Hygrophila Corymbosa

[lym]

I've had a Hygrophila Corymbosa in my cycling tank now for just over a week and today I've noticed that some of the leaves have got black spots on them, is there something wrong with my plant?

 

[Liam]

I dont know the cause of the spots but yeah something is wrong, as long as the plant is producing new leaves it should be okay its a pretty fast tough plant.

 

[lym]

So what should I do then? Leave them? Cut them off?

 

[lym]

Anyone know?

 

[lym]

If it helps, I've just noticed today that is looks like hair/fluff on the leaves too.

 

[Dave Spencer]

It`s hard to make a judgement without a picture. What kind of light do you have?

Hygrophilia is a pretty resilient plant, so maybe it will bounce back.

 

[lym]

It`s hard to make a judgement without a picture. What kind of light do you have?

Hygrophilia is a pretty resilient plant, so maybe it will bounce back.

Lighting is 36W.

 

[lym]

I've tried to get a picture but my camera isn't good enough for close ups. I can only describe it, the leaves are going black and it looks like there is fluff/hair coming from the black parts.

 

[lym]

I've just had to take some snails out that I just spotted so I thought I'd see if the the black stuff on the leaves would come off. It all came off and the plant looks fine again now, I'm guessing it was some sort of algae?? Is there anyway to prevent this?

 

[Dave Spencer]

It sounds like black brush algae to me, but I am still guessing. I had a little outbreak of that type on my Jave Fern recently, but it was down to a drop in the CO2 injection in my tank. It is now virtually all gone.

Is it concentrated on the leaf edges?

Dave.

 

[lym]

Is it concentrated on the leaf edges?

Dave.

Yes.

 

[Dave Spencer]

Without a picture I am going to guess that it is BBA. It can be attributed to fluctuating CO2 levels as a rule, but does appear in high water flow, as in the filter outlet. If you are not injecting CO2 the best plan of attack is to put back your water change for a while. This will allow the CO2 level to stabilise in your tank.

It is easy to get rid of in a CO2 injected tank because you just increase the rate and keep it stabilised. In a lower tech tank I should imagine it would prove more difficult to shift. Using Flourish Excel should help to get rid of it if you are having no luck with holding back on the water change.

There is always the option to remove it manually as well, but you may damage the leaf. Hope this helps.

Dave.