Amazon Swords holes in leaf... iron problem?
 

I have several plants in my aqaurium (java ferns, Anubias, Swords). The
Java fern i've had for over a year now and it' been growing nice and steady
but the Amazon sword i purchased 2 months ago is not looking well. It
practically doubled in the number of leaves during the first month but now
its developing holes in all of it's leaves... first affecting just the old
leaves and now the new sprouts. Basically the end result is a the
"skeleton" of the leaf (just the inside stem plus outline of leaf...
everything in the middle threads away).

Is this a sign of lack of iron?? I know swords like to have a rich
substrate (which i don't have). But for the past year i've been using
MicroNutrient/Iron liquid supplements which my java fern seems to grow
pretty well in (it's around .25 mg/L chleated iron levels). I thought that
the iron through the water column would've been good enough for the Swords
but maybe not? What would be a solution to add to the substrate if this was
the case?

Thanks

Darwin

Amazon Swords holes in leaf... iron problem?
 

Do you have snails or any algae eating fish? My pond snails chew lots of holes
in my sword and pennywort.

Are the leaves turning light green or yellow? Swords do like to have a rich
substrate. You can add plant spikes or laterite balls under the plant.

Someone w/ more experience could give you a more definitive answer.

Cris

In article , "Darwin"
writes:

I have several plants in my aqaurium (java ferns, Anubias, Swords). The
Java fern i've had for over a year now and it' been growing nice and steady
but the Amazon sword i purchased 2 months ago is not looking well. It
practically doubled in the number of leaves during the first month but now
its developing holes in all of it's leaves... first affecting just the old
leaves and now the new sprouts. Basically the end result is a the
"skeleton" of the leaf (just the inside stem plus outline of leaf...
everything in the middle threads away).

Is this a sign of lack of iron?? I know swords like to have a rich
substrate (which i don't have). But for the past year i've been using
MicroNutrient/Iron liquid supplements which my java fern seems to grow
pretty well in (it's around .25 mg/L chleated iron levels). I thought that
the iron through the water column would've been good enough for the Swords
but maybe not? What would be a solution to add to the substrate if this was
the case?

Thanks

Darwin

Amazon Swords holes in leaf... iron problem?
 

Hmm... yes lighting could very well be a problem considering i only have the
default strip of light. So bascially getting by with just the 1
watt/gallon. I thought perhaps the light would only make it grow slower (I
didn't think swords needed very high light intake)... i'm just happy if it
grows and stays alive =)

I may try the substrate additive that Cris suggested but not sure yet... but
it would be a more feasible option at the moment. My tank is 90 Gallons and
buying new light strips is kinda $$ (especially for just one type of plant).
Would the normal iron tables at LFS do the trick? Does the iron leak out
into the water column with those ?? What about the option of Flourite mixed
in with the substrate under the Amazon?

Here's a pic anyways of the plant
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...53303486wVZfTB

Thanks for the help!!! Really appreciate it.

Darwin


"LeighMo" wrote in message
...
I have several plants in my aqaurium (java ferns, Anubias, Swords). The
Java fern i've had for over a year now and it' been growing nice and
steady
but the Amazon sword i purchased 2 months ago is not looking well.

What size is your tank, and how much light do you have over it?

Amazon swords need a lot more light than anubias and java fern do.

Insufficient light is the first thing I would suspect, if the anubias and
java
fern are doing well, but the swordplants aren't.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

Amazon Swords holes in leaf... iron problem?
 

Your problems sound like a misbehaving pleco. Do you have one of these fish?

-Bruce

Amazon Swords holes in leaf... iron problem?
 

uh oh.... i do have one!! I've never seen him eat the other plants but the
sword plant hmmmm. I guess there's no real way to keep him off of it if
that's the problem is there? I'll see if i can see what he does during the
night... i've basically been feeding him the sinkable algae wafers for all
these years.


"BruceKGeist" wrote in message
...
Your problems sound like a misbehaving pleco. Do you have one of these
fish?

-Bruce

Amazon Swords holes in leaf... iron problem?
 

Hmm... yes lighting could very well be a problem considering i only have the
default strip of light. So bascially getting by with just the 1
watt/gallon.

