Amazon sword questions

[OnTheFly]

I added a few Melon Swords to my tank today. The room is fairly bright and I will probably move the aquarium eventually. For now I will grow some plants for all my tanks. Not direct sunlight, but plenty of indirect light. I am curious how tall Swords typically grow. One of my My aponogeton ulvaceus grew from bulbs to the top of a 60G tank about 10 days after sprouting so now I am wondering if I have plants laid out correctly. I have a fine gravel substrate and no fertilizer yet.

[Boundava]

Depends, if its a true melon then 20" is supposedly the max height. I have had "melon" swords stay at 12" before. Swords are pretty hybridized now a days that sometimes they are not labeled correctly.

That being said I also think plant will grow to fit the space to an extent. I have a tiger lotus in my 75 and I will get leaves the size of my face once they reach the surface. Sis has the same plant (daughter from mine) in her spec V and the little guy stays small and compact with leaves 2-3" wide. Same with apanos. For a long time i had crispus and longipumosis in my 75, they were flowering and seeding like mad so I set up a 20L as a nursery. The plants in that tank stayed small-miniature adults and even flowered in the 20L but never became extremely tall like they would have in the 75.

[OnTheFly]

Thanks Nat, that was helpful. They were labeled Melon but I have no way to know if that is accurate. I think I am going to get an accelerated growth rate with all the light. There is a small skylight across the room so the tank will get a fair amount of indirect natural light on all but a cloudy day. Now whether the fast growth is attractive or not remains to be seen. My apono did grow to the surface at lightning speed and then finally slowed down the past few days. I probably need some plants on the surface to moderate the natural light some. In any event I just need some plants for now. I'll wait awhile before I feed them. I think my water is decent with all the minerals and a cycle just now ending.

[Boundava]

If you are interested in adding floating plants, please take my advice and stay away from Duckweed. I cannot wait to move so I can strip all of my tanks and remove this :cussing: pest from my life. It started in one little tank and spread to all of my upstairs tanks and then my sis brought it to my 75 accidentally, but I am fighting a growing population of the little buggers right now in that tank too. Frogbit, water lettuce, or salvinia are good options that can be easily controlled. Duckweed is to small and too tenacious, you miss just one little leaf and you have a out of control population within a week.

[angelcraze2]

I'm not sure why, but I'm going to explain my experiences with rosette and melon swords. I agree, there are so many hybrids of these swords, it's hard to guess how big they will get. But this also influences their growth ime:
My green and red ozelots get about 4" high and this is in my deep tanks too (as well as tanks 18" deep). The plants planted in pots or left to grow freely grow the same for me. I think it has to do with substrate nutrients, how bright the light is (the brighter the shorter they grow), or if they are shaded, they will stretch to the light. I have rosette and melon swords in the forefront of my 120g if that gives you an idea.

[OnTheFly]

I appreciate the advice. I am sure I will learn a lot. I am a fairly experienced gardener. We'll see how different aquatic plants are. I'm sure I'll learn some lessons soon.

I may grab some floating plants at the lake. The LFS offerings are pathetic looking. I was amazed I found some healthy sword that wasn't $11.95. Stay tuned for my how do I get rid of these damn snails rant in a couple weeks when I bring them home from the lake. :ssmile: I'll stay away from Duckweed. I've read that rant and will heed the warning Nat. :)

[Boundava]

I apologize if some of what I say is redundant to you. Whenever I explain things I tend to go with the "slate is clean" mentality-meaning I am assuming you are starting with no experience/knowledge. I hate to assume people know certain things and then I confuse them with that assumption and make a mess of any possible help I was trying to offer.

So if what I build on is basic stuff-I am not stating it thinking you are not experienced, but because I can't assume what your experience level is. :ssmile:

[OnTheFly]

I apologize if some of what I say is redundant to you. Whenever I explain things I tend to go with the "slate is clean" mentality-meaning I am assuming you are starting with no experience/knowledge. I hate to assume people know certain things and then I confuse them with that assumption and make a mess of any possible help I was trying to offer.

So if what I build on is basic stuff-I am not stating it thinking you are not experienced, but because I can't assume what your experience level is. :ssmile:

Nat

I hate the internet sometimes because tone doesn't come through in a post. I smiled through your Duckweed rant. Not because it is funny. I know how painful it can be. I have about an acre property and I need a bulldozer to properly remove one of my "good" ideas. Invasive plants will teach one a lesson. Japanese Silver Grass was my biggest mistake. Mow it, burn it, Roundup it. It laughs and says "that all you got Dewayne?" I also have a groundcover vine (Vinca Major), that will jump a 3 ft sidewalk in a couple days and plant itself wherever it wants. Wife bought about a dollars worth and put it in a outdoor pot 15 years ago. I thought it would be a good idea to throw a few cuttings in the planting beds. Bad call lol.