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N deficiency in Anubias barteri



Paul wrote:

>In all the descriptions of N. deficiency, I have never seen anything about
>new leaves, or any leaves for that matter, being distorted.  The plant is
>yellowish and growth is slowed.  The whole plant can be small.

I agree,  It does not, as far as I know cause deformity.  The plants that I
commented on at Steve's were uniformly small and "dwarfed".  I can't
remember if they were yellowish, but Paul is right, that too often goes
along with chronic N deficiency.

>Anubias barteri roots can attach to stones.  The air channels in the roots
>are very small, compared to those of most other aquatic plants.  The roots
>never get very long, either, nor do they branch very much.  All these
>traits make me think that Anubias roots are not designed to penetrate
>anaerobic mud, but to cling to surfaces.  Also, A. barteri seems to grow
>very well as a floating plant, never developing iron deficiency.  I am
>convinced that A. barteri gets its nutrients from the water.  When I grow
>it in gravel, I only put a tiny bit of soil with the gravel.  

Again, I agree completely.  In my experience all the A barteri complex
plants fair poorly in rich anaerobic substrates, and do fine in completely
inert substrates as long as there are sufficient nutrients available in the
water column.  I think that, plus their tough texture is exactly why they
have been a long-time standby of "fish tank" people.  They do great with
UGF's for the same reason... I think that environment is very similar to
what they find in the wild.

Karen