# Looking for a big plant for lowlight tanks, Swords?



## CKJ (Oct 3, 2008)

Was really wanting to find a big plant for our 10 and 50 gal tanks and had seen some pics with some pretty big swords and I really don't know much about swords and was hoping to get some info here.

I have tried a sword before but it promptly rotted away. Am wondering if that was due to lowlight or no ferts? Or both? I do have some root tabs and my substrate is sand and we have low light and no co2. So i'm wondering if we can even keep swords at all?

But if you can think of some other plants that are easy to keep that get big that would be much appreciated as well! Thanks a bunch


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Root tabs would work best for sword plants. 
If you're going to have plants you should get ferts for the water otherwise anything would die.

What type of lighting do you have on the 10 gallon and 50 gallon tanks?


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

My daughter kept a 10 gallon when she was in college. It was planted with a Crypt. wendtii and java moss held down with pretty pebbles. The crypt made a nice forest for her guppies to swim through and pretty much filled the tank. Root tabs would work well for it as well. That same type of crypt survived 5 years under a single never changed 18" bulb in a 16" deep tank. Tough and pretty, have to love C. wendtii. They are supposed to come in a lot of varieties but generally you see the red/brown/bronze variety.


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## BBradbury (Nov 8, 2010)

*Needing a large Plant*

Hello CKJ...

Attached are a couple of pics of a large plant I had in a 38 G. It's a "Peace lily" or Spathiphyllum tasson if you're interested in the scientific name. It's the larger, dark green plant. It's a slow grower, but really likes lower light conditions and can get quite large, depending on water conditions. 

Like all aquatic plants, it does best in extremely clean water and I dose a good liquid fert once a week when I do my water changes. I change out 50 percent of the tank water weekly.

B


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## Sharkfood (May 2, 2010)

Crypt Lutea is a big plant that will fill a large area of a 50 gallon tank, if not the whole thing.

Smaller swords like Kleiner bar and Melon might fit the bill also.

Peace Lillies are generally not considered to be aquatic plants.


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## CKJ (Oct 3, 2008)

Thanks for the input everybody! I'm trying to keep everything as simple and easy as possible and as inexpensive as well. Root tabs we can do as they aren't too expensive and we don't really want to he to mess with liquid stuff and to have to worry about that.

Pretty cool peice lilly BBradbury! I have never seen any in water like that! Can't help but think that would be really fun to try someday 

Thanks a bunch Gordonrighards. I always wondered if it was just my low light that killed it and back when I tried that sword We wever very new to plants and didn't know about ferts and stuff. Now though we do have a little more experience but not alot so anything different that a java fern, anubias or java moss is a new adventure for us. LOL But now we are armed with some root tabs and and a few new plants to try.

Thanks Sharkfood! Yah I have only ever seen peice lillies potted before and think i'll try finding some of those plants you suggested. :0)

I did take my dad in town to walmart earlier and saw some some crypts there of all places in their fish dept. Their plants there look healthier than our small lfs. Our small lfs keeps all the plants in one tank regardless of lighting requirements and they have tons of algea and snails on them. But I bought a couple different crypts and hopefully they'll all do well but still one of these days I want to find a good sword plant to try again.

For a couple years now if not a little longer we've only had the anubias, java moss and java fern.. Just didn't have the money Hoping what what we have grows and multiplies very soon into more plants!


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## BBradbury (Nov 8, 2010)

*Peace lily Info.*

Hello again CKJ...

Shark is well informed. But, with a little work, the lily will grow as well as any of the standard aquatic plants and be just as impressive. I picked up a couple at the local Lowe's last summer for a few dollars each and replanted them in large plastic pots with some organic potting soil topped with pea gravel substrate. If you don't like the look of the pots in the tank, you can plant some medium tall plants in the substrate around the pot to disguise or cover it. 

It takes the lily a few weeks to get used to being totally under water, but the potting mixture will nourish it for months and gets it through the acclaimation period.

Depending on tank conditions, the lily will continue to grow under water and the two I have in my 55 Gs are very healthy and large. 

I clipped the white flowers off the plants before I put them in my tanks, the lily won't flower under water, but otherwise does extremely well.

B


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Amazon swordplants look similar to peace lilies and are much more suitable for an aquarium.


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## CKJ (Oct 3, 2008)

Wow that sword is amazing AzFishKid! That's what I want! lol Someday :0)

Thanks again BBradbury for the tip Someday that will be fun to try!


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Several varieties of Hygrophila are hardy, grow fast, and easy to keep & mantain in low-light, low fert tanks. As mentioned, many of the Swords are appropriate, and I also like the Lotuses- Red or Tiger, and Ludwigia, Rotala, or Bacopa.
These plants will do well in low/medium light, with root tab ferts, and modest weekly dosings of dry or liquid ferts, along with Excel.
That's my regimen of ferts in my discus tank:
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Sept2011


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## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

Will the amazon sword do well in a 29g, or will it outgrow the tank?


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

driftwoodhunter said:


> Will the amazon sword do well in a 29g, or will it outgrow the tank?


They do grow very large and are better suited for tanks that are 55G+, but if you kept it trimmed i bet it would work.


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## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

Hmm, that's what I was afraid of (I love swords). I worry also that the rootball will choke out other plants.


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## vespers_ (May 6, 2011)

CKJ said:


> Wow that sword is amazing AzFishKid! That's what I want! lol Someday :0)
> 
> Thanks again BBradbury for the tip Someday that will be fun to try!


those swords get gigantic. i unwittingly stuck one in a 10g tank and it took over. i think i have a picture of the beast kicking around that i'll try to find. 

the leaves ended up being about a foot and a half long (and it had about 20-25 of them) and the root mass was easily half again as big as my fist. definitely not a plant for a 10g or anything under a 50-60g even.

edit: k here it is. blurry bad picture, but you'll get a sense of what happens in a 10g. the leaves get all warped from pushing up against the glass.


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## CKJ (Oct 3, 2008)

OMG Vespers that thing is a beast! Love it though! Oh heck definately not for the 10 gal. lol But would love it for the 50 gal :0) 

Thanks DiscusPaul! A friend recently gave us some hygro and hoping it takes off soon cause it's very pretty!

I've so got to update my tank journal one of these days!

The poor 10 gal just has plants stuck everywhere. And the 50 needs a rescape too, the java moss is taking over. lol 

thanks everyone!


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Haha, you posted my old picture AZ. I feel the love.  You can amazon for your 55 and root tabs. I used the same bulbs as you initially and was able to grow it for many months. It grew slowly, but it grew. I left the lights on for 12 hours a day as it was extremely low light. The key is to finding a sword that is already growing submersed as the emersed have a hard time moving over in lower light situations.


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## Mermaid (May 9, 2005)

Talking about Peace Lilies. My tank is full of them and thriving! I mixed them with aneubas and driftwood. Got tired of buying plants that died because of my low light situation. Books say they don't last 6 months but in my tank they did.


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## Aquaticz (Dec 26, 2009)

Hope this works. Took these yesterday... The first is in a 75 (24" high) the second is in a 40 

I have had these for years. All came from one plant. I dose and use co2 plus root tabs (osomcote)


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## CKJ (Oct 3, 2008)

Wow those are gorgeous!!!!


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