Are you sure you have 1 wpg? I believe the standard 90 gallon tank hood has
one 40 watt bulb. That's less than half a watt per gallon. Even if you have a
twin-tube strip, with two 40 watt bulbs, that's less than 1 wpg.

Also, 90 gallon tanks are deep -- over 25". The only difference between a 75
gallon tank and a 90 is that extra 4" of height. It can be difficult to light
tanks that deep.

I thought perhaps the light would only make it grow slower (I
didn't think swords needed very high light intake)... i'm just happy if it
grows and stays alive =)

I consider swords to be moderate-light plants. They definitely need more light
than java fern or anubias.

Would the normal iron tables at LFS do the trick?

No. You can't make up for low light with fertilizer. I don't think your
problem is iron deficiency, anyway.

Here's a pic anyways of the plant
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...53303486wVZfTB

Hmm. That does look like it might be pl*co damage. (Though it might be that
he's just feeding on dying leaves, and the algae they attract.)

You might try bribing the pl*co with fresh veggies at night. Cucumber,
zucchini, peas, green beans, romaine lettuce, spinach, etc. See if that helps.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

Amazon Swords holes in leaf... iron problem?
 

Throw in some zuccini and see if it eats that. My Ancistrus, Pl*co, Panaque
do eat zucchini, salad,peas, Potatoes +++. To slightly boil or freeze first
will make it easer to eat.

-runar- Oslo, Norway

"Darwin" wrote in message
...
uh oh.... i do have one!! I've never seen him eat the other plants but
the
sword plant hmmmm. I guess there's no real way to keep him off of it if
that's the problem is there? I'll see if i can see what he does during
the
night... i've basically been feeding him the sinkable algae wafers for all
these years.


"BruceKGeist" wrote in message
...
Your problems sound like a misbehaving pleco. Do you have one of these
fish?

-Bruce

Amazon Swords holes in leaf... iron problem?
 

yes i have the double light strips 2x 30 = 80 watts. Hmm i guess i'll have
to look into putting some more lights in if I want more variety of plants.
Ok thanks for everyone's help, I'll see first if it's the pleco eating the
plant.... i woulnd't want to invest in a whole bunch of plants/lights only
have it all eaten (I've already had this once done by my previous fish,
large tinfoil barbs, so I'm being cautious now in this one).

Thanks again


"LeighMo" wrote in message
...
Hmm... yes lighting could very well be a problem considering i only have
the
default strip of light. So bascially getting by with just the 1
watt/gallon.

Are you sure you have 1 wpg? I believe the standard 90 gallon tank hood
has
one 40 watt bulb. That's less than half a watt per gallon. Even if you
have a
twin-tube strip, with two 40 watt bulbs, that's less than 1 wpg.

Also, 90 gallon tanks are deep -- over 25". The only difference between a
75
gallon tank and a 90 is that extra 4" of height. It can be difficult to
light
tanks that deep.

I thought perhaps the light would only make it grow slower (I
didn't think swords needed very high light intake)... i'm just happy if
it
grows and stays alive =)

I consider swords to be moderate-light plants. They definitely need more
light
than java fern or anubias.

Would the normal iron tables at LFS do the trick?

No. You can't make up for low light with fertilizer. I don't think your
problem is iron deficiency, anyway.

Here's a pic anyways of the plant
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...53303486wVZfTB

Hmm. That does look like it might be pl*co damage. (Though it might be
that
he's just feeding on dying leaves, and the algae they attract.)

You might try bribing the pl*co with fresh veggies at night. Cucumber,
zucchini, peas, green beans, romaine lettuce, spinach, etc. See if that
helps.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

Amazon Swords holes in leaf... iron problem?
 

yes i have the double light strips 2x 30 = 80 watts.

If you have two 30W bulbs (instead of two 40W), that's only 60 watts over a 90
gallon tank. That's 1.5 watts per gallon -- not much for a tank that's 25"
deep.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

Amazon Swords holes in leaf... iron problem?
 

oops sorry i mean 2 x 40 watts (typo)... but that still doesn't seem like
very much! Been looking at the DIY light projects now.



"LeighMo" wrote in message
...
yes i have the double light strips 2x 30 = 80 watts.

If you have two 30W bulbs (instead of two 40W), that's only 60 watts over
a 90
gallon tank. That's 1.5 watts per gallon -- not much for a tank that's
25"
deep.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/