# Amazon Sword 'Compact"



## mmf_1013 (Mar 11, 2011)

Hi everyone!

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with this plant. I have been reading some conflicting stories about its height. Some people have said it stays between 6-10 inches, and others say it eventually grows to the same height as a full blown amazon sword. 10 to 14 inches would be perfect.......I have 2x24 watts t5-ho lighting over a 29 gallon tank. 

Thanks!


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## Leaky Filter (Nov 30, 2011)

mmf_1013 said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> I was wondering if anyone has had experience with this plant. I have been reading some conflicting stories about its height. Some people have said it stays between 6-10 inches, and others say it eventually grows to the same height as a full blown amazon sword. 10 to 14 inches would be perfect.......I have 2x24 watts t5-ho lighting over a 29 gallon tank.
> 
> Thanks!


I think you may find that even 10-15" is going to be too much in a 29. Typically, swords make a big ball. They'll be as wide as they are tall.

You may want to try E. Parviflorus. I have them in my 36 and they're a manageable size.


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## mmf_1013 (Mar 11, 2011)

thanks leaky filter!
basically, Im looking to put something in a coner of my tank that has broader leaves, and gets a decent size. I tried hygro corymbosa, but I have an angel that likes to munch on Hygro species.


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

I bought a few "compact" swords (that's exactly the way they were labelled) at a LFS a while ago. I was looking for smaller plants that I could put in small pots in smaller angelfish grow-out tanks.

I have no idea what species these guys are, but they've been absolutely what I was looking for. The main plant is about 3-4" tall and hasn't grown any taller, and they've all sent up streamers with new plants growing off of them. The new plants all seem like hey will have the same compact growth.


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## ryc120 (Jan 17, 2012)

Not sure if mine are "compact" or not, but I have swords in my 29g. They look great. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals/169969-my-29g-obsession.html#post1838015


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## CatB (Jan 29, 2012)

mmf_1013 said:


> thanks leaky filter!
> basically, Im looking to put something in a coner of my tank that has broader leaves, and gets a decent size. I tried hygro corymbosa, but I have an angel that likes to munch on Hygro species.


why not try a crypt? or java fern.


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

CatB said:


> why not try a crypt? or java fern.


If I was good with a camera, I'd post pics of mine tonight, but my camera skills and my son's baseball schedule ain't gonna let it happen. Crypts and Java are awesome and should work great, but these little guys really are different from most everyone's concept of a sword. They kind of look like shrunken melon swords with little to no stem. A really neat & "compact" rosette of round leaves. I'm gonna have to go digging for the the exact species name.


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## mmf_1013 (Mar 11, 2011)

What is the average height of a java fern???


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## AndreyT (Apr 28, 2011)

mmf_1013 said:


> What is the average height of a java fern???


Java fern has no height. It is not a "standing" plant. It is more of a collection of rather long soft flexible and narrow leaves growing in random directions. Moreover, the plant will start the new sub-plants which are not really attached to anything, but rather are tangled into the rest of the clump. That way it can propagate indefinitely far from the original attachment point. 

You can "shape" it yourself, but it won't hold the shape unless somehow restricted.


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## AndreyT (Apr 28, 2011)

I have Amazon Sword and Ocelot Sword in a 36 gal and they do tend to grow large and cover a lot of area. The clump on the left is Java Fern attached to a vertical piece of driftwood


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## dmagerl (Feb 2, 2010)

These are extremely slow growers (compared to regular swords) and in my experience they get just as big as regular swords. They just do it really slowly.

They are also really sensitive to Excel and H2O2. Whlie they dont melt with regular whole tank Excel dosing, if you try to use a syringe to spot kill algae on them, the leaf will die in the area that was squirted. My regular swords dont do that. Maybe because they grow so slow is what causes them to so sensitive to Excel.

The ones in my tank are now about 10 inches tall and I planted them about 4 months ago. These are sprouts from an earlier plant that over took the tank.


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## mmf_1013 (Mar 11, 2011)

Thanks everybody for the replies!

Im just not sure what to do. Again, Im trying to "fill" up a corner of a tank, but I seem to be making the wrong plant decisions recently! I was all pumped about getting a large java fern, but now Im not so sure if I will have a way to arrange it so it grows vertically in the corner. 

.....flustered......


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## In.a.Box (Dec 8, 2011)

I bought 2 small about 5inch each, they have out grow my 40B.


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