the most nutrient loaded (to the point of causing toxicity to aquatic plants and plant damage from the ammonia that leaches out). Adding additional fertilizers should be completely unnecessary. 

What can sometimes happen is due to a toxicity of some nutrient or other, usually trace nutrients like CSM+B or other nutrients in the water, is they block the use or uptake of other nutrients. This can result in strange symptoms when given the background information on a setup.

I'll have a look at the numbers later on based on what you are dosing, but I suspect that is what is happening here.


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

It says on the Organic Choice product page that it has the guaranteed analysis below. That's just the macro part.

Also, I thought I'd give you the most recent test results of the tank's water, as follows:

pH 6.4
KH 1
GH 3
NO3 5 ppm

My thought about adding ferts was that if there was some element missing from the Organic Choice it could be made up by the ferts. Something that is found in the CSM+B. I unfortunately never paid attention to NPK in the Organic Choice. The thought might be seen as in the same vein as Estimative Index, which is what I have thought I was doing, but looks like I'm definitely overdosing NPK as well as some part of CSM+B. But the fish are fine, it's just those holes and falling leaves on one or two stem plants.



I wonder also if anyone else who has Miracle Gro soil is adding anything.

I am also adding 4g. of Seachem Equilibrium per 5 gallons of new water when I do a water change. We have soft water here.


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## rick dale (Feb 26, 2014)

*ho!es*

Do you have any plecos ? They will eat holes in leaves. Just a thought.


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

No, but thanks. I just have a humongous population of Malaysian Trumpet Snails, and I was wondering, as a matter of fact, if they eat leaves when they're hungry, but it's doubtful because they're supposed to live in the substrate.


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