# Sword with holes on leaves



## HomeroThompson (Mar 15, 2020)

I've noticed the growth of one of sword plants (10G aquarium) has been stagnant for a while. Today, after a closer examination, I observed several tiny holes on most, if not all, leaves:



















According to _Ecology of the Planted Aquarium_, page 87, this can be due to a lack of Calcium. I'm a bit puzzled though, because the water's GH seems to be at an acceptable level. My parameters are:

GH: 161.1 ppm
KH: 4 ºdKH
TDS: 275
pH: ~7.4

Should I be raising the GH further? I currently have some Seachem Replenish lying around, but I'm hesitant to use it because Seachem itself mentions it can be detrimental to plants. I can follow the book (or this very recent post), the main advantage of Replenish is that I already have it.

My shrimp seem to be thriving, so the current hardness seems to be enough for them to molt. Other plants are doing well, save for this sword plant (only one in the tank).


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

can you take a closer picture of the snails? The holes don’t look natural. It’s rare in an aquarium but some snails do eat healthy plants.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Are the holes in all leaves, or just the older ones?


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

HomeroThompson said:


> According to _Ecology of the Planted Aquarium_, page 87, this can be due to a lack of Calcium. I'm a bit puzzled though, because the water's GH seems to be at an acceptable level.


Lack of calcium doesn't cause little holes in the leaves. It causes the entire leaf to melt/dissolve away and the plant to die.


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## HomeroThompson (Mar 15, 2020)

mistergreen said:


> can you take a closer picture of the snails? The holes don't look natural. It's rare in an aquarium but some snails do eat healthy plants.


I think they're just regular ramshorn snails, together with a few bladder snails:



















There's also a single assassin snail, so that the ramshorn snail population doesn't get completely out of hand.



Michael said:


> Are the holes in all leaves, or just the older ones?


All of them. I haven't seen new growth in a while.



dwalstad said:


> Lack of calcium doesn't cause little holes in the leaves. It causes the entire leaf to melt/dissolve away and the plant to die.


Ah I was mistaken then.

I should maybe add, the tank has been going for about 15 months.

Also, there's a single leaf that's looking considerably worse, and which I discovered after my original post (it was hidden away by the nearby Java fern). Sorry for the blurry pictures, getting my phone to focus was an impossible task:


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

hmmm, strange. Snails look normal. When in doubt, look at the macronutrients. Look at nitrogen & potassium & CO2/carbon. 
How old is this tank and how often are the water changes?


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## HomeroThompson (Mar 15, 2020)

mistergreen said:


> hmmm, strange. Snails look normal. When in doubt, look at the macronutrients. Look at nitrogen & potassium & CO2/carbon.
> How old is this tank and how often are the water changes?


When you say look, is it possible to measure those?

The tank has been running for 15 months. To be honest, I do water changes every couple of months (aside from small top offs due to evaporation), the livestock seems happy.


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## Karen in San Jose (Jun 1, 2020)

I read somewhere that baby snails will eat tiny holes where they hatch. I have nothing to back that up with. But, I have seen this in my new tank and it's not causing plants to die, so I just don't worry about it. In my tank it's mainly Brazilian pennywort that this has happened to.


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

I have a ton of snails in my tank. Some are pond snails and the other look somewhat like MTS only they are much smaller(1mm in size) and they only make an appearance when there isn't much circulating in the tank. I've also had ramshorns in the past and none of them ever ate away at the plants. 

Are all the leaves affected or is it only the older ones? From the looks of it, I'm wondering if your plants are dealing with a potassium deficiency.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

I'm inclined to agree with Mandy that it might be potassium deficiency. My analysis (Table V-3, p. 80 in my book) showed that K provided by the fishfood input was borderline. Moreover, deficiency symptoms are holes in the leaves. Here's a link for more on nutrient deficiencies.

Easy to fix by adding a pinch to the tank of "salt substitute" from a grocery store. Mostly KCl. Dissolve it first in some water before adding to the tank.

Remember that 1 tsp KCl = about 6 grams (6,000 mg) and about half of that is actual K; the rest is Cl. If you have a 10 gal tank (40 liters) and you shoot for a generous 10 mg K per liter. you only need to add 800 mg of KCl. That will give you a total of 400 mg of pure K and 10 mg K per liter. So you need to think in terms of one-tenth of a teaspoon per 10 gal. My point is that you don't have to add much of the salt substitute. And adding a little extra or a little less won't hurt.

