Please recommend me a liquid fert

[LeahK]

I have a very low light tank (about 0.54 wpg) with anubias and java moss only, and I think my anubias could use a nutritional boost.
I have heard that there's anecdotal evidence showing that Excel will help combat algae. But in my case, I don't want to get rid of the algae on the back and sides of my tank, because my otos feed on it.
Can anyone recommend me a good liquid fert for the anubias that will NOT disturb my algae growth?
Thanks!

 

[rsanz]

I would caution against using ferts on such a low-light setup. It will cause an algae outbreak since the plants won't be able to use up the nutrients under low-light conditions.

Ferts are best left to tanks that have 1.5-2wpg and Co2 injection. That way, the plants will be able to grow faster and use up the nutrients in the ferts before an algae crop can establish itself.

Trust me, algae on the glass is fine and easy to handle, but you do NOT want a outbreak of Black-Beard or Green Hair algae. It's a headache, to say the least.

 

[LeahK]

I would caution against using ferts on such a low-light setup. It will cause an algae outbreak since the plants won't be able to use up the nutrients under low-light conditions.

Aahhh, thanks, that's true--I hadn't thought about other kinds of algae showing up. What worried me was this: one of my anubias plants, which had been doing just fine for months, suddenly started to rot at the rhizome. (It's tied to driftwood, not buried in the gravel). The leaves and roots looked fine, but the rhizome was rotting from the inside out.
This plant was actually at the very top of a tall piece of driftwood, so it got the most light of any other plant in the tank. That's why I thought that a nutrient deficiency must have caused the rhizome to die. But maybe it was something else I did (or didn't do)?

 

[rsanz]

I've found that the rhizomes on some of my Anubias rot as well, but I just assumed that this was how the plant propagates.

Is there a second little plant growing on your "rotting" rhizome? If so, pull it off and re-tie it to your wood!

 

[Bk718]

technically you an get a bottle of flourish and dose a tiny amount every week. But i would suggest you up your lighting because even low light plants have their limit.