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Re: Amazon Swords
>>My problem is this I have purchased four amazon swords, they looked very
healthy and hardy but with in a few days in my tank they have turned brown,
some leaves even clear....the plant now after several weeks has roots that I
can clearly see from under my tank, and new leaves are shooting from the
center, however very slowly....<<
I've come across these exact symptoms a number of times with Echinodorus
species, and it happens for a number of reasons. The first and most common
appears to be that most plants purchased in stores or most mailorder outfits
are grown emersed. The stunningly green and firm leaves this method
produces die off in a matter of days when fully submersed. The plant,
however, is still alive and well and regrows quickly. Another problem I've
had with swords, even when grown underwater, is that they will sometimes be
packed with rubber bands around the base of the stems so tightly that the
tissue is crushed. The leaves survive for several days, depending upon the
extend of the crushing and then browns and dies off. Either way, the plant
will regrow quickly if given the proper environment.
>> I have fed the new plants with Tetra FloraPride
0-0-3 claims to be iron intensive fertilizer, after several weeks and no
real
change for the better in condition, even the new leaves are turning
brown...I
purchased a different plant fertilizer Aquarium plant food tablets
2-9-13.....so far no changes??? Am I overdoing it?? or do amazon swords
require different fertilizers??? ...<<
You really haven't provided any information on your water chemistry,
lighting, substrate, etc. so who knows if you are overdoing it or not :-).
Sometimes all that is needed is time and patience, and adding macro element
fertilizer such as the 2-9-13 tabs while your plants are in a no-growth
phase is a sure fire way to grow some nice algae. The Tetra FloraPride is a
good source of iron and potassium, but that's it. If some other
micronutrient is your limiting factor, it will be useless and you'll end up
with a surplus of iron or potassium to make that algae garden we just
discussed greener and bushier <g>. Personally, I would probably try a
Nitrate/Phosphate free micronutrient solution (e.g. Flourish) in small
doses to see if things pick up.
Of course, this is all guess-work without knowing your water parameters,
lighting, etc. You could be growing them in a fishless tank in plain
gravel, in which case adding some P or N would probably be helpful. Or you
might be growing them under an incandescent 25-watt bulb, in which case all
the fertilizer in the world wouldn't help (probably wouldn't have much
algae, though! <g>)
Darren