Anubias leaf turning yellow/brown

**StacieS** · 05-03-2009, 05:22 AM

My 6 gallon tank is currently cycling so I bought some java moss and one anubias plant to help the process. I have 3 zebra danios in the tank right now - it's a Marineland Eclipse, and I'm using the light that came with it.

The java moss is doing fine, but I noticed that one of the leaves on the anubias has turned yellow and brown. I planted it in the regular aquarium gravel, and I've been leaving the light on for about 6 hours each day. The woman at the aquarium specialty store where I purchased the plants informed me that 6 hrs of light each day should suffice, given that I'm using a 6 gallon tank.

Any idea why it's turning yellow/brown? Does it need more light? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

**invadertoast** · 05-03-2009, 05:37 AM

Is the rhizome of the plant above the substrate or did you cover everything but the leaves? The rhizone needs to be above the substrate, you can attach the plant to driftwood or some other decoration, or cover just the roots with gravel to keep it from floating.

**Sir Tristen** · 05-03-2009, 09:45 PM

Yeah, planting anubias is a no go. Most people tie it to something, but you could do as toast said and just bury the roots.

**smaug** · 05-03-2009, 10:04 PM

Anubis dont need much light but a bit more then 6 hrs would be beneficial,try 8-10.As the others have suggested,remove the plant from the gravel totally,get a small piece of sinking wood or a small jagged rock [jagged to promote root attachment] and tie it to it with seing string.You keep the rhizome uncoverd by anything or it can rot, the roots can be buried but actually do better of left loose in the water.

**StacieS** · 05-05-2009, 06:53 AM

Thank you everyone! I unburied the rhizome and am currently looking for a jagged rock to tie it to (my tank is too small for a decent sized piece of driftwood). I also purchased some API Leaf Zone from Petco today and added some to the water. Hopefully this will help! Should I go ahead and cut off the yellow/brown leaf or just leave it there in hope that it will recover? I will start leaving the light on for between 8-10 hours.

Thank you again for your help!!

**smaug** · 05-05-2009, 09:06 PM

Be careful dosing ferts with so few plants,especially the type you have.They really dont need much nutrient and the normally produced fish waste should do fine,half the recomended dosing will do fine.