cichlidmomwanabe Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Okay so Iam a total newbie with plants, so here is the big question. I have some swords that are turning yellow, I have only added then within the last 2 weeks to the tank. Tank is a 20 gallon with 18 watt compact which is on for 10 hours, temp was 76(is now 84). I also have a Hagen natural CO2 and added some Flourish root tabs. If I just keep trimming off the yellowing leaves will it come back or should I just pull it? The vals, sagittaria and polysperma are doing great! Thanks for any advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wackinator Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 hey I know almost nothing about plants but when I first added my sword plant to the tank it also turned yellow, but that went away by itself, and I later on found out from people that some leaves go bad or melt when added to a new tank. That might be the case since you only added them 2 weeks ago. Trimming the leaves will fix that. It could also be that it needs more iron or nitrogen. Hope that helps though there are other people on this forum that can help you a lot more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 leaves turning yellow indicate an imbalance in the nutrients the plant is receiving, from what i have read. i don't dose ferts in my planted tank and i have no yellowish leaves or unhealthy plants in there, so unfortunately i can't give you any advice on what to dose. hopefully some of the plant experts will pop into this thread soon. i wish you luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 It could be a number of things. How are they turning yellow? Eg. yellow centers with green veins, yellow edges, etc. Can you post a picture? Also, where did you get the swords? Most swords that come from the fish stores are cultivated above water. Once you stick them in the tank, the emergent leaves will die off as the plant switches to a submerged form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewels Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 Do not pull it!! To address the question specificly. Keep removing the yellow leaves and hope for the best. The Phoenix may be re-born from the ashes!! As for advice I would say that if you can not see any root than you have it buried to deep. Just tug upwards by a healthy leaf until a little root shows. Plants lacking nutrients will start to show less than ideal leaf formation over time . You are not forming new leaves @ this point. Pehaps not what you wanted to hear; but I would not expect robust growth with that intensity of lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 I'm thinking along the same lines as Werner - probably emergent growth dying off. Be patient and it should come back. The conditions you state sound OK for swords, they won't grow uber-fast, but they'll do well enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 dont pull it. the plant may have been shocked from being in the mail. are all of the swords doing the same thing? the temp does not need to be that high for the plants. are all the other plants ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidmomwanabe Posted July 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Not all of them are dying just the one. The others I have been trimming off the dead leaves and they actually have new ones growing. I will give it some time to re-coup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDGE Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 (edited) Not all of them are dying just the one. The others I have been trimming off the dead leaves and they actually have new ones growing. I will give it some time to re-coup. Do you know what kind of sword this is? cultivar or sp? A lot of swords need more than 18 watt compact over 20 gallon. You should keep the yellowing leaf on the plant. A lot of time, the plant will used the old leaf to give them the energy they need to get established. If you pluck the leaves away and you don't add nutrients to the water column in good quantity, where is the plant going to get the nutrients from? fish waste is not enough to give the plant the kick start they need to get established. Ideally you want a consistent 8 ppm NO3 1 ppm PO4 and 6 ppm K in the water column. Emersed plant and large plant adapt to change in environment a lot better than submersed or small plant. They can survive better during the transition period. This does not mean that a small plant can't do just as well at establishing either. As long as the growing requirement is met, the plant will take off, small or large. Edited July 21, 2009 by EDGE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.