red tiger lotus leaf holes?

[PlantedRich]

I love the plant and it is growing and sending off small plants but at the same time it develops holes in the leaves.
I'm doing an EI dosing modified to cut back on the nitrate which I get plenty of due to fish. This is a 75 with more than 50% planted and the fish are young rainbow cichlids, an Ellioti and a couple clown loachs. I don't think the fish are involved with the holes as the holes come up in the centers of leaves where fish would be unlikely to start as well as I see none of that problem even though I do expect it from the rainbow at some point. I have what I feel is good light and pressure CO2 that is still a work under study.
Does anybody have a thought on what deficiency I might have? I read that they "appreciate" an iron supplement but I'm not sure what that means. More iron? More potassium??

[Trickerie]

Could be potassium. You say you cut back on KNO3, did you also account for the less dosage of K from that cut back?

[Wasserpest]

Clown loaches get bored and start clicking holes into leaves. Do you have a picture?

If it isn't caused by the fish, most likely it is some nutrient deficiency, which leads to early decay of the older leaves. Nymphaea is a big root feeder that appreciates a rich substrate. Sometimes adding some root tabs/fert sticks/ capsules is all that's needed.

[PlantedRich]

Originally Posted by Trickerie

Could be potassium. You say you cut back on KNO3, did you also account for the less dosage of K from that cut back?

Humm> I did not. I will need some help/advise on how to account for that loss. Chemistry is the weak suit for sure! I think it may not be that because of the timing but I should do something to change that loss as you point out. I'm at a stage where I have several problems to work out and the holes were in the leaves before the cutback so it may be involved or not.
I did take some pictures if that helps. In general, I'm very pleased with this plant's progress. It has shot up and set a small plant which I've cut off and moved. I was afraid it might die but it could not stay where it was but it looks great. No holes in the small plant leaves.


The older plant has shot several leaves to the surface which suits me okay. I'm waiting to see how the other plants may like it though.

You can see some gaps in the left leaf at the edge but some farther into the leaf as well.

These are the holes which make me thing it is not fish work but another problem as they are not at the edge and when the leaf is floating, it would seem less likely for the fish to come from the bottom to snag a bite in the leaf at the middle rather than the edge of some of the tender new leaves. I had also thought about leaves near the light at the top might be damaged but there are leaves lower down in the water that also have holes.

But then my thinking is not getting it done so I've come looking for suggestions.

[Wasserpest]

Just two words for you... Clown Loaches.

They need some entertainment. Once they run out of things to do they will find something new.

[PlantedRich]

So maybe the clown loachs carry little shotguns and when bored, shoot the plants? Sounds interesting! That is pretty much what it looks like, too. I think I may go for upping the potassium to see what happens.

For a further question, I'm confused on the potassium. Is there a direct way to measure how much I'm getting into my tank. I have a phosphate test but how does that relate? AS I said, chemistry is obviously not the strong suit, here.

[Complexity]

It appears there are some potassium test kits out there, but they don't look like a very good value to buy for our general needs. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_se...qid=1342108648. I think we just have to use symptoms in the tank to tell us when we need to dose more potassium. If we aren't getting symptoms, then we assume it's okay. If we are getting symptoms, then we assume we need more. Not the most precise method, obviously.

[PlantedRich]

Sounds like it fits for lots of things I do! Just try it for a while and see if it fits. Got any suggestions for what I need to adjust to get more potassium? I cut back/stopped dosing the KNO3 due to high nitrates and that is okay although I am working to reduce the nitrates so I would like to avoid adding potassium from that source.

[Complexity]

Are you dosing any KH2PO4? That can help increase potassium.

[PlantedRich]

Yes on the KH2PO4. I got my dry ferts from one of the group here and started with doing the three major types but dropped the one to cut an increase of nitrate. I am running low on the KH2PO4 and need to order more. Would that seem to be the best shot at the moment by increasing my dose of that until I see the result? Or is there another item which might be more direct? I'm anxious to get some on the way as things are really beginning to show some results. I've been rather slow to change until I started to see really good results but now I don't like the thought of it slowing down while I debate the best action. Thanks for any input.

[Complexity]

I'm not the best person to answer your question so hopefully someone else with more experience with this will help out. The best I can offer is that it is my understanding that dosing more KH2PO4 is the way to get extra potassium. Perhaps there are better ways?

[PlantedRich]

Thanks, got some on the way shortly. I'm getting some potassium and some iron so I should be able to try both to see which works.

[Aquatic Delight]

did you ever find out what was causing it? i've get very similiar holes in mine.