Pathetic Amazon swords

[Alien Anna]

Hi, sorry I haven't got a camera to show you what I mean, but the Amazon swords in my 110L (25 gal) corner tank are looking dreadful. When I was on holiday the temperature of the tank shot up and my neighbour turned the lights off for 10-11 days. I also have a snail infestation in that tank

So, as you can imagine, by the time I got home things weren't looking good for my poor swords. I have pruned off all the dead and dying folliage, but I'm fighting a losing battle. I've replaced one of the lights (it's a Juwel set-up with 2x18" 15 watt lights with light-doubling reflectors), I've put some Floraboost in there and next week I intend to set up CO2. The swords look very pale, bits of leaf have been nibbled off and they have patches of brown on them. A year ago they were magnificent specimens - more like cabbages than Amazon swords, but now...

I keep looking at them to see if there is any new growth. None as yet. Have they had it? Should I consider replacing them or are they likely to revive? In the tank I also have a giant vallis and a dwarf vallis, which although little more than roots with a couple of leaves are starting to recover. I also have a large Java fern and two large dwarf anubias, all on bogwood, which are all doing well and have new growth on them. The tank is a little over-stocked with fish, plus two golden apple snails.

 

[Rose]

If you can try to get some root tabs for them. They are a deep root feeder and need the nutrients from the substrait. They have had a shock so it's hard to tell if they are going to make it or not. My money is on they will. I wouldn't give up on them just yet.

Rose

 

[Alien Anna]

Thanks Rose. I tried to get some of those root tabs the other day, but my LFS had sold out. Do you know of anyone online who sells these without charging extortionate shipping?

 

[AquaNut]

My experience... Amazon swords are outrageously hardy and can grow back from near death

My advice... tug gently at the crown of one of your swords. They have incredible root systems. If it's still firmly anchored in your tank, it will come back. Don't vacuum your gravel. They'll feed of the waste and leftovers, making the root tab things unnecessary, imvho.

 

[Lateral Line]

I'll just add my own concur. Swords are pretty damn tough, but will die back in adversity. They naturally live in areas of fluctuating water level, and so can actually tolerate drying out when, in most species, the emergent form leaves begin to sprout which can be a lot different to the submerged form.

>>> If it's still firmly anchored in your tank, it will come back.

Yup.

 

[revengeishere]

I agree with everyone who said that amazon swords are tough little plants. They are on my "Hard to kill" list of plants. Also, I agree with aquanut that root tabs are unneccesary for amazon swords as they can get what they need from the fish mulm. But I think that buying root tabs or a cheaper alternative, buying a few ounce of laterite, putting them in water and making laterite balls and use that like the root tabs. My gravel is mixed with laterite, so I dont have to worry about that for a while.

Hope your sword grows back.

Revenge

 

[allnatural]

I bet your snails had a big picnic! I LOVE snails, and I know they do a good job of cleaning up dead plant leaves. So even though this terrible thing happened, your snails had a holiday too! Isn't the biodiversity great in our little ecosystems!

--Tim

 

[Alien Anna]

I bet your snails had a big picnic! I LOVE snails, and I know they do a good job of cleaning up dead plant leaves. So even though this terrible thing happened, your snails had a holiday too! Isn't the biodiversity great in our little ecosystems!

--Tim

Oh I'm so keen on Golden Apple Snails, I breed them. But these are different - these are pure evil. They breed like wildfire and eat everything in site. The other day my bristlenose couldn't eat his food because the snails had got there first

 

[allnatural]

Shew! I'm lucky I don't have the evil snails! You may want to give them a tank of their own with plastic plants

I have tadpole snails, the small ramshorns, olive nerites, common pond, malaysian trumpets, and several bridgesii applesnails. None of them eat my plants. I do feed them lots of algae wafers though!

--Tim