Holey Buce Batman! . . .

[Wookii]

So, I recently broke down my scape ready for a reacape. I had lots of Buce in there, much of which was hidden from view due to overgrowth of other plants. Many of them had grown really well and are quite large - unfortunately though, many of the leaves have extensive holes in.

Can anyone offer any thoughts as to what might be the cause?

The tank was dosed EI, and I’ve not seen any deficiencies on any other plants including faster growing stems.

CO2 was generally on point, though it’s quite possible it was lower where the Buce were tucked away - though as a slow grower so it’s CO2 requirements should be minimal as was their exposure to light. Anubias growing right next to it have grown well too and without issues.

I have a variety of snails in the tank, so physical damage might be a possibility, though no other plants have been affected.

The only other things I can think of is if the Buce have an aversion to Excel (the tank received a daily low level dose), or some of the botanical extract products added with the ferts such as Catappa X and Microbelift BioCO2 (though that seems unlikely).

Some pictures in cause they help the diagnosis:

 

[plantnoobdude]

could it be damage from livestock? after plants were weakened with excel.

 

[Driftless]

Those holes don't look like they are from livestock to me, I am not a fan of Excel and have read that it can cause holes in val. A deficiency but only with the Buce?

 

[Wookii]

The Excel was my prime suspect too, but I can’t seem to find any report online of issues specifically with Buce, and there are plenty of people running tanks and using it as a CO2 subsitiute (ignoring the debate on whether it actually works in that way or not - I used it as a BBA deterrent).

 

[MichaelJ]

I kind of had similar issues a while a go - although not as bad as what your showing on the pictures. Holes in one of my crypts. Other plants, including other crypts, were completely unaffected. After trimming down plant mass a bit the problem totally went away. It could also have been mechanical damage, but I hedged my bets by trimming and lowering the (already low) light intensity just a tiny bit... both my tanks are non-CO2.
Cheers,
Michael