# amazon sword question.



## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

Moved a plant from one town to another and it promptly died back to the center hub. it has now sent out a couple of new leaves( since august)but they are thin and holey.
I have added ferts under the root , have 2.5 wpg of light , ph is about 8, water is very hard. The vals in this tank are also doing poorly. The hornwort is growing like crazy. Is the hornwort incompatible with the vals and sword?
I understand that words are heavy feeders.
I add liquid fert weekly.


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

mousey said:


> Moved a plant from one town to another and it promptly died back to the center hub. it has now sent out a couple of new leaves( since august)but they are thin and holey.
> I have added ferts under the root , have 2.5 wpg of light , ph is about 8, water is very hard. The vals in this tank are also doing poorly. The hornwort is growing like crazy. Is the hornwort incompatible with the vals and sword?
> I understand that words are heavy feeders.
> I add liquid fert weekly.


ms: nice to hear from you again (especially since that you have indicated that I am just a kid which means that you have much more time available to research than I).

I may have completely misunderstood your post and may be answering the wrong question.

Please take the ferts out from under the "plant" or AS's as you may kill them (this is just a gut reaction and not based upon experience).

When purchased and planted or transplanted within a tank AS's will melt down (the leaves and some of the root mass) but will subsequently come back and IMHO the leaf growth will be based upon the remaining root mass and is the same for several other "plants".

The hornwart, in minor densities, is not incompatible with vals and swords with a Ph in the range of 7 and a Gh of less than 5.

Just curious as to what "liquid fert" do you add weekly?

TR


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

hi Jonesy,
Well I read that swords are very heavy feeders.
in order to get jungle vals, anubias, and polysperma something or other to grow well you put ferts under the root ball.-- you get huge plants then.so I figured that it might be the same for AS's( he he)
Anyway the articles also say that the leaves are very tender and make good snacks for plecos and cichlids so I am wondering if my BN is snacking despite all the cucumber he gets.
Because the hornwort is growing at such a rapid pace I am thinking that the nitrates are up good and high.
Currently I am using some very cheap liquid ferts - Big Al's own brand. I prefer tetra with iron-- there again the names illude me but if I see the bottle- well I recognize it immediately.
Trouble with Big Al's stuff is that you are supposed to dose 3-4 times weekly, whereas tetra stuff can be used monthly.
I like the plants but only have nice hardy ones- javas, anubias and vals. This is my first AS.
I have got a couple of grow lights on this tank so it is all the more annoying that the plants are in such poor condition. On my other planted tanks I use household flourescent bulbs-- much cheaper and work just as well.
I use the palm and fern sticks for house hold plants- was told to use them on the planted tank forum for under the vals and anubias.
Gh is closer to the 12 mark around here.I did know the exact # once but I have forgotten.
BTW I have found that jungle vals and java ferns don't like each other too much. If they touch each other they start dieing off.
Since i have Bn plecos in 2 tanks i find that the hornwort has taken off. it went for years just a small piece but after pleco it has now spread itself into 3 tanks and needs to be thinned every 2 weeks.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

try putting a job's spike next to your swords.if i remember correctly,the one for ferns..


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Buggy:

When someone has just completed an hour long post and goes to preview it when you have inserted an announcement the post is LOST!!! The back arrow will not recover it!

TR


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

well the sword is doing no better this week. I thought the BN pleco mifght be eating it but today I caught my angelfish having a great time tearing pieces off it.
Is this an angel fish thing to eat plants or just this fish?
He seems to be very curious about everything- always checking into things, eating snails and anything else that fits in his mouth.
Plant articles suggest swords are great plants to have in an angel tank as it is native to the same area.
between the BN uprooting the jungle vals and the sword plant being shredded I may have to move into java ferns to see if they are tougher or failing that move onto mostly silk plants.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Angels aren't known for eating sword plants. More commonly, they eat snails off them and clean a leaf off for egg-laying. Fish have individual personalities. This one may have a taste for them or just be rearranging the "furniture".


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

mousey said:


> well the sword is doing no better this week. I thought the BN pleco mifght be eating it but today I caught my angelfish having a great time tearing pieces off it.
> Is this an angel fish thing to eat plants or just this fish?





emc7 said:


> Angels aren't known for eating sword plants. More commonly, they eat snails off them and clean a leaf off for egg-laying. Fish have individual personalities. This one may have a taste for them or just be rearranging the "furniture".


ms:

Per em this must just be a personality thing as I have probably had 10 Angels but currently on 5 (but they are entering full adult size) and I have never observed an Angel munching on one of my Swords* and have also never observed one picking at a snail.

*They have been laying eggs on several of my broad leafed plants including *Echinodorus 'Aquartica'*.

This reference is not just woofing about the 8" leaves but is woofing about the 8" height as this plant gets much taller than this value.




mousey said:


> between the BN uprooting the jungle vals and the sword plant being shredded I may have to move into java ferns to see if they are tougher or failing that move onto mostly silk plants.


ms:

Please do not give up on a planted tank as we (meaning you and a bunch of us) can work through this** as they are so much nicer than fake and bring in the additional benefits to the micro ecosystem.

TR

**Let's start here and I know that you have told me (I am old) but what is the substrate of the tank with the Jungle Val's and are the *Vallisneria americana (gigantea)* the Val's to which you are referring?


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

well I am really very low tech as was the previous owner of the tank who had me over several times to thin the plantsin the tank out. We use regular pea size colored gravel and fish poop with tetra liquid ferts.
Good point about the snail eggs may be on the plant.
I believe I have a male angelfish of the koi variety. I really like him but he is a busy fish!
My other planted tanks with the rampantly growing vals also only have plain old gravel and poop.
I thought this tank would go gangbusters as it has a high bioload level with the pleco and I have spent the extra money on the grow light. my other planted tanks just use household flourescent screw ins of the daylight variety.


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