Need help identifying a plant please

[Joseph]

I've had this plant for a year and at first had it planted in substrate but almost died kind of glued it to a piece of lava rock and it started to grow back rather well never got the name as it was a gift so im trying to figure how big it will get currently in a 5 gallon nano thanks all

[lefty o]

it looks like a struggling amazon sword.

[Kirsten]

Yeah I agree that it looks like a sword plant, which is typically planted in the substrate, not glued to rocks like a java fern, but if it's growing better for you now than before, that's good.

It probably won't get very large while glued to a rock, but here's a pic of some of my swords that all grew from one mother plant while planted with a root tab.

[Jungle Fan]

It looks like Helanthium quadricostatus formerly known as Echinodorus quadricostatus until it got taken out of the bigger sword plant family also known as 'Broadleaf Chain Sword', or 'Bolivian Chain Sword'. Like all the sword plants, and crypts it is a heavy root feeder, should be planted in the soil and have root tabs located in the substrate around it to supply iron and potassium so it can really do well when planted.

Are you feeding Easy Green, and Liquid Iron, or some other fertilizer directly into the water column? Otherwise it would seem a miracle that the plant is doing so well now that it is glued to lava rock.

Edited March 22, 2021 by Jungle Fan

[Joseph]

Yes I feed easy green and I also have root tabs as well a fluval stratum but as soon as I planted the roots it started melting away and as soon as I placed it on the lava rock it came back 

[FriendlyLoach]

Maybe a type hygrophila. Probably not though. 

[Jungle Fan]

Just an off question what is the white looking powder on the soil? Oh, and one other question how many root tabs had you placed around the plant in the substrate?

[Joseph]

The white powdery stuff was a small cap of sand that got covered and as far as root tabs its a 5 gallon aquarium so I put 1 every two inches under 2 inches of stratum I use the flourish root tabs 

[Jungle Fan]

Does it have a root, a rhizome, or a bulb? From the picture it's hard to tell. Even though you've got it glued to the lava rock it's neither an Anubias, nor a Bucephalandra, nor is it Java fern, or Bolbitis which pretty much exhausts the list of available aquatic epiphytes, and rheophytes with rhizomes.

It could be a very small Aponogeton if it has a bulb and not a root, or a rhizome and it could be doing better this way than being planted in sand.

If it has a root and is a sword, or Chain Broadleaf sword then there must have been some other factors involved to make it falter because your soil is the right thing to use, and your root tabs are as well, although one every two inches is a bit overkill one every four, to six inches is usually sufficient.

If it is a sword and was planted in the sand then that could account for it as well since most plants, especially swords tend to not do well in sand.

If none of that's the case as well then I'm out of answers for you, and some mystery factor must be in play.

[Joseph]

It was planted it the stratum sand was a small bit for ascetic reasons but just a smallayer in the front that the amono shrimp had a ball covering up im going with a dwarf type of sword it has roots no rysome. I'm going to replant it and see 

[1moretank]

On 3/23/2021 at 7:42 PM, Joseph said:

Yes I feed easy green and I also have root tabs as well a fluval stratum but as soon as I planted the roots it started melting away and as soon as I placed it on the lava rock it came back 

It looks identical to a very small Amazon sword I have.  I cut it off the stem of a bigger plant when I was first learning about amazon swords.  It had almost no root and should have been left on the stem.  It struggled a long time in the substrate, then I tried letting it float, but fish picked at it.   I replanted it and it struggled (no root system).  Eventually I gave up and glued the side of a leaf and the place where it should have had roots to a rock about 1/2 the size of a golf ball.  Then I used the rock to hold it right on top the substrate and prevent fish from moving it.  It took several months, but it did eventually grow some roots and tether itself into the substrate.  As a gardener I believe it could not survive buried because it had no root system it needed to be above the substrate to start a root system - just like it would have if I had left it on the stem.  After almost a year mine has finally started to grow new leaves.  If gluing it worked for you, let it be, no plant likes to be moved around.  Good luck.