DebSills Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 So, I have a red flame sword and it is currently planted in front of my sponge filter - I was hoping it would get some height and help to hide it a bit (I really wish it was black like their air line, but...)...anyways, it is growing and getting some new leaves and I love it but none of the new growth is getting any height. The few leaves that have a stem (see photo) are all growth that was there when I planted it. Does it need more light? Currently I have the smallest Aquasky light (12W) in the back center (settings below), primarily for the stems and it also does a sunrise/sunset. The main light is the ACO Easy Plant LED set at 30% (on at 8:30am, off at 4:00pm). Does it need root tabs? (stratum and bio-stratum with crushed root tabs under gravel) is it just not going to grow taller in my aquarium? I am fine with that, but I may want to move it forward and put something else taller in that spot if that's the case Everything else seems to be doing well in there and the small amount of hair type algae has balanced itself out and died off so overall the tank is going great, but just this one plant I was hoping would serve the purpose of hiding the sponge filter, is not really up to snuff so to speak . Sorry about all of the reflections! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 Flame sword grows more outwards than upwards. It is extremely slow growing, and more of a mid ground plant. It also appreciates a regular generous supply of root tabs 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 Normal for the species; melon swords grow taller. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DebSills Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 exactly what I needed to know - thank you both!!!! @anewbie@JoeQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 On 4/22/2024 at 10:56 AM, DebSills said: exactly what I needed to know - thank you both!!!! @anewbie@JoeQ Me and a newbie got the varieties mixed up, flame sword is the taller sword. Nonetheless, I still stick by my original statement. Both varieties (IMO) grow more outwards than upwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenman Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 In general, if plants are growing taller than expected it's because they're not getting enough light and are reaching for the light. I've got dwarf hairgrass and dwarf sagittaria in my tank that are both growing like mad, spreading all over the bottom of the tank and none of them is over an inch tall. Both sets of parent plants were about three inches tall when put into the tank. I see dwarf sag in other tanks that's about six inches tall. Mine stay much shorter. In general, I wouldn't recommend a smaller sword as a plant to hide something. As others have said, they grow slowly. Watersprite, water wisteria, and plants like that make more effective shields. They grow densely and quickly when happy. Some jungle val can also be effective in hiding things if planted closely enough together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DebSills Posted April 23 Author Share Posted April 23 I didn't expect it to fully hide my filter, but I had read about the plant and it was stated that it could get around 12 inches tall, but mine is only 3-4 inches tall after about 6 weeks, so I am now just debating on whether to move the plant forward and plant something else. So before I moved it I figured I would reach out and ask for others experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 On 4/23/2024 at 9:16 AM, DebSills said: I didn't expect it to fully hide my filter, but I had read about the plant and it was stated that it could get around 12 inches tall, but mine is only 3-4 inches tall after about 6 weeks, so I am now just debating on whether to move the plant forward and plant something else. So before I moved it I figured I would reach out and ask for others experiences. 6 weeks? 🤣I think mine took a year to 2 years to even reach mid ground status! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DebSills Posted April 23 Author Share Posted April 23 On 4/23/2024 at 10:48 AM, JoeQ said: 6 weeks? 🤣I think mine took a year to 2 years to even reach mid ground status! lol - I guess I need to update my definition of slow grower with this one....I'm used to crypts, but this guy is crazy slow I guess 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 On 4/23/2024 at 10:53 AM, DebSills said: lol - I guess I need to update my definition of slow grower with this one....I'm used to crypts, but this guy is crazy slow I guess 😂 Yea, I tossed mine because the growth rate was just infuriating! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 On 4/22/2024 at 1:44 PM, JoeQ said: Me and a newbie got the varieties mixed up, flame sword is the taller sword. Nonetheless, I still stick by my original statement. Both varieties (IMO) grow more outwards than upwards. Huh? I've had melon swords that grow 2 feet tall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 On 4/23/2024 at 5:49 PM, anewbie said: Huh? I've had melon swords that grow 2 feet tall. From the source i read (sprucepet)? They said flame sword was the taller variety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 On 4/23/2024 at 6:29 PM, JoeQ said: From the source i read (sprucepet)? They said flame sword was the taller variety. That may be true; i'm not reporting what i read i'm reporting what my plants did. Both were in an aquarium with co2; however melon sword will grow very slow without co2. To be honest a nice wenditti will do a good job hiding a sponge filter; but you want to find a hobbist selling a large one as the small one most stores sell will take a while to grow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 On 4/23/2024 at 7:31 PM, anewbie said: That may be true; i'm not reporting what i read i'm reporting what my plants did. Both were in an aquarium with co2; however melon sword will grow very slow without co2. To be honest a nice wenditti will do a good job hiding a sponge filter; but you want to find a hobbist selling a large one as the small one most stores sell will take a while to grow. I didn't try flame sword, so I cant compare.; im not a big sword fan. As for crypts, I once had a beautiful crypt (in my profile pic). Divided it years ago and its still floundering. I think most of my problems are my stems shade them out cause I dont regularly trim. Its almost like my crypts take 1 step ahead and 2 steps back..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 Stems will do a nice job hiding stuff quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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