# Leaf damage - potassium deficiency?



## CatG (Apr 10, 2010)

I've got some leaf damage going on here on both my red tiger lotus and my crypt wendtii. They both have holes developing, which I think might be a potassium deficiency. The crypt also has other damage that I am not sure of the cause. One of the leaves has a large "melted" section. Some of these crypt leaves do have green algae on them. Could the algae be the cause of this, or is the leaf just old? It has lost a few leaves to this type of thing, but it only happens every several weeks.

Here are some pics. Sorry for the quality - I am no photographer. If you need a better shot of anything, let me know and I will try to get a better pic.

Thanks,
Cat


----------



## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

I don't think it is potassium deficiency. In the first picture, it looks like the infamous crypt meltdown, which has many causes, but isn't a macronutrient deficiency. . In the other pictures it doesn't look like potassium deficiency either. The holes are too big and too widely scattered. they look more like damage.

Here is a picture of potassium deficiency in C. wendtii taken from the plant deficiency symptoms section of the photo gallery. The holes are small and numerous.


----------



## CatG (Apr 10, 2010)

Thanks for the response! Do you think this could be snail damage?

Also, do you have a link to something that describes the causes of "crypt melt"?

Thanks so much,
Cat


----------



## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

I don't think it is snail damage. What kinds of snails do you have? Usually when there is snail damage you can see the snails working away on the leaves, putting in a lot of effort. 


Crypt melt:
(1) happens after transplanting
(2) can happen if crypts are nitrogen deficient and possibly also deficient in micronutrients, and then you give them a big dose of nitrates. (better to make sure your micronutrients are in good supply and then bring up the nitrates gradually in small doses. 
(3) can happen if rapidly growing plants take over. When the tank gets crowded, the crypts will melt.
(4) If you neglect your crypts for a long time (no CO2, no nutrients) they will suffer for a while without showing symptoms, other than a cessation of growth, and then suddenly melt. 
(5) If they are in very low light (less than 1 watt per gallon) and you get the CO2 levels over recommended amounts (approx. 30 ppm) they can melt, but only in low light. They do fine in high CO2 with better light. 
(6----) there are probably more causes of melt that others know about.


----------



## CatG (Apr 10, 2010)

Thanks for your response!

I have a few different kinds of snails in the tank, only one of which I actually put in there. I put in MTS, and got ramshorn and what I think are pond snails in with some plants. I do see the snails on those plants (among others), but those are the only plants I am having problems with. The lotus has only been in there a week, and I don't think it had holes in it when I got it. The crypt has been in about 2 months and has generally done pretty well.

I dose macros (magnesium sulphate, potassium nitrate, and potassium phosphate) daily, Excel every other day, and Flourish Comprehensive twice a week. I also just bought Flourish tabs, which I plan to put in near these two plants this weekend.

My CO2 has been low but stable for a few weeks (21ppm), but have had great plant growth so I haven't messed with it. (it's DIY CO2, and keeping the amount steady can be a problem, so I figured if things were going ok, then I shouldn't mess with it) The tank is getting pretty full, and the plants are filling in nicely. The other day, I did a trim and actully had to throw the trimmings out due to lack of room. That's the first time I've had to do that.

Here's a pic of my tank. Again, it's a crappy pic but you can see how full it's getting, although the area where the crypt is is fairly empty. There are a few pigmy chain swords closing in, but not too bad I don't think. Could this be the problem? Oh, and I am also having a brown algae outbreak if that makes any difference.

Thanks again for the help!
Cat


----------



## CatG (Apr 10, 2010)

Oh, and I forgot to add that I have about 2.1 wpg, with 2 red spectrum bulbs and 2 blue spectrum. I forget the K value, but can check if you need the info.

Cat


----------

