Amazon Swords

I've only ever really dabbled with Amazon swords in my personal aquariums. Who here has some good looking swords in their aquariums? How are you keeping them happy? What kinda light are you using etc?

Lets see some pics too

I got a few amazons and I think a big rose sword in my [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] that are doing good.  Dirt with red clay subtrate capped with turface.  No dosing.  Lighting is 2 T5ho bulbs.  They did some melting when I first put them in there but that's suppose to be common.  The most important thing with swords I believe is a nutrient rich substrate.

One thing so be careful though is swords can get really large and block out light from smaller plants, so trimming is essential.  I had that problem at one point, I let them grow unopposed for too long, and it killed out a few of my smaller plants.

Mother Sword that I got from pbmax, is in my 36 gallon bowfront tank, and has some leaves that have gotten taller than the tank itself.

Only have it in pool filter sand, with a beamworks LED light, and a 20" t8 fluorescent light. No ferts. Just fish.

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And I had that thing in a 10g tank too...   It looks fantastic in your tank, Poke.   I'm glad it's doing so well for you.

Amazon swords are pretty undemanding. If you abuse them they'll just grow slower and uglier, but they're nearly indestructible. And if they're even marginally pleased with themselves they send out runners everywhere that will eventually fill up the tank, given enough time. LJ is definitely right about keeping them trimmed.

They do seem to need a lot of potassium - I get lots of holes in their leaves in some tanks without root tabs or dirt. They'll grow in just about any substrate, but as LJ said, nutrients are necessary to keep their leaves green and hole-free.

They send out a massive array of roots - it's lots of fun pulling them up. I would recommend them for tanks of 29g or larger - they need at least 18" of tank height if grown in ideal conditions. 20s are a bit short... I still have them in 2 of my 20s.

Anything "medium" lighting or higher will do. I grow them very well with 2x 13w 6500K CFLs in my 10g tanks and 2x 31W T5HO bulbs over my 20g tanks.

Thanks pbmax! Yes that mother amazon sword you gave me, was CRAMPED in my 20 long... I'm glad I was able to pull that mother out and placed her in the 36 bowfront. She's been shooting runners like crazy!

The other amazon swords you gave me, I put in the 10 gallon tank, and they've grown substantially. I took one out, and it looks way bigger out of the tank than it did when it was in the tank! I still have one more amazon sword in the 10 gallon, which will be staying there. That one has shot out a couple runners as well. Wheeew!

The one I pulled out of the 10 gallon was transplanted into one of the cubicles in the 8 foot divided tanks.

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Interesting. Mine always seem to get large and then the large leaves turn yellow, but still sends out new growth. Maybe potassium is what was missing.

Dunno what it could be... some people say that they trim the roots, but I've never done that to any of my swords. Hmm... maybe they just don't like you.

I have a couple of tiny swords, I'm still waiting to see if they take off and become monster plants.

MorganEA wrote:I have a couple of tiny swords, I'm still waiting to see if they take off and become monster plants.

They're very slow growers when starting from small plants. A little more light can definitely speed up the process, but it will often take many months (even years) before they start sending out runners.

Here's my swords growing out in Midas's tank.  They are doing "OK"...mother plant is on the left.  I lost alot of her when I transplanted to this smaller tank (I brought her in from a 55G).  The plantlets are her babies.  They have been growing for a while now.  I have some leaf loss but seem to still be making progress with them.  I use the Seachem Flourish tabs in the tank.  

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When I kept sword plants they would get crazy big. So big in fact 1 took about a 3rd of my 7 foot tank. I've since removed all sword plants.

But here is what type of tank and parameters.

2 foot deep
3-4 inches of fluorite gravel/mix
About 2W per gallon T5HO (6400K/10,000K/ actinic mix, w/ red led strips
CO2 injection
an array of liquid ferts

I have to say the one Poke has in his tank looks really good. It seems like the big leaves are pinned back by decor preventing the plant to lay flat and take up to much room.

I have a big sword in my 28gal bowfront. It is decent size, but not huge. Don't use ferts, use blue gravel, and a single T8.

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Ignore the mass of guppy grass. lol

pbmax wrote:

MorganEA wrote:I have a couple of tiny swords, I'm still waiting to see if they take off and become monster plants.

They're very slow growers when starting from small plants.  A little more light can definitely speed up the process, but it will often take many months (even years) before they start sending out runners.

That is good to know! Everyone told me that they were fast growers and I was wondering what I was doing wrong

here are my swords, they started as tiny 1in runners from a friend.
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They look good! You have some holes, but so do most of mine and they don't seem to care much.

its probably because I don't fertilize them  I just cleared out a bunch of plants so that they will get more light.

Likely.

Root tabs wouldn't hurt - especially given the increased light.