What's eating my ludwigia brevipes?

Ludwigia brevipes is a compact aquarium stem plant grown for its fine texture. Algae is the primary threat when light or CO2 is unbalanced, and pest snails rasp its small leaves. Herbivorous fish will browse it. Emersed growth attracts aphids. Its moderate growth rate means algae can gain a foothold quickly if conditions are not well maintained.

Hair algae tangles around fine stems and leaves; green spot algae forms on leaf surfaces under high light Stabilise CO2 and photoperiod, add Amano shrimp for hair algae, nerite snails for spot algae

Small holes and rasped areas on leaves, concentrated on newer softer growth Biological control via assassin snails or loaches; manual removal and population management via feeding reduction

Leaves nibbled; stems may be uprooted by fish actively foraging around the plant base Keep with plant-safe tank mates; provide adequate feeding to reduce opportunistic plant grazing

Clusters on emersed tips cause curling and yellowing of new leaves above the waterline Drown by submerging briefly, or apply diluted insecticidal soap to emersed sections and rinse before re-submerging