Amazon Sword Plant

**Dragnwarrior** · 05-01-2012, 04:55 AM

Hello, i am sort of new to these forums but i recently decided to go for a live tank. i added flourite substrate and i have a marinelife double bright led fixture. i have an amazon sword plant that i recently bought and after a week or so it turned filmy and seems to be on its way down. i was wondering what i can do to try and recover this so it doesnt die all the way. about half the plant is green the rest is like a film. i also do have a pleco in the tank and wasnt sure if thats why its filming or not.

**mermaidwannabe** · 05-01-2012, 05:53 AM

When you bought your Amazon Sword, was it already growing in water at the store, or was it grown hydroponically and then immersed into your tank water when you got it home?

Often, they're started in semi-aquatic conditions. When they're immersed into the aquarium, they go through an adjustment period. They aren't dying, they are acclimating to being completely submerged in water.

I recently read an article about this in an aquarium magazine. All you need do is be patient and let it complete the adjustment. It will eventually start to put on new growth and begin thriving as a fully aquatic plant. You can trim off the dead leaves at that point, and from then on, it will grow in your tank.

Don't throw it out, yet. If it doesn't come back, then you can discard it -- but give it plenty of time. Hydroponically grown swords have to gradually change over.

-- mermaidwannabe

**Dragnwarrior** · 05-01-2012, 06:24 AM

when i bought it the plant was fully submerged in water with the other plants, but where it came from before that i don't know the other question i have for you is the led lighting i have will that kill it or the pleco in the tank? or does it just need time and when do i wait to trim the leaves.

**dmagerl** · 05-01-2012, 11:49 AM

Also, flourite contains no or minimal nutrients and swords are heavy root feeders. With mine, I have to add root tabs to keep it happy.

**Akran** · 05-01-2012, 05:55 PM

More details would be needed to know if your lighting is adequate. As far as the sword goes, even if it was fully submerged, your tank's conditions could be drastically different from the tank it was in before. It will still need some time to adjust if that is the case.

Feel free to trim away the dead or dying leaves as it will just waste time and nutrients trying to fix doomed leaves instead of devoting that energy into new growth. As long as it has a couple decent leaves left it should start to recover. If you start seeing new healthy growth, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Root tabs would certainly help.

**Lady Hobbs** · 05-01-2012, 06:44 PM

Are you sure that film is not dust from the new substrate?

**Dragnwarrior** · 05-02-2012, 02:01 AM

**Dragnwarrior** · 05-02-2012, 02:03 AM

Sorry they say a picture is worth more than words so there you go :) and i thought i bought substrate to have nutrients for plants apparently i dont know what im doing sigh i just know i want to learn.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA0WG0847053
thats my lightning

**dmagerl** · 05-02-2012, 02:59 AM

You didnt do bad with the flourite. Its a great plant substrate. It just has no nutrients, except for some iron. To get nutrients you pretty much have to buy any of the "soil" substrates, ADA Aquasoil being the primary one.

Flourite is a fracked clay (think of broken flower pots) and as such has a high CEC, cation exchange capacity, so it latches on to any nutrients you add and makes them available to the plant for its use. Any clay based substrate will have high CEC, ECO Complete being the other main clay substrate.

Sand/gravel is inert and has no CEC and while you can still grow plants in it, you have to be much more diligent with the fertilizers.

So go pick up some root tabs and put a couple under the Sword, it'll appreciate it. And judging from your pictures, it does look like it still has its emmersed leaves which should die off as new immersed leaves grow.

**Lady Hobbs** · 05-04-2012, 01:32 AM

It went into shock or something. If it was a couple leaves I'd say to cut them off but it's every leaf. I'd pull it out and get rid of it. Not worth messing with it.