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Re: marble sword
Echinodorus cordifolius, known as the marble queen sword is one of the most
common sword plants easily found and inexpensive. You can purchase them in a
variety of sizes, but eventually it grows quite large. I was selling some
that were over 22" tall with 6" oval shaped leaves. I am sure they can get
even bigger than that. I havnt found its' growing requirements to be that
much different than any other sword: moderate light, and a nutrient rich
bottom.
In relation to the other "aquascaping" question, bear in mind that most
swords at maturity reach heights over 20" and a girth of 20 to 30 leaves.
Even those that are more compact with lower growth will still have a fairly
large girth. When you purchase a little sword in a 3" pot, it may be hard to
believe that it can get that big, but as long as it is getting enough light
and nutrients, it will happen eventually. Now of course you can always keep
it and then discard it when it is larger than what you want. For the most
part swords are used in large tanks. Now in my 100 gallon tank, I had an
"oriental" sword that took up the entire left corner of the tank, with
leaves reaching all the way to the center of the tank. As far as aquascaping
ideas, bear in mind the size of the plant and how this affects the view. A
large plant makes your tank look smaller. It also becomes the most dominant
viewing object, particularly in a small tank. Everything else around it
needs to be smaller in proportion. To get away from the look of a 29 gallon
tank crammed full of plants, imagine what you might be looking at if you
were seeing the sword plant through a window the size of your tank in its
enviorment. What would you see? One sword plant on a rocky plain with some
low grass in front of it perhaps? With a big plant...think small for the
rest of the tank.
Robert Paul H
http://www.aquabotanic.com