# little sword ID



## fuzz (Apr 13, 2007)

hey! anyone got an idea what plant it is?looks like a mini sword to me. on the tag it said "melon sword" but aren't melons 10 times bigger?


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

It could just be a small melon sword. Give it time and it will get huge.


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## fuzz (Apr 13, 2007)

the thing is i dont want it to get huge!!! i love it as is.when i bought it it was covered with algae pretty hard,so it means that it's pretty much the height of it.this is exactly what i was looking for: a nice foreground small bushy sword, not tennelusy flimsy swords


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## fuzz (Apr 13, 2007)

here's a pic of it in the tank


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

tick, tick, tick, tick...


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

if it's a melon sward hold on. I have 2 in my 55, and they started off smaller (not then yours but still small) now i'm getting rid of them because they are so big.


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

try pinching off the leaves as it grows. it ll stay small that way. i have tried it for other swords. see if it works for you.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

It does look like a melon sword. What conditions are you growing it in? In a lower light/lower tech aquarium you'd have a better chance at keeping it smaller. In a higher light tank it will likely grow large quickly. I have a red melon in a 29 gal with 36 watts of light and light from a southern window and its staying about 3 to 4 inches tall (its toward the front of the tank where it's quite shaded). Two of them in a 20 gallon with 65 watts are trying to turn into tank busters, currently 7-8 inches tall. All of them have been planted for about a year. 

You might just have a young melon sword that wasn't grown in good conditions before. I have some of the tropica swords that do stay very compact and bushy. They max at about 3 inches tall in lower light, and about 3.5 inches tall in the 20 gallon with 65 watts. You might try to find those for a smaller foreground bushy sword. Although if you are doing high tech with CO2 and ferts, they might grow much larger.


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## fuzz (Apr 13, 2007)

cs_gardener, i have 10G with 15W + indirect light from south window, no CO2,no ferts.this tank's been running for 1.5 months only i dont have many lfss around my area,just a walmart close by with an occasional choice of healthy fish/plants.


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## gacp (Sep 11, 2006)

Try _E. aschersonianus_ instead.


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