Anubia produces oxalic acid
The anubia plant produces oxalic acid inside. This substance does not in itself pose a threat to the fauna in the aquarium as long as the plant is undamaged. But when it is cut, open interfaces are created. Oxalic acid escapes from this. It is evenly distributed in the water until it can be found in the entire aquarium. This brings the animals living in the water into contact with it.
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Danger to shrimp
The oxalic acid is not considered to be poisonous, but only harmful to health. But this statement does not apply to such small and delicate aquatic animals as shrimp. You can go into it. Of course, the dose makes the poison here. Other animals seem to have fewer problems with this substance. At least there are no known negative reports in this regard.
Note:
The danger that oxalic acid will leak and shorten the life of the shrimp is also due to the division of rhizomes Multiplication given.
Possible solutions
It is not a nice solution to forego the cutting of the Anubia or even the plant entirely for the sake of the shrimp. Fortunately, nobody has to either. It can be cut so that no oxalic acid gets into the water or the amount is so small that shrimp survive it undamaged. These are the two alternatives:
- remove it from the aquarium for cutting
- Divide the circumference of the cut into several times
Take Anubia out
If the Anubia can be easily removed from the aquarium, this procedure should be preferred when cutting.
- Take out the plant
- make any necessary cutting work
- Rinse the interfaces under running water
- Put the plant back in the water
Tips
It is even better to water the plant outside of the aquarium for several days before it returns to its place of origin.
Divide the circumference of the cut into several times
Shrimp can also handle small amounts of oxalic acid. We can take advantage of this and cut the Anubia piece by piece. Ideally, each partial cut should be combined with the water change. In this way, even the small amounts of poison are removed from the aquarium in a timely manner.