Amazon Frogbit...what The?

[PrairieSunflower]

Right so.... I bought a batch of amazon frogbit awhile ago to see if I liked it... I did so I bought more.... it was growing and had made some new little plants and.......... I had about 15 plants...... now... I have 4 and a bunch of half bitten leaves..... NONE have died... and I can only conclude... someone is eating them maybe??? I've not witnessed them being eaten yet.... they are disappearing and some half chewed on looking leaves are left.  They are NOT getting sucked into my filter or anything.
 
What is going on???
 
My stock (in a 20 gallon)
 
1 male gold honey gourami
1 female honey gourami
5 amano shrimp
Lots of assassin snails.
 
I've nearly never seen my snails climb that high except the one time they ate the honey gourami eggs.  The shrimp only climb around on the plants and swim around the bottom... which leaves the 2 honeys... but sure they are too small to eat all those plants...?

 

[greenmumma141]

Hmmm.. If I fall off the fertilizer wagon, and skip dosing for too long, my frogbit will die back. The leaves don't really melt the way my other plants' do, they kinda looked munched on actually. But if you're certain that they are actually being eaten, it would have to be your gouramis right? I don't think shrimp or snails would do it....

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I'm not certain it just looks like that but I've never seen any munching going on.  I use a weekly fertilizer as well.

 

[DerpPH]

maybe it was sucked into your filter?

 

[greenmumma141]

and then spit back out?! no way.
 
Id say the gouramis are having a midnight snack OR the weekly fertilizer isn't enough.  How long did you have the frogbit when it was doing well???

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Not that I can see, no leaves stuck to the side or inside.  I have a picture of a leaf still attached to a plant, just need to go and upload it first.  The rest were all detached with no sign of where the root/center went and then looked chewed on from the center edge in.

 

[greenmumma141]

Look at the surface of your tank really closely. Can't see any tiny bugs or anything can you???

I meant surface of the water in your tank. And the editor won't work on my dino of a computer

 

[PrairieSunflower]

and then spit back out?! no way.
 
Id say the gouramis are having a midnight snack OR the weekly fertilizer isn't enough.  How long did you have the frogbit when it was doing well???

 
I've had it a few weeks now, maybe 3 weeks for the newest batch and 4 weeks since I bought the first batch.... unfortunately... I'm not sure when it all started, maybe over a week or so ago.


I do have some new little plants forming... but far more have disappeared entirely.  I got rid of about 8-10 leaves earlier today that were detached or half eaten with no signs that they could regrow roots.

I am not able to spot anything anywhere near the surface and have not spotted anything foreign anywhere else previously.

 

[DerpPH]

I say it was the gouramis. They are omnivores after all

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I have been googling and have found some search results on other boards mentioning honey gourami eating the roots of amazon frogbit but no mention of them eating the leaves.  Could it be maybe they are eating the roots then the leaves and withering away in this manner as a result?

 

[Chad]

I would say lack of iron, if that hasn't already been mentioned. I have no fish that eat it so I know that's not the issue with mine but when I don't dose it looks just like your picture. I researched this and concluded that iron was the issue. Something to give a try to and see if that works.

 

[DrRob]

I have frogbit in a bucket that looks like that. Nothing obviously alive in there with it apart from some hydrocotyl. I say fertilisers.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

This is what I use for fertilizer.   http/www.jbl.de/en/aquatics-freshwater-products/detail/2342/jbl-ferropol

 

[Chad]

I see hit contains Fe but I wonder how much.

 

[Meeresstille]

Could lighting be the problem?
 
Some time ago I've saved this on my computer, maybe it would be of interest to you as well:
http/theplantedtank.co.uk/deficiencies.htm