Diagnosing Deficiencies By Zapins 2015 Diagnosing Nutrient Deficiencies:

Step 2 Reference - Symptoms:

Is this a deficiency at all? Type of damage: - There are many problems that can cause damage to plants, deficiencies are common, but so are toxicities, mechanical damage, shipping damage, lack of lighting, and the list goes on. Use the questions underlined below to figure out if you have a deficiency. - Luckily deficiencies are generally easy to tell apart from other causes. This is because as a general rule there can be ONLY ONE deficiency in an aquarium at a time. Once plants run out of any one of the 14 essential nutrients they stop growing until that nutrient is replaced. This prevents multiple deficiencies from happening at one time. - For this reason you will generally see all plants in an aquarium showing similar symptoms in similar locations on the plant. If most of the plants in your tank are showing similar signs the problem is more likely to be a deficiency. - If you use a soil based substrate like topsoil, miracle grow, aquasoil, or root tabs it is possible for some plants to develop deficiencies and others not. It depends on which plants have access to the nutrients in the substrate. - Toxicities show up with excessive trace mineral dosing, chemical dosing (excel, peroxide, algae products) and are not uniform on all plants in the tank. Often times each plant species looks as if it has a different deficiency. Yellow margins around damaged areas or on areas of leaf? - Very likely a nutrient deficiency - Possible early toxicity sign (chemical overdose, trace nutrient deficiency), this depends on the Clean cut holes with sharp edges and no yellowing? - Not likely to be a deficiency, think mechanical damage (fish/snails) Major leaf veins damaged or stem damage? - Not likely to be a deficiency (nutrients are transported in veins, so they remain intact) - Think mechanical damage or toxicity, chemical burns, shipping damage, anaerobic conditions (bacterial rot), lack of light How fast did the damage appear? - If it was faster than a few days it is more likely to be a toxicity, emersed plant die off, or lack of light. Deficiencies take time to develop.

Once you have determined that the issue is probably a deficiency use the following steps in order to figure out what it is.

Step 1: Location of the damage on the plant: - This step will help you exclude irrelevant and unlikely deficiency possibilities. - Use the location of damage to figure out which of the 3 categories of nutrients may be deficient. Immobile nutrient (new leaf damage), mobile nutrient (old leaf damage), variably mobile nutrient (whole plant). Almost exclusively on New leaves? - New leaves are found approximately the first 3-4 pairs of leaves - Very likely an immobile nutrient deficiency Almost exclusively on Old Leaves? - All leaves from about the 5th pair of leaves to the base of the plant - Very likely a mobile nutrient deficiency On New and Old Leaves? - No pattern of damage, new and old leaves are damaged fairly equally - Not likely to be a deficiency, consider mechanical damage from fish/snails, toxicity, damage, chemical damage, etc. - Possible variably mobile deficient nutrient Immobile Nutrients Most commonly 1) Fe - Iron Deficient Nutrient in 2) B - Boron each category at the 3) Ca - Calcium top, least likely at the (Mn) - Manganese bottom. Nutrients in (Ni) - Nickle ( ) are virtually never deficient.

Mobile Nutrients

Variably Mobile Nutrients

1) K - Potassium 2) N - Nitrogen 3) Mg - Magnesium 4) P - Phosphorous

1) S - Sulfur (Zn) - Zinc (Mo) - Molybdenum (Cu) - Copper

Explanation: Mobile nutrients: - Can be removed from old leaves and are transported through intact veins to form new leaves. The first signs of damage from a deficiency of a mobile nutrient will ALWAYS be in the oldest leaves and the damage will progress upwards from the old leaves towards the new leaves as it gets worse over time. Immobile nutrient: - Deficiencies are ONLY found in the newest leaves, because these nutrients cannot be removed from older leaves, they are stuck where they were originally put when the leaf formed. This means all new leaves will have none of this nutrient and the symptoms show up in the newer leaves. Variably mobile nutrients: - Some species of plants are better or worse at moving these nutrients out of older tissue when the plant is deficient so the location of damage can either be older leaves or middle. New leaves are usually not affected so badly. The only nutrient to worry about in this category is sulfur deficiency which is very rare. Important: - Some nutrients are needed in exceptionally minute amounts and deficiencies are not likely to ever show up in your aquarium plants no matter how much distilled water you use. These nutrients are Nickle (it will never be deficient in your tank), Manganese, Copper, Zinc, and Molybdenum. - These nutrients can essentially be ignored as possibilities. They will not usually (if ever) be deficient in your tank. Step 2: Location of damage on the leaf itself: - This step is where you look at descriptions of deficiencies and compare what you have with the reference. - You want to use the category of nutrient deficiency you found above and look at the signs of each deficiency in that category. Compare the reference descriptions (Step 2 Reference - Symptoms: section of this document) and photos to your plant problem. - A full list of symptoms with dozens of descriptions and reference photos for many aquatic plant species can be found in the on www.DeficiencyFinder.com. - Does the damage affect only the tissue between leaves, or veins and leaf tissue? - Does it start at the tip of leaves? - Is the damage along the edges? - Large dying patches? - Small holes?

