Newb needs advice with Amazon swords

S

shortdariwanda

AC Members
Apr 10, 2009
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Orlando, FL
With all the information out there on the internet, there are bound to be conflicting opinions on what are the requirements on Amazon swords. I thought the general consensus on care of Amazon swords were that they were great beginner plants, medium tech plants, easy to maintain, and don't need any complex C02 system.

I have a 55gal with 5 half dollar-sized koi angels, 1 full grown marble angel, 5 zebra loaches, 1 lone glass cat, and 6 BN plecos. I have approx. 8 small Amazon swords and two Anubias. I use eco-complete as the substrate and added API root tabs when planting and Seachem Flourish twice a week. I have 2 65watt Coralife CFs which I turn on for 10 hours a day, with about 3 30min blackouts. I feed once a day and have a Fluval 405. I change the water twice a week, removing approx 50% of the water.

My fish are thriving but my tank is constantly overrun with algae and my plants are suffering. They basically get covered with algae and can't out-compete the algae. I thought I had the proper equipment to take care of the swords properly but obviously that is not the case. I wanted to get some easy-to-take-of plants without going out to buy an expensive c02 equipment. What am I doing wrong? If the swords are harder to take care of then what I expect, what plant should I get instead that'll thrive in my setup? I'm going insane trying to figure it out and is very tempted to just forgo the plants all together... :(
 
Its not the swords that are causing the algae, and take heart, they are easy to grow. If the algae is overrunning them, that's not the same as them being difficult to grow.

Since you have algae now, stop dosing the flourish completely. These are slow growing plants and they can't take up the nutrients you are adding. A plant tab once every 2-3 months is all they need.

Fast growing stems will outcompete algae for nutirents (but not swords) and only if there are no other limiting factors (like low CO2 levels).

That's why swords are good easy beginner plants- they don't need fancy ferts and they grow slowly. Also, cut back your light to 8 hours a day to help with the problem. You're fertilizing like you have high tech- and your algae is feasting on it.

What kind of algae is it?

Also, be aware that many swords you might buy in your lfs are growned emersed- out of the water- and the two types of growth are different (emersed and submersed) the emersed leaves will die when submerged, and the plant will grow new submersed leaves- the growers do this on purpose becasue plants grown emersed can't get algae- so they always look great when its time to sell them. remove the dying leaves- dying plant matter is a great breeding ground for algaes. Be patient and they will grow submersed leaves.
 
Well I feel silly for dosing Flourish so much. :P I knew the plants wouldn't cause the algae, but I just thought maybe my light was just too much for the plants because the algae was growing EVERYWHERE and my plants weren't thriving. As to what type, I guess it would be your typical green algae. It grows like a thick carpet on my substrate, but it grows pretty much everywhere. My plecos love them but its so much to the point that they don't even make a dent to the algae growth.

I guess I'll have to be more patient....
 
Is it furry and bright green? about 1/4 long? does it grow in Tufts? where many fibers are attached to a single base (picture barbie doll hair)? or does each fiber seem to have its own individual point of attachment?

As for the ferts- of course you want your plants to "flourish" so you figure feeding them is the right way. Just be aware that growth= light, nutrients, and CO2 all in a certain specific ratio. If one of them is limited- like light or CO2 - you can dump in all the ferts you want and the plants can't use them, because they dont have the additional light and CO2 that has to go with it for growth.

Again, the leaves may be dying becasue they are emersed form, not because of the algae. Either way- remove any that are badly damaged and new ones will grow.
 
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Just examples of how the algae looks.
 
cyanobacter...blue green algae

it actually is a bacteria.. usually cause by an imbalance much like other algae.. but it does not need nitrogen.

check your nitrogen level(nitrate) increase flow do a 3 day black out .

how long are the lights on?
 
nitrates over 10 and circulation with an airstone worked for me.
 
No wonder you are having a hard time with them Cyanobacteria can be a nightmare.

Try a black-out first. You'll need to block off all light getting into the tank. Before you start it is a good idea to do a large water change or two and scrub out as much of the stuff as possible. The less bacteria to kill the better.

If a blackout doesn't work then antibiotics generally will.

For a short term solution you can add in a fast growing stem plant to suck up nutrients until the swords get established. The swords grow slowly when small but once they hit a large enough size they quickly take over the tank. Judging by the number of plants I see once they get big your going to have to thin them out to see the fish.

Check your nitrate levels. It is important to maintain them around 10-20 ppm in order for the plants to grow well. More or less often leads to an algae farm. Consider picking up some dry ferts online. They are cheaper and allow you to add a more appropriate amount of nutrients to your tank.
 
I have the light on for about 10 hours, with intermittent blackout periods of 30 min. I'm going to do a major water change/cleaning and scrubbing as much as I possibly can, and turn off the lights for 3 days as suggested. I guess I can cover the tank with... blankets or something to prevent window and room lighting to penetrate the tank. I'll give my plecos some lettuce and wafers in the meantime, just to be on the safe side. What fast growing plants should I get to suck up the nutrients? Something that can be commonly found in most fish stores would be great because I'm not really close to a lot of lfs.

This is turning nightmare-ish... :(
 
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