Sword plants-how can I get them to grow?

fballguy

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Feb 27, 2006
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Everett, WA
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Actually my problem is with all rooted plants. Stem plants grow great as well as moss. All I have for substrate is regular old gravel. Is there a fert I can put in the gravel under the plant? It would be too much of a hassle to switch substrate.
 
You could try root tabs. I have had two amazon swords for about 3 weeks now one is in a 5 gallon hex with 10 watts of CF light, the other in a 10 gallon with 20 watts of CF light. I only use a liquid fertilizer 2 drops a day, in the 10 gallon. Maybe one drop every other day in the 5 gallon. Trying to cut back on the drops, because of algae. I use tahitian moon sand, which is just like plain gravel with no nutrients. So far they look alright, and roots are growing like crazy. I hear they are tank busters, but I'll enjoy them for the time being. The only thing I am worried about is any possible deficiences that haven't shown themselves yet. But yeah there are little tabs that you can buy, especially for this type of plant that takes most of its nutrients from its roots.
 
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What sort of light do you have?

How long have you had the swords? They often take a little while to get happy in the tank before they start showing any significant growth.
 
Do you have an undergravel filter? Some people claim that rooted plants don't do well with them, but some people grow plants just fine with them. Air driven undergravels probably do less damage than powerhead ones.
 
get a high iron substrate like some Substrate Gold. i can tell you where to get it
 
Flourite does well too. I use Onyx Sand in my Amazon biotope, my swords are quite happy.

Substrate Gold I assume is another good choice.


But without even the special substrates, your swords will do well. Especially with root tabs and/or a good comprehensive liquid.
 
substrate gold is the simplest iron source for root feeders, alone with many other nutrients
 
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