Caleb20 Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 Ive had this sword for about a month and a half. It started to melt back, which was expected. The new growth leaves were sprouting out and growing extremely well, until about 2 weeks ago (1 month in tank). I suspected it had already eaten all of the root tabs (2) I placed underneath it. So, I added to more directly under it. Now the plants leaves are looking black, but it doesn't look like the black beard algea I have seen. I also watched all of the nutrient deficiency videos, and this doesn't seem like any of it unless I'm missing something. l I use API root tabs, dose 3 ml of seachem flourish every 3 days, and api c02 booster 4 ml every day. Water is 76-77 degrees, GH ~75 ppm, PH 7.0, near 0 Nitrates/nitrites. 36 gallon tank. I have a 27 w led about 9 inches above the tank, assuming each light is 1 watt?? 18 inch deep tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb20 Posted December 10, 2020 Author Share Posted December 10, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb20 Posted December 10, 2020 Author Share Posted December 10, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 it was likely grown out of water. the old leaves are dying off, because they arent used to being submersed. if it stays healthy the new leaves will take over, and the old ones will die off. perfectly normal imo. if the new leaves at the bottom start to suddenly die off or melt back, then its time to be concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb20 Posted December 11, 2020 Author Share Posted December 11, 2020 Those are new leaves at the bottom with black all over them. Thats why I'm concerned. The stems going up are the old leaves that are melting. Expected that to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tami Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 mine did the exact same thing, then the leaves went translucent and all came off when I stirred the water around it! planted it Oct 15 and it looks terrible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 sorry caleb, i am not seeing anything wrong with your plant. i may be missing it, someone else will surely come along and find it if so. Tami's plant looks to me to be starved of nutrients, as it sits, that one is dying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 3 hours ago, Caleb20 said: Those are new leaves at the bottom with black all over them. Thats why I'm concerned. The stems going up are the old leaves that are melting. Expected that to happen. I am having trouble seeing the black all over them. It looks like they are just coming in slightly darker. I have a plant that does something similar, new growth is sort of dark grayish, and then as it grows it greens up. almost like how some terrestrial plants will have reddish new growth and then shift to green as the leaves mature. I believe there are even red sword varieties that do that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 56 minutes ago, Tami said: mine did the exact same thing, then the leaves went translucent and all came off when I stirred the water around it! planted it Oct 15 and it looks terrible Don't lose hope, The roots are the important part. Mine were slow to pick up, root tabs may help. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starsman20 Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 You might try unburying the rhizome some. Looks like its fully covered. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 1 hour ago, starsman20 said: You might try unburying the rhizome some. Looks like its fully covered. Do swords have rhizomes? Are you maybe thinking of ferns? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 9 minutes ago, JettsPapa said: Do swords have rhizomes? Are you maybe thinking of ferns? Rhizome is a technical term for a thickened, usually horizontal, plant stem. You could make the case that an Amazon sword has a stubby rhizome, but you could just as easily call it a stem. It is a pretty fuzzy area. Amazon swords often propagate from runners. Where do the runners originate from? The leaves, the roots, the stems, the rhizome? But still this isn't the same sort of rhizome you have in an Anubias or Cryptocoryne. And yes ferns have rhizomes too, but rhizomes are not restricted to ferns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 1 hour ago, Daniel said: Rhizome is a technical term for a thickened, usually horizontal, plant stem. You could make the case that an Amazon sword has a stubby rhizome, but you could just as easily call it a stem. It is a pretty fuzzy area. Amazon swords often propagate from runners. Where do the runners originate from? The leaves, the roots, the stems, the rhizome? But still this isn't the same sort of rhizome you have in an Anubias or Cryptocoryne. And yes ferns have rhizomes too, but rhizomes are not restricted to ferns. Now I'm even more confused. Crypts have rhizomes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 10 minutes ago, JettsPapa said: Now I'm even more confused. Crypts have rhizomes? Yes, here is the generic schema for a Cryptocoryne: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch_ScruffyCityAquatics Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 I think it is commonly referred to as the “crown”. Basically where the transition to roots takes place. Gently pull the plant so the roots are covered but the crown is sitting in the gravel. Also, root tabs. Amazon swords eat root tabs. Every other week. It stops growing start putting two every other week. It begins to yellow do it weekly. They are monsters that are never fed well enough. Haha. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Burke Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 Looking at the pics in the original post, recommend trimming back the old leaves. The are consuming nutrients that could support the new leaves. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccurtis Posted December 12, 2020 Share Posted December 12, 2020 You plant looks to be coming back healthy. The black you are seeing is likely algae of some sort, but does not look like BBA. I would not be concerned. Mine swords did something similar with the dark algae. The algae cleared up on its own. I would recommend cutting the old larger leaves/stems off so the plant and focus on providing nutrients to the new growth. Swords eat a lot of fertilizer. Make sure to fertilize heavily (root tabs) and just be patient, it takes a while for the plant to adapt from being grown out of the water. Once it takes hold, it will take off. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tami Posted December 12, 2020 Share Posted December 12, 2020 Thanks everyone - I have had root tabs around my sword since day 1 - added more and continued to get worse (actually faster) - did trim old leaves but was afraid to take them all off since all my new leaves died - the crown is above the gravel i can see where the roots are coming off it - also I see some new roots above the gravel line Should I take off the last 3 "leaves" if thats what you call them at this point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccurtis Posted December 12, 2020 Share Posted December 12, 2020 If you are seeing new roots, just give it time and see what it does. It maybe in shock and trying to adapt to you water. This can take time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy's Fish Den Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 I've found some varieties of swords are slow to take off when they are converting from emersed growth to submerged. I have a "Kleiner prinz" one that was partially converted when I got it in September that is still not fully converted, and I'm giving it plenty of root tabs. Just make sure you got a root tab or two under it, good lighting and it will grow, Leave it alone, don't move or mess with it and it will come back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now