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Is this normal.


DiverJohn

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Hey Peoples , last week in another post Warren identified one of my plants as Rose Amazon Sword (Echinodorus osiris).

I am not exactly sure but I dont think it is doing too well. When i bought the plants they looked health with nice long stems and good looking leaves. These died off after a couple of weeks so I pruned back quite hard and left them in to see what developed.

Slowly leaves have developed, but they just dont look healthy. Black veins on the leaves...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/DiverJohn/Sword001.jpg

And then they seem to get holy and die off...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/DiverJohn/Sword002.jpg

These plants are quite low in a tank 500mm deep - 1.1x.5x.5 approx 250l.

Lights are on 11 hours a day, 4x30W (3footers). DIY CO2, and a JBL 7 Balls close to each one. 5 ml of floursh exel evry 2nd day. Blue Hygro, Cambomba growing well, Japonise Rush growng "OK". pH 7, evrything else 0, gh 4.

Any suggestions - could the Hygro and Cambomba be stripping the water of a trace element?

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brother,

from your description, i believe you have done well for your plant.

i may suggest you double your dose of DIY CO2 into your tank.

thats what i did and my tank plant is growing again.

you can triple dose but your must check you Ph (prefer 6.8 - 7)and Kh (3-4).

cheers

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I had a normal amazon sword which started having problems despite everything else in the tank growing well. The ends of the leaves fell off and I was about to pull it out. Instead I moved it into a clear area in the middle of the tank and out from under the Hygrophilia Diformis which had grown up around it. As a result it has sprouted three new leaves in the past week (after a couple of months of being dormant). My guess is the better light, and less competition from its neighbours helped.

OK, so it's not exactly the same plant and not exactly the same problem, but I thought I'd share anyway :).

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Looks like you are low in iron. Echinodorus osiris should have fairly red new leaves which fade to a green/red when fully grown. The veins should be dark but the rest of the leaf quite red to start with. Add iron tablets to the substrate as this plant is predominantly a root feeder.

Do you have Bristlenose? If so, this could be causing the damage to the leaves. Osiris has a very delicate membrane that Bristlenose damage easily...

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Could be right on both counts Warren. Tested Fe last night (dupla test) was 0.1 is that OK? Should I bump it up a bit? This plant also has a JBL 7 Balls under it.

Also I have started another small tank for plants and purchased a box of Laterite. LFS chap suggested adding a small amount around my plants in the big tank as a "general" fertilisation regime. Did that last week. Earlier this week I also added another 30W tube (5 in total 8) )

Last couple of days I have noticed there is some new growth coming out that is a distinct red/brown colour. And yes I do have bristlenoses and a plec, they might have to go. Thanks for your help.

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