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a serial killer on the loose ...



Hello.

I have (or had, depending ...) a lotus lily plant (I believe - bulb plant,
green arrowhead-shaped leaves) which has recently been munched upon. I am
suspecting a dwarf flame gourami or the abundant pond snails, but that's not
primarily what I am concerned about right now. The lily had two larger
leaves on it, and both have been chewed or broken off at the base.

Whoever is doing this has preyed upon my cryptocornes, at first randomly
munching the leaves off at the base one a week or so and here recently,
annhiliating the things over the span of about a week, shearing them down to
nothing. There is also a mystery snail who I saw munch on some rather sickly
crypt leaves, but he gobbled them from one end toward the plant. I figured
he was helping me prune. Many of the other leaves are (or had been) very
healthy until pruned by my mystery muncher (gourami, I'm assuming). I had
never before seen any damage to the lily by anyone except for an occasional
spot or two on a somewhat unhealthy leaf or rim damage, both by the pond
snails.

My question: is there anything I can do with the lily leaves to try to keep
them going or to try to help them grow a new plant?

I'm assuming that since it's a bulb plant, I'm basically out of luck. But
for now, the leaves are floating at the top, waiting to see if anything have
been done. One has two large tears in it, so I'm guessing it's a goner no
matter what, but the other seemed very healthy before. I'm open to any
options, and I have a 10-gal. tank which could be used to help the leaves
grow out predator-free.

As it is, crypts are just plain out in my main tank. Is there any reason to
believe that my predator may at some point decide to chomp on a banana
plant? Or anacharis? There are also a couple jungle val. plants that
regularly get trimmed, but they seem okay so far. And a replacement won't
take too much.

Thanks in advance. This list is an incredible resource.
-Nathan Wittmaier