# Do Amazon Swords die of old age?



## K House (Feb 2, 2006)

I have 2 Amazon Swords that I've had for 4 or 5 years. They used to sprout runners all the time and their leaves were so big they reached the top of my 90 gallon tank. But the past 6 months they have been really deteriorating. I prune them but then the healthy leaves start dying. They look pathetic and haven't sprouted any runners in close to a year. Is it possible that they are just old and spent? I hate to toss them but the AGA convention is this weekend and would be a great opportunity to start over if these can't be saved. On the other hand, if it is something else (other plants in my tank are doing well though) then I don't want to waste money on plants that won't be happy.


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

KH:

Your post contains a few "hidden questions".

All fauna and flora do get old and die*. Even limited species of flora would die if not for geologic epocs.

*If we did not die then room would not be available for succeeding generations.



K House said:


> They look pathetic and haven't sprouted any runners in close to a year. Is it possible that they are just old and spent?


Yes.




K House said:


> I hate to toss them but the AGA convention is this weekend and would be a great opportunity to start over if these can't be saved. On the other hand, if it is something else (other plants in my tank are doing well though) then I don't want to waste money on plants that won't be happy.


KH:

If your other plants are doing well then I would try this (although it may be too late).

Remove both plants and look for small "sprig roots with leaves".

Trim these roots and plant. These "child" plants should grow.

TR


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## Manthalynn (Aug 23, 2008)

K House,

As Ron mentioned, all plants do have an age limit. Some are a few months, like annual plants (Pansies, corn, etc.) and some thousands of years (Giant Sequoia, Oak trees, Bristlecone pine).

You've got me thinking as to how long Anubias can live (I'm a horticulture and botany student...) An annual is a plant that dies after it completes one reproductive cycle (plant growth, flower growth, seed production, death). But if you can trick that plant into staying alive and not completing that one cycle, you can get an "annual" to live for many years. African Violets are a good example of this. (They're a common house plant, cute little flowers that are usually purple, velvety thick leaves) If they were outside and could depend on the changing weather and day length, they would clue in that the year was advancing and they'd die after flowering once. But in our houses, they don't get any cues that tell them to die so they just keep living.

But you're probably more interesting in some google results I found.

Check out this website. It had a ton of cool info on Anubias that I didn't know (which isn't surprising, I'm new to the aquarium hobby...)

"One problem with Anubias sometimes occurs in tanks with high light levels and strong growth. Under these conditions, the slow-growing Anubias are sometimes unable to compete with faster-growing species for nutrients available in the water column. New leaves produced by the Anubias will become progressively smaller. Under these conditions, it is often useful to supplement by inserting solid fertilizers deep into the substrate near the roots of the Anubias."

"Anubias are easily propagated. Simply use a sharp knife or a pair of sharp scissors to cut through the thick horizontal rhizome. Make sure each section contains at least a few leaves and a healthy number of roots. Specimens can be encouraged to branch by taking a sharp knife or razor blade and just nicking the tough outer layer of the rhizome. Before long, the plant will send out a branching rhizome from the damaged area."

Hope I didn't bore you with my geeky plant-speak! Thanks for giving me something thought provoking to think about!


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## K House (Feb 2, 2006)

Definitely interesting info Samantha!  And although I do have some Anubias, I was specifically asking about Amazon Swords. 

I mentioned my problem to someone at the AGA convention and they said to pull the plants out and look for an acorn shaped growth at the base of the plant in the middle of the roots. Sure enough, each plant had one. I snapped them off, clipped all the dying leaves off and replanted the 2 sad looking plants. I also gave each plant a Flourish Tab. They are doing great! All the remaining leaves are healthy and each plant has sprouted about 10 new leaves.


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## Manthalynn (Aug 23, 2008)

Wow, I'm so sorry! I totally read your first post wrong! No where in it do you mention Anubias! Whoops!

That is fascinating about that acorn shaped growth! I wonder if it's a reproductive part that the plants decides, "Whoo, I've passed my genes on, now I can die. Ah darn it! It's gone! I've gotta keep on living!"

Thanks for sharing your findings!

(Again, sorry for the blatant misreading of your post, along with the ridiculously long response to a not-asked-for question!)


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