Your hardwater might have plenty of Ca and Mg but lack K.


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

dwalstad said:


> Easy to fix by adding a pinch to the tank of "salt substitute" from a grocery store. Mostly KCl. Dissolve it first in some water before adding to the tank.


Using a salt substitute is a great idea! My crypts are currently recovering from a potassium deficiency so this would be much better to use without having to add phosphates or nitrates along with it.

Some brands have other things added like sugar. Would that be harmful to the plants and fish?


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## HomeroThompson (Mar 15, 2020)

dwalstad said:


> I'm inclined to agree with Mandy that it might be potassium deficiency. My analysis (Table V-3, p. 80 in my book) showed that K provided by the fishfood input was borderline. Moreover, deficiency symptoms are holes in the leaves. Here's a link for more on nutrient deficiencies.
> 
> Easy to fix by adding a pinch to the tank of "salt substitute" from a grocery store. Mostly KCl. Dissolve it first in some water before adding to the tank.
> 
> ...


That's a very informative link, thanks!

I'll try adding some KCl. Salt substitutes in stores have other compounds in them, for example this one also contains potassium bitartrate (KC₄H₅O₆), adipic acid (C₆H₁₀O₄), silicon dioxide (SiO₂), fumaric acid (HO₂CCH=CHCO₂H), and "mineral oil". Are there any harmful compounds I should be on the lookout for? I know copper is toxic to invertebrates, so the above seems fine in that regard at least.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Don't bother with 'substitute salt' if you're buying off Amazon. Might as well order a bag of KCl, K2SO4 or KNO3. KNO3 will give you K & N which looks like what you're missing. Have you tested your Nitrate by the way?


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## HomeroThompson (Mar 15, 2020)

mistergreen said:


> Don't bother with 'substitute salt' if you're buying off Amazon. Might as well order a bag of KCl, K2SO4 or KNO3. KNO3 will give you K & N which looks like what you're missing. Have you tested your Nitrate by the way?


I measured my nitrates and they're at 0 ppm (as per the API test). I'm a bit worried about ending up on a government watch list if I buy a pound of KNO3 . Is buying pure KNO3 better than something like this ?


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

You're fine if you buy 1lbs of KNO3. Lots of plant people buy it through mail. It's also used in curing meat like ham so it's not a big deal.

The liquid KNO3 would work too but hope it doesn't leak in the mail.


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

mistergreen said:


> It's also used in curing meat like ham so it's not a big deal.


It's also great for sensitive teeth. Lol


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

HomeroThompson said:


> That's a very informative link, thanks!
> 
> I'll try adding some KCl. Salt substitutes in stores have other compounds in them, for example this one also contains potassium bitartrate (KC₄H₅O₆), adipic acid (C₆H₁₀O₄), silicon dioxide (SiO₂), fumaric acid (HO₂CCH=CHCO₂H), and "mineral oil". Are there any harmful compounds I should be on the lookout for? I know copper is toxic to invertebrates, so the above seems fine in that regard at least.


I doubt that any of these compounds are toxic. After all, they have to pass the "people test." Moreover, they are minor ingredients and you are only adding a small amount of the salt substitute to the tank. You are right, though, to be concerned if they contained copper.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Red_Rose said:


> It's also great for sensitive teeth. Lol


Lol, too much kno3 will give me a headache.


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## HomeroThompson (Mar 15, 2020)

I ended up buying KCl at the supermarket, simply because it was much cheaper. I eyeballed 1/10th of a teaspoon, diluted it in some water, and added it to the tank. Can the leaves with holes bounce back, or should I cut them off? I don't think any leaves will remain if I do so, though.


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## aquabillpers (Apr 13, 2006)

Potassiun nitrate (aka saltpeter) has also been used to blow up buildings, so don't try to buy a truckload <g>.

Right after 9/11 I had a problem buring just a pound at a local farm supply store!

Bill


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

HomeroThompson said:


> I ended up buying KCl at the supermarket, simply because it was much cheaper. I eyeballed 1/10th of a teaspoon, diluted it in some water, and added it to the tank. Can the leaves with holes bounce back, or should I cut them off? I don't think any leaves will remain if I do so, though.


Sounds good!

I would just leave the plant alone. A leaf with a few holes is better than no leaf at all!


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