Amazon Sword care questions.

[Galaxie]

I have an Amazon sword that is doing quite well. So well, in fact, its grown to 16 inches and will soon be blocking out the light for all my other plants (in a 24-inch tall tank). How should I go about keeping this monster at a reasonable size without harming it?

[Leopardess]

Amazons will outgrow most of even the larger tanks. You can avoid the inevitable for the time being by removing the outermost leaves at the base of the plant.

[TipStylez]

Hey good idea Leopardess, i would of never thought of that...

[FishSeller]

Tip,
Depending on your tank size, you may want to look for a Echinodorus "Kleiner Bar". This is a german hybrid that only gets to be about 18" tall and won't take over your tank. I have had one for a few months now and it hasen't gotten too big for my 29.

[CharlieV]

My Swords (E.Behleri sp?) are enormous and block a lot of light

I remove the largest of leaves (about 1 per 2 weeks) at the base of the plant with sharp scisors. This (for me) has promoted new leaf growth and a bushier yet shorter plant.
There are several forms of Dwarf sword available. I currently have Echinodorus compacta, E. quadrico- status var. xinguensis, (no more than 10cm high but will go wide and propagate freely), E Latifolious (max height of 15-20cm) and not quite a dwarf but ..E. Barthii (red leaves and max length of 30cm)

I love swords of all shapes and sizes!
Chaz

[Galaxie]

Thanks for the info.
I like the fact that the Sword is getting tall, but the spreading leaves blocking the light will soon be a problem. Its a shame to cut such a specimen. I may try tying up the stems so it can't spread so much. Hopefully I can limit it to one side of my rather narrow, but tall, hex tank. Otherwise I'm going to have to come up with some sort of trellis to keep it from spreading. Beautiful plant. I hear it actually flowers??

[CharlieV]

Not that i have seen mine do it but yes apparently Behleri & Martii / Major flower - little white flowers above water surface. I have two baby Behleri's form my large ones, I cut these off and float them to develop roots and then plant.
I have heard that if you leave it to it's own devices it will try and grow tall anf thin - i need space for my danios to swim so am going for short and fat!

Try and get hold of a copy of Dr Peter Hiscox Encylopedia of aquarium plants - excellent Echinodorus section

[Leopardess]

Yes, many swords will flower in the aquarium.

Here's a picture of one of mine:

http://members.aol.com/chris420529/swordflower.JPG

[FishSeller]

I probably shouldn't say this in front of aquariasts that are so ardent at maintenence BUT...I use mixed R/O water in my planted tank and unfortunately, my source is approximately 30 minutes from my home. Subsequently, I sometimes lose a little too much water from evaporation...
Well, every time the water evaporates a few inches, my sword goes into low water mode and blooms. The blooms produce little plantlets that will create new plants. So far I have gotten about 4 baby Kleiner Bars this way. I know this is just a shortcoming of my maintenence schedule (some people would fall out of the computer chairs if they saw my ferts schedule), but if it works, why not???

[TipStylez]

hey i got thos seads from one of my blossoming swords, like 4 of them, havent seen any flowers just more amazon leaves growing out.

[FishSeller]

From what I've seen, those are little baby amazon swords. Let them begin to grow roots, snip the runner with sharp scissors and replant. I've done it several times and yeilded a new plant.

[TipStylez]

yeah thats what i did with all my blossoms, but never knew about flowers!