# Amazon sword rotting



## Lord Nibbler (Dec 22, 2005)

I am having a mysterious problem with my moderate-sized E. major plants in one of my aquariums. I have 3 plants that have leaves about 12 inches long, they were all propogated from a large sword in another aquarium about 8 months ago.

The stems seem to be rotting at the base. Some of the leaves (especially developing ones) will turn a bit blackish and be wrinkled and deformed. I dug up the plants to trim off the rot and some of the roots were dead and brown as well. Basically the older leaves look find, except they rot off right at the base (but are green right up until the end). I had to remove about half the leaves from one of the plants and dispose of another.

I moved up the learning curve with lack of light and lack of iron previously, but both of those were causing yellow spots/holes in mature leaves, and this problem seems different. The other plants (and fish) are doing fine.

Setup:
37-gallon
78F
one 15-watt Plant-Gro and one 15-watt 50/50 lamp, about 12hrs light/day
pH near 7.2
kH near 6

other plants:
Ambulias
Java moss
"Tropical Sunset" Telananthera

fish:
assorted rainbowfish
ottos
cory cats


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## yildirim (Nov 25, 2004)

If the rotting starts from the roots and spreads to the crown then it is probably because of unhealthy substrat. Take the plant out carefuly trim all the rotten roots and trim the tips of some of the healthier roots and plant it somewhere else. Do this on your wc day and dig around the place where you unrooted the sword. What kind, how deep and how old substrate material are you using?


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## Lord Nibbler (Dec 22, 2005)

yildirim said:


> If the rotting starts from the roots and spreads to the crown then it is probably because of unhealthy substrat. Take the plant out carefuly trim all the rotten roots and trim the tips of some of the healthier roots and plant it somewhere else. Do this on your wc day and dig around the place where you unrooted the sword. What kind, how deep and how old substrate material are you using?


We'll just say the substrate isn't the best. Pea gravel mixed with some laterite. Not much I can do with it now as my rainbowfish are breeding.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

I agree with yildirim about the substrate. When you have the opportunity, do a deep gravel vac.


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## Lord Nibbler (Dec 22, 2005)

Bert H said:


> I agree with yildirim about the substrate. When you have the opportunity, do a deep gravel vac.


Will I pull too much of the finer laterite out if I vaccuum deeply?


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## yildirim (Nov 25, 2004)

Keep the suction end of the vacum a few cm above the substrate and dig the gravel gently with something thin and long. You don't need to suck out any of the substrate, just the debris and some gas in possible anaerobic pockets.


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