Practice example:

Immobile Nutrients: Iron (Fe) Deficiency: - Very common deficiency (third most common deficiency out of all nutrients) - Iron deficiency appears in new leaves first. Iron deficient plants have normal sized, uniformly colored pale green or white leaf tissue in most species, though in some species the leaf veins will often remain slightly more green than the surrounding tissue until the deficiency becomes severe. - Ordinarily when plants are left without iron for an extended period of time the new leaves will start to develop necrotic patches and begin to die. When iron is added back to the environment most plants are unable to repair chlorotic white leaves and so only the leaves produced after the addition of iron will be green and healthy. The chlorotic leaves will remain damaged and can be removed when the plant has grown out enough healthy leaves or left attached. - Usually pale damaged tissue will not heal when iron is dosed, but some species (sword plants) seem to re-green somewhat when iron is replaced. - Sometimes confused with magnesium deficiency, but magnesium symptoms are only on old leaves. Boron (B) Deficiency: - Rare deficiency nowadays with the use of CSM+B - Boron is not a mobile element within the plant, therefore symptoms are exclusively tied to new growth only. The apical bud stunts and dies leading to prolific leaf bud formation along the stem. New buds also stunt and die. New leaves cup and curl at edges. Stem and leaf tissue becomes extremely brittle and plant fragments when moved. Root length is greatly decreased (by about 50%). In late stages leaf tissue forms holes. - It is important to note that while boron is an essential micro nutrient it can be extremely toxic to plants when dosed at concentrations even slightly above the optimal dose. Calcium (Ca) Deficiency: - Rare deficiency, if you have any measurably GH reading you likely have enough Ca. - Calcium is not mobile within the plant, and so calcium deficiency shows up in new growth only. The main symptom is new leaves are twisted, or grow out malformed. Boron deficiency is visually similar to calcium deficiency but is less likely since it is used in smaller quantities. Mobile Nutrients: Potassium (K) Deficiency: - Very common (most common deficiency out of all nutrients) - Potassium is highly mobile within plants and so potassium deficiencies occur in old growth only. It appears as pinholes that enlarge with time. The holes generally do not cross leaf veins although depending on the species the holes may encompass veins. - Potassium deficiency holes always appear with a chlorotic or necrotic margin around them. Patchy yellow areas on affected leaves are also not uncommon. - Holes can range from pinholes on hygrophila species, to large lesions on lily type plants and rotalas. - Leaf tissue inside the potassium deficiency holes usually stays in place for a few days and simply dies and goes white or tan. Later on as bacteria work on the dead tissue the patches will decay away leaving behind holes. Nitrogen (N) Deficiency: - Very common (second most common deficiency out of all nutrients) - Nitrogen is mobile within plants and so nitrogen deficiency shows up first in the old growth. This generally tends to appear as chlorosis followed by necrosis starting at the tip of old leaves. In terms of the entire plant the damaged leaves appear anywhere from the oldest leaves on the plant to about a third of the way down from the growing tip. - As the deficiency becomes severe new growth begins to grow progressively smaller leaves until the growing bud dies and the plant stops growing new leaves entirely. If nitrogen is not administered the plant dies shortly after the growing buds stop growing. - Looks similar to phosphorous deficiency, but nitrogen deficiency is far more commonly deficient Magnesium (Mg) Deficiency - Not common - Magnesium is mobile within plants and so plants are capable of removing it from older tissues when magnesium concentrations in the water become low. Magnesium is vital for properly functioning of chlorophyll which is why magnesium deficiency results in chlorosis (loss of chlorophyll). - Leaf veins remain dark green and tissue between veins undergoes chlorosis. This deficiency is extremely distinctive and is unlikely to be confused with other deficiencies with the exception of some variegated plants which naturally have a similar pattern when healthy (examples are Hygrophila polysperma ‘sunset’). - Sometimes confused with iron deficiency, though iron deficiency is on new leaves only.

Phosphorous (P) Deficiency: - Not common - Phosphorous is a mobile nutrient within plants and can be removed from older leaves. Usually phosphorous deficiency starts along the edges of old leaves and progresses inwards to the midrib of the leaf. New leaves stay normal size. - Looks similar to nitrogen deficiency but it is a rare deficiency in aquatic environments Variably Mobile Nutrients: Sulfur (S) Deficiency: - Rare Deficiency - Sulfur is a variably mobile nutrient and a deficiency would show up as general yellowing of the entire plant. Some of the general plant symptoms in their location:

Step 1: Location of the damage on the plant: Almost exclusively on New leaves? - New leaves are found approximately the first 3-4 pairs of leaves - Very likely an immobile nutrient deficiency Almost exclusively on Old Leaves? - All leaves from about the 5th pair of leaves to the base of the plant - Very likely a mobile nutrient deficiency On New and Old Leaves? - No pattern of damage, new and old leaves are damaged fairly equally - Not likely to be a deficiency, consider mechanical damage from fish/snails, toxicity, damage, chemical damage, etc. - Possible variably mobile deficient nutrient Immobile Nutrients Most commonly 1) Fe - Iron Deficient Nutrient in 2) B - Boron each category at the 3) Ca - Calcium (Mn) - Manganese top, least likely at the bottom. Nutrients in (Ni) - Nickle ( ) are virtually never deficient.

