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Yellowing bucephalandra

Jack Reilly

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Joined
10 Jul 2016
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australia
my buce is yellowing. Is this lack of iron ? Also my Anubias nana is melting on the tips and has some holes. I use Ada lean dosing. Currently dosing about 20% more than the standard ADA daily dose.
 

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Hi
The ADA range as lean as it is contains Iron and plants need it in small ammount.
In your pics U can clearly see the veins of the plants and even the old leaves seem yellow ish so I will go with Magnesium as not sure if that is in ADA ferts.Iron deficiencies will show only on new growth as is not mobile.
Get some epsom salt from any shop and add some that.U should get pretty fast greening of the plants as is mobile element.Lack of Mg can prevent the plant of absorbing Iron too if I am not mistaken.
Regards Konsa
 
Hi
The ADA range as lean as it is contains Iron and plants need it in small ammount.
In your pics U can clearly see the veins of the plants and even the old leaves seem yellow ish so I will go with Magnesium as not sure if that is in ADA ferts.Iron deficiencies will show only on new growth as is not mobile.
Get some epsom salt from any shop and add some that.U should get pretty fast greening of the plants as is mobile element.Lack of Mg can prevent the plant of absorbing Iron too if I am not mistaken.
Regards Konsa
Thanks Konsa, I've bought some Epsom salts and starting dosing. I'll update with results.
 
Hi all,
Thanks Konsa, I've bought some Epsom salts and starting dosing. I'll update with results.
I'd be interested in this as well, looking at:

52a0723e-f6e6-4078-943b-e568497d9bd7-jpeg.jpg


It looks like it might be iron (Fe) deficiency, as well as magnesium (Mg). Because Bucephalandra species are slow growing, and iron isn't mobile within the plant, the deficiency may have occurred before @Jack Reilly bought them.

Very hard (calcium carbonate rich) water would make iron deficiency more likely. While I was trying to find out exactly what ADA lean dosing was I came upon these threads from a few years ago <"The science behind ADA additives..."> and <"Ei dosing Vs ADA Liquid Ferts">.

cheers Darrel
 
Having kept a range og different Buces and seing lots in the NA Gallery Japan, all running on ADA ferts ( mine is even below recommended dosage and only using mineral and K) I'm pretty confident that these ferts is not the sole issue of you problem
 
Hi all,
I should have said that I don't know what the chelator in ADA's fertilisers. @xim present levels of iron in <"Accumulation of .....">, but he doesn't mention what form the chelator for iron was in.

If @Shinobi and ADA NA gallery have low pH, soft water then the form of iron added isn't important, but as the pH rises iron ions will become unavailable, un-less they are chelated.

There is a scientific discussion of the physiological mechanism that plants may use to uptake iron from chelators at <"here">. Different chelators are effective over differing pH ranges.

Specifically for Bucephalandra spp. there is @X3NiTH's comments in <"Bucephalandra challenge">. There is a useful summary document (for aquaponic grown salad crops) at <"Cornell University">.

cheers Darrel
 
So what were the results? All dead? Joking!
Share with us.

Sorry got busy with work and forgot to report back. There were no effects from the added Epsom salts. I’ve increased iron to 3x the standard ADA recommended dose and seeing if there’s any change.

All other plants in the tank other than the Buce and Anubias are very healthy (well other than the crypts which I keep melting with excel, trying to get at the BBA when it pops up. )so I do believe it’s a lack of nutrients in the water column as these are the only two plants relying on the water column.

All signs point to iron deficiency but I’m already adding 2x standard dose. Now at 3x so we’ll see how it goes. Any higher an ill go back to dry ferts as this is too expensive lol.
 
Last edited:
Hi all, It might take a while for the plants to perk up. It would only be new leaves that weren't deficient, the plant can't move iron (Fe) to the older leaves.

cheers Darrel
I didn’t know that. Well that’s a shame seeing as these plants are so slow growing.
 
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