Re: Pond snail q's - pic of leaf

[Naomi Mizumoto <naomizu at mac_com>]

Thank you for the replies!

Paul:
The pond snails I have are either Physa or Limnaea, I think. Most of the 
literature (at least the credible ones) say that they are harmless in 
planted tanks; I guess I was looking for reassurance. I do enjoy my snails 
and don't want to have to evict any. I think you're right on target with 
the CO2 and iron. I had recently changed my DIY bottle before the new one 
was producing enough CO2. The tank went for several days with no CO2 
injection. Also, in the process of moving, I had lost track of where I had 
put the fertilizers and for nearly two weeks the tanks went without... I 
knew that this was causing the plants to weaken, but I just didn't expect 
to see all these holes. Funny - I always thought that golden lloydiella was 
supposed to be this color, but since you mention that it looks particularly 
pale, I guess iron deficiency would be a probable cause for the transparent 
speckling, as well. I'll try to go for greener. I wonder how you could get 
iron deficiency while using Flourite, but maybe this plant has an easier 
time getting nutrients via the water column...? I'll increase my iron 
dosage, but I'm a little worried about toxicity to the cherry red shrimp 
and snails (and as of today, guppy fry).

Chuck:
Ditto everything I wrote to Paul. I should be more diligent with traces, 
too. This is what happened to my last favorite plant:
http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.200207/msg00442.html
It was quite dreadful. Lost every bit of this plant to what mimicked crypt 
rot, only it didn't recover the way crypts do. Decayed right down to the 
roots. All other plants were unaffected. Whatever is happening to the L. 
nummularia 'aurea' is nowhere near as virulent and the symptoms can easily 
be attributed to deficiencies. The fact that the stems themselves are not 
rotting is enough to keep me from going into a panic.

Jeff:
I did enjoy the M. umbrosum immensely, but it just grew too rampantly for 
me under favorable conditions. When it wasn't growing like a weed, it 
looked bad. It was, however, the plant that got me out of the two-month 
"planting slump" I experienced after losing the Lobelias. I knew I had to 
get back on the horse and search for a "new favorite plant." The umbrosum 
came close, as I had wonderful luck growing it; it was just *too much* of a 
good thing, I guess. With the size tanks I've been working with (mostly 
2.5-gallons), I need really slow-growers. But good guess ;-). I love the 
golden lloydiella because it grows almost as slowly as L. cardinalis. 
Actually, I may like it even more because it doesn't grow hairy roots from 
almost every node, and it's not known to secrete toxins.

Thanks again, all... I'll keep the snails and try to get the plants in shape.

Much gratitude,
Naomi