Variably Mobile Nutrients 1) S - Sulfur (Zn) - Zinc (Mo) - Molybdenum (Cu) - Copper

Step 2: Location of damage on the leaf itself: - This step is where you look at descriptions of deficiencies and compare what you have with the reference. Possibilities based on Step 1 & 2: - Read the reference for each of these and choose what matches best. Mobile Nutrients 1) K - Potassium 2) N - Nitrogen 3) Mg - Magnesium 4) P - Phosphorous Diagnosis Process: Potassium Deficiency? - Highly likely, matches symptoms very well. Step 2 Reference - Symptoms: Mobile Nutrients: Potassium (K) Deficiency: - Very common (most common deficiency out of all nutrients) - Potassium is highly mobile within plants and so potassium deficiencies occur in old growth only. It appears as pinholes that enlarge with time. The holes generally do not cross leaf veins although depending on the species the holes may encompass veins. - Potassium deficiency holes always appear with a chlorotic or necrotic margin around them. Patchy yellow areas on affected leaves are also not uncommon. - Holes can range from pinholes on hygrophila species, to large lesions on lily type plants and rotalas. - Leaf tissue inside the potassium deficiency holes usually stays in place for a few days and simply dies and goes white or tan. Later on as bacteria work on the dead tissue the patches will decay away leaving behind holes. Nitrogen deficiency? - No, likely to be because nitrogen deficiency doesn't show up as holes on the leaves, also nitrate test kit registered 15 ppm nitrate. Magnesium Deficiency? - No, magnesium deficiency shows up as pale leaf tissue between the veins with dark green veins. Phosphorous deficiency? - No, no holes in this deficiency, similar appearance to nitrogen deficiency Step 3: Test kits & other signs: - Use test kits when possible, they can help guide you to the right answer. - Try to see the tank as a whole system. See if the deficiency you came up with above makes sense given your individual tank set up. Relevant Tank Parameters: - No K2SO4 dosed that week - Normal nitrate test kit result (15 ppm). - Potassium deficiency makes sense

****Note**** See (Step 2 Reference - Symptoms: in this document)

Practice Example (Continued):

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Mobile Nutrients 1) K - Potassium 2) N - Nitrogen 3) Mg - Magnesium 4) P - Phosphorous

See (Step 2 Reference - Symptoms: in this document)

Diagnosing Nutrient Deficiencies (Continued): Step 3: Test kits & other signs: - Use test kits when possible, they can help guide you to the right answer. - Be aware of rocks, substrate type, fish waste as possible explanations for plant symptoms. - Try to see the tank as a whole system. See if the deficiency you came up with above makes sense given your individual tank set up. Step 4: Nutrient dosing: - Now that you have a nutrient you think might be deficient it is time to dose it at the appropriate level and see if it was the missing nutrient. - Try not to change many parameters at one time. After all, if the issue is a deficiency, it is a deficiency of 1 nutrient and one nutrient only. This means that while you can probably add more of all nutrients and solve the problem that is not a targeted approach and can cause other problems in the future (micro nutrient toxicities, fish health problems, etc). - What you should ideally do is keep adding your normal fertilizers and doing your water changes as usual, but try adding more of only one nutrient at a time. - If the nutrient was the right one you will likely see a dramatic increase in plant growth within 1-2 weeks. - In general damaged plants will not repair the holes, or dead leaves, but all new growth will be healthy and normal looking.

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Practice Example (Continued): Step 4: Nutrient dosing: - Now that you have a nutrient you think might be deficient it is time to dose it at the appropriate level and see if it was the missing nutrient. - Try not to change many parameters at one time. After all, if the issue is a deficiency, it is a deficiency of 1 nutrient and one nutrient only. This means that while you can probably add more of all nutrients and solve the problem that is not a targeted approach and can cause other problems in the future (micro nutrient toxicities, fish health problems, etc). - What you should ideally do is keep adding your normal fertilizers and doing your water changes as usual, but try adding more of only one nutrient at a time. - If the nutrient was the right one you will likely see a dramatic increase in plant growth within 1-2 weeks. - In general damaged plants will not repair the holes, or dead leaves, but all new growth will be healthy and normal looking.

Recovery Process after K addition: Potassium Deficiency Confirmed