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Nutrient Deficiency


I have observed what may be a potassium deficiency in my sword plants and I was
wondering if someone could help me out with a verdict.  Small holes appear in the
ends of the leaves and these holes get larger and more appear over time.  New growth
is unaffected by these holes, only older leaves.  The rest of the plants in the tank,
some Crypts, stem plants like hygrophila, liliopsis, 4-leaf clover, java fern,
wysteria, and dwarf sag all seem fine.  The two types of swords affected are
Echinodorus major (ruffled) and Echinodorus parviflorus v. "Tropica".  I originally
thought that the problems with the ruffled sword was due to the water level dropping
below the leaves because only the tips were damaged.  I stopped pruning damaged
leaves to see what would happen and the oldest leaves now look like a frankenstein
madagascar lace plant.

Some pictures of what I believe to be nutrient damaged leaves:
http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/sword/3/Aquarium/Graphics/3-11-99/DamagedSword.jpg
http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/sword/3/Aquarium/Graphics/3-13-99/DamagedSword.jpg
http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/sword/3/Aquarium/Graphics/04-10-99/DriedSword01.jpg

When I stopped fertilizing (Mira-vit and Ferro-vit, I was dosing following their
directions), the holes definately got worse.  I am hesitant to change the balance of
nutrients in my tank as it has been algae free the whole time it has been up.  From
my other tank, I have seen that even a small change can trigger the worst.  Let's
just say that SAEs lived up to their reputation of clearing a tank-full of
hair-algae!

Tank Setup:
75 Gallon, heavily planted
CO2 system with co2 injection to point where ph is 7.0 (dupla thingy is turquoise)
Laterite substrate with the 2-3 mm gravel on top about 2.5 inches deep
GH 4
KH 8
No measurable No2 or NO3
moderate fish load (includes four SAEs, mystery SAE look-alike, and a few Otos) (oh
and a gold-nugget pleco that I see every month or so)
tank has been set up since January and the holes in the leaves have been occuring
since February.

One wierd thing about these swords, is that they have all flowered.  Could this be in
response to a feeling of impending demise due to lack of nutrients?

I would really appreciate a heads-up on whether I have correctly identified the
problem and what I should do about it.  I am thinking I might need to put a
fertilizer tab/pill under the roots of the swords.  Unfortunately, the Washington DC
area doesn't seem to supply the Fern fertilizer sticks, just the common plant Jobes
sticks.  I was thinking about ordering something from a mail-order place, but I
wanted to make sure that I was doing the right thing before flinging nutrients into
my tank.  

Thanks ahead of time for any help.

Jennifer Glover 
(in sunny, beautiful Waldorf, Maryland)
-- 
My goal in life...is to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am!