# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Amazon Sword pruning



## Rich Harkrader (Mar 12, 2003)

Heyla,

I have an Amazon Sword in a 10 gallon, and it's grown rather massive. I've seen pictures of Amazon Swords where they have a thick, bushy cluster of leaves growing out of the center, but aren't overly long. How would I prune mine to achieve that look? Thanks!

Rich








http://www.kreegan.net/aqua.html


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## Rich Harkrader (Mar 12, 2003)

Heyla,

I have an Amazon Sword in a 10 gallon, and it's grown rather massive. I've seen pictures of Amazon Swords where they have a thick, bushy cluster of leaves growing out of the center, but aren't overly long. How would I prune mine to achieve that look? Thanks!

Rich








http://www.kreegan.net/aqua.html


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## captain (May 12, 2006)

I think it will depend on the species of sword you have. Some stay more compact than others and pruning won't have much of an affect on the growth. You can make the sword appear more compact by trimming the outer leaves. I don't know how you'll keep the leaves from growing taller.

Sorry I am not much help,

-Steve
See profile for tank info


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Welcome Rich, it's always good to see a new person around here. You've asked a very good question that many have asked and will continue to ask until we start growing aquatic plants in thin air.









The straight answer to your question is that most swords aren't meant for small tanks and you should probably trade it in rather than continue to prune the plant down to such an extent as would be needed.

I bet the plant you saw was an Echinodorus parviflorus or parviflorus v. "Tropica". Neither of which get too terribly large. If you're bent on trimming your plant get a pair of sharp and sturdy scissors and trim the outer leaves at the base near the substrate. That's about all tere is to it.

Good substitutes for swords in a smaller aquarium are Java Fern, Cryptocoryne (except balansae, spiralis, and retrospiralis), and Hygrophila corymbosa.

Good luck with your tank!
Phil

Proverbs 3:7-8


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Rich

There are many different kinds of sword plants and only a few that can be grown for any length of time in a 10 gallon tank. A lot of the commonly available forms will grow straight out the top of a small tank. That can be interesting, but it doesn't sound like the look you're after.

Maybe you could trade yours in for a smaller plant. Phil had some good suggestions, but Phil, did you really mean Hygrophila corymbosa? In my tanks H. corymbosa is a woody-stemmed plant with opposing 6-inch leaves that give the plant a spread of about a foot. It's a little big for a 10-gallon tank. I think Anubias barteri nana might be a good alternative.


Roger Miller


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## Rich Harkrader (Mar 12, 2003)

The look I'm trying to achieve with the Amazon Sword is much like the one in this picture:

http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/peamazon.html

I realize that it's a bit of a big plant for a 10 gallon, but I think I can maintain it well enough that it will fit. The tank it's in contains some Anacharis (mostly there to hide my CO2 diffuser), a Java Fern and some sad Echinodorus Tenellus. The Sword is really the primary plant of the tank.

I have some longer surgical scissors that I use for pruning. I'll try cutting away the outer leaves. When you cut a leaf, how close to the base should you cut it? I've been trying to get as close as possible without damaging nearby leaves.

I have some Crypt Wendtii and one other unidentified Crypt in the other 10 gallon tank I have. I also have two daughter Amazon Swords that came from the big one I'm talking about pruning. I got some more terra cotta pots and intend to pot those and put them in a 29 gallon instead of leaving them in the 10 gallon. I'd love to get some Anubias, but it's very expensive and none too impressive looking at my LFS.

Thanks for the welcome and suggestions! I'll most likely be asking lots more silly questions in the future... ;-)

Rich


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## 2la (Feb 3, 2003)

Rich, I'd have to agree with Phil and Roger that a common Amazon sword will grow too large to be maintained in a 10G. You can certainly trim all the outer leaves until only the younger, smaller leaves remain in the middle, but the plant would take a hit aesthetically with all those leaves trimmed off.

Lest I make myself sound discouraging, I do have a suggestion for you that you should like. There is a 'compacta' variant of Echinodorus bleheri (Amazon sword) that is grown by Florida Aquatic Nurseries, which supplies the majority of aquarium plants in the US. Chances are you should be able to find a local shop that can order one in for you. This smaller variety is totally suitable for a 10G tank and will offer the same visual effect without danger of being a tankbuster.

Regards,

2la


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## Kathy (Feb 2, 2003)

That's the small crown forming sword I have. Either that or parviflorus Just measured my compacta and with two crowns it is twelve inches tall by twelve inches wide. Usually it is shorter but this past couple months the splitting crown has pushed the older leaves up. Generally it has been wide rather than tall, more like eight inches tall and twelve inches wide.

It is still kind of out of scale for a ten gallon tank but definitely grows lots of beautiful green leaves. 

My ten gallon tank has driftwood with java fern as the large element. Too large, I have to pull rhizomes off the top of the wood every month or so. I also have the largest chain sword in my ten gallon tank. It has arching growth but doesn't look like it will get as tall as it does in the 100 gallon tank, eight inches.That would be a nice size for a ten.

I would place the java fern up a little in the corner as the large arching plant.


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Roger, 

Yeah, I meant H. corymbosa. The stuff I've seen and have now isn't getting nearly as large as what you're describing. It's very similar to A. reineckii in habit. Also, a stem or two of A. reineckii would be a nice substitute as well as those mentioned before. 

I've also got H. corymbosa "angustifolia", the species Kasselman describes as corymbosa with pubscent leaves which are very long, but thin like C. spiralis growing from a stem or a Z. dubia.

Proverbs 3:7-8


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