Any tips on these plants? Do they tolerate salt? Do they grow fast? How do you propagate them? They appear to be growing out of the tank, how do I deal with this? Should I cut it? where should I cut it? 8)
It's fine if they grow out of the tank, as long as you're cool with it. They will get quite tall, but the leaves that grow above the water will also do well.
Plantlets will also form along the bottom of some larger specimens. You just remove them. I started out with three plants and now have at least fifty, that's after selling 100 or so to my lfs's.
it appears that the red-brown coloration is subsiding but I noticed that some plants are becoming transparant. So how do I prpagat it exactly? do I just tear off a leaf along with some roots and plant it?
The plants are becoming transparent because they lack proper nutrients/light. What sort of lighting do you have? Do you have any fertilizer? Swords suck up incredible amounts of nutrients from the substrate, so you'll want to use fertilizer tabs regularly.
You can't just split apart the plants to reproduce it. However, the plant will produce mini plants which you can cut off and replant. Here's some photos of an ozelot sword I have with plantlets. They're really crappy, but I couldn't find anything good online so I just snapped a few of my own.
Amazon's in a 10 :shock: Those will get way too big for that tank.I have one mother plant in a 55g that takes up about 1/4 of the tank and thats after I trimmed half of it.1 in a 29g that covered half before a trim,and a few in a 75g that cover the entire tank,I had to get rid of all but one in that 75g..google Amazon Sword and you'll finds pics of how monstrous they can get
They are heavy root feeders so adding root tabs is good for them;API or Seachem tabs is what I use along with dry ferts from rexgrigg.com,but I have several tanks to fertilize so the dry fert route is considerably cheaper than using Flourish products.
add some root tabs and some FloraPride or Leafzone...or the complete Flourish line including Excel for a carbon source
Liquid is not so necessary, as swords get most of their nutrients from the substrate, but the plantlets will appreciate it as their roots float in the water. The most important fertilizer to add is a root one to the substrate (you'll need other nutrients than just iron). Here's one that I've used: http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~SC5251.html
As for liquid ones, I use Flourish. There are several different kinds for providing different nutrients, but the main one is called just plain Flourish, and it has all the standard macro and micro nutrients. I've also used the API brand, but I didn't like it as much as it stained my water yellow.
Liquid is not so necessary, as swords get most of their nutrients from the substrate, but the plantlets will appreciate it as their roots float in the water. The most important fertilizer to add is a root one to the substrate (you'll need other nutrients than just iron). Here's one that I've used: http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~SC5251.html
As for liquid ones, I use Flourish. There are several different kinds for providing different nutrients, but the main one is called just plain Flourish, and it has all the standard macro and micro nutrients. I've also used the API brand, but I didn't like it as much as it stained my water yellow.
Flourish is just micros and trace..there is no Nitrogen,Potassium,Phoshate (the main 3 macro nutrients) in it..And it doesn't hurt to have a carbon source;either DIY or pressurized CO2 or Excel
The Seachem root tabs are good one's
The Flora Pride and Leaf Zone is just an Iron boost basically,with some Potassium in the form of potash.Never seen the water turn yellow from the API brand;the only liquids that the turns water yellow are the blackwater extracts like Tetra Blackwater Extract,Kent Black Water Expert etc.
I've got 9 juvi Albino Bristlenose Plecos, which I intend on breeding. You and the fishforum community will certainly be the first I would sell them to.
On the other hand, I often find myself with excess plants if you need any.
its just the local petstores are crappy and the emplyees know nothing. One even argued once by charging me 10$ for a corydora because he said it was a pleco!
It apperaas that there are no tablet ferts in the local petstores also. Would liquid be alright? which is better liquid or tablets?
There's no real "better" just "appropriate". Liquid would probably just encourage algae growth in your tank.
I'd recommend ordering online. You'll find a thousand sites with cheap stuff out there.
As for fish, try posting a wanted to buy in the classifieds section. If that doesn't work out, check out aquabid.com. It's a good spot to buy directly from breeders and from other hobbyists. It's like ebay but for fish people.
Ok, that will help. However, it's a liquid fertilizer, which doesn't do much for your substrate. Swords are *heavy* root feeders, so they really need a root fertilizer.
If the liquid fertilizer is not being absorbed by anything, probably going to end up feeding algae. The sword will draw up some of the nutrients, but not at the rate that stem or floating plants will.
gotcha, just gotta find a place that sells tablets
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