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Re: Sword Plant Mystery



Roger wrote:
>>What you see is the normal adaptation of the plant from growing above
water to growing below water.  Lots of people are confused by this.  Most
sword plants have oval leaves when grown emersed.  Commercial growers
usually grow them emersed, so when you find them at your local fish store
they generally have oval, emersed-style leaves.  The small and medium
sized species usually have narrower, pointed submersed leaves.<<

This holds true for the small foreground sword, Pigmy Chain Sword,
(Echinodorus tenellus). I often get Tenellus that has roundish, oval shaped
leaves, (which some people mistake for the cuban sword that has a simular
shape), which grows out under water to have long, slender, grass like
blades. In my 55 gallon, in was very interesting to watch this metamorphisis
take place. Over a period of a month or so the entire look changed as the
emmersed leaves died off and the new ones took its place. I left the old
leaves in the tank to decay under the tenellus bed thinking this would
release CO2. (I have no added CO2 in this tank) So far, I have not had any
major algae problems, and growth for the overall plants has been very good.

Robert Paul H
http://www.aquabotanic.com
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