[wlyons9856]

I would like to put an amazon sword plant into my 90 gallon tank because I finally have a big enough tank. How light demanding are they?

 

[748johnd]

I have 3 types of Amazon sword plants in my 90g with 2 65-watt 6700K compact fluorescents. They are all doing very well. One is so big now that the leaves are against the front and back glass. Some Amazons get huge. I wish I had a 2-foot wide tank to keep it in. I do use plant tabs every 3 months for fertilizer.

 

[pistolpete]

Amazon swords are not very light demanding. They will do fine with a twin fluorescent bulb strip over the tank. They like a deep and rich substrate. Use some rocks to terrace your gravel so that it's about 3 inches deep where you want your sword. If available put a clay ball under the roots. I also use Jobe sticks for ferns (avaialable at garden stores) about every two months.

When planting snip the roots to about 1.5 inches and make sure they are not bent double during planting.

If the sword likes your setup it will grow to about a one foot diameter, so take that into account with your aquascape. I think a sword in one corner and a red lotus in the other looks good, as they are both large plants, but very different in appearance.

 

[wlyons9856]

I have a sand substrate but I have waited for it to gain nutrients over the past four months to plant anything. I wanted to put one near my filter intake to cover the monstrosity the FX5 posseses. How do fertilizers work? Do you just stick them
Into the substrate?

 

[748johnd]

You just stick the plant tabs into the substrate near the roots. They come with instructions on how to use them.

 

[adam79]

Amazon swords will do well under almost any light you give them. The growth rates and size will be different. I cut runners off mine and plant them in low light tanks with a root tab. The two in my high-tech setup have leafs that are close to 2 feet in length and have a new leaf pushing out almost every day. 90 gallon tanks are pretty tall so it may take more light to break through the water if you want a good amount of growth.

 

[drexel187]

I've had a couple sword plants for about 6 months, what do the runners look like?

 

[NativePredator]

This is what the runners look like, you can see in this pic they are being tied off on the driftwood.

 

[drexel187]

Oh wow, I have never seen one of those growing out, do you recommend a specific fertilizer? I'm using tahitian moon sand as a substrate. Thanks!

 

[wlyons9856]

Yes, I also would like to know specific fertilizers that work well for people.

 

[NativePredator]

Fish poop, and iron pellets. good light source 8-9 hours a day. works for me, your mileage may vary. :wink:

 

[wlyons9856]

Correct me if I am wrong but the Iron pellets get submerged into the sand near the plant correct?

 

[NativePredator]

thats what i do with them, i found a pretty cool plant tool at Fosters and Smith
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... atid=11240

i use that for about everything now, its good for shoving those pellets in the substrate, and a thousand other tank chores.