# Skeletal leaves



## jongalong (Aug 10, 2020)

Hey all!

I've been having great growth with most of the things in my relatively new (3 months or so?) tank, but my amazon sword is looking like this:


















Nothing else in the tank is like this, is this a sign of some kind of nutrient deficiency or something else?

Thanks for any thoughts!


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

The leaves are dying. The shrimps and snails eat the soft plant matter.
Try dosing nutrients or place root tab under the sword plant.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

It looks like a calcium deficiency. Amazon swordplants are particularly vulnerable to a lack of calcium in the water. If you have softwater, that's most likely the cause of the problem. 

Do you know what your water hardness is?


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## jongalong (Aug 10, 2020)

mistergreen said:


> The leaves are dying. The shrimps and snails eat the soft plant matter.
> Try dosing nutrients or place root tab under the sword plant.


Thanks! It's a relatively new dirted tank and the rest of the plants are growing like gangbusters (Anubias, crypto, val, etc.) so I'm puzzled as to why the amazon would be the only thing not thriving if nutrients were the case.

I start with soft water, but amend it with Dianas recommendations in the book (although I use CaCl and MgCl).


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## jongalong (Aug 10, 2020)

dwalstad said:


> It looks like a calcium deficiency. Amazon swordplants are particularly vulnerable to a lack of calcium in the water. If you have softwater, that's most likely the cause of the problem.
> 
> Do you know what your water hardness is?


GH is 12 and KH is 6 - I've been amending my water with your book recommendations (although using CaCl and MgCl).

I suppose I could change the Mg/Ca ratio a bit more in favor of the Ca?


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Looks like you're fine with Ca & Mg are fine.
Try putting root tab nutrients under the sword.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

jongalong said:


> GH is 12 and KH is 6 - I've been amending my water with your book recommendations (although using CaCl and MgCl).
> 
> I suppose I could change the Mg/Ca ratio a bit more in favor of the Ca?


I wouldn't worry about it. You've added calcium to the water. That's all that's required. Sorry that your swordplant can't adjust. Focus on the plants that do well on the conditions you provide.


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## jongalong (Aug 10, 2020)

mistergreen said:


> Looks like you're fine with Ca & Mg are fine.
> Try putting root tab nutrients under the sword.


Thanks!


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## jongalong (Aug 10, 2020)

dwalstad said:


> I wouldn't worry about it. You've added calcium to the water. That's all that's required. Sorry that your swordplant can't adjust. Focus on the plants that do well on the conditions you provide.


Yup, I'm happy to let natural attrition take the unsuitable; but they've been growing well for awhile, and seemed to switch so I thought I'd investigate a little.

Thanks!


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Second thoughts... It would be a shame to lose your Amazon Swordplant. (You don't mention adding KCl, which is part of my recommendation for increasing water hardness.)

I'd try a root tab as Mistergreen suggests. Most have K and other nutrients that might be missing from your tank. You can also break up ordinary houseplant sticks into short pieces and then push a few pieces around the plant.

Good luck!


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## jongalong (Aug 10, 2020)

dwalstad said:


> Second thoughts... It would be a shame to lose your Amazon Swordplant. (You don't mention adding KCl, which is part of my recommendation for increasing water hardness.)
> 
> I'd try a root tab as Mistergreen suggests. Most have K and other nutrients that might be missing from your tank. You can also break up ordinary houseplant sticks into short pieces and then push a few pieces around the plant.
> 
> Good luck!


I do add a "sprinkle" to the water when I do water changes - it's only a 2.3 gallon tank so it's hard to measure precisely given the equipment I have in that small a quantity.

I'm following the thread on here about water hardness, and have made a recipe using CaCl, MgCl, and KCl. I tucked a root tab under the amazon just to see what it would do, and also added a bit of KCl without thinking about it (never change two variables at once! doh!).

Thanks for the feedback - it's all an experiment, but I am absolutely LOVING how with this exception, the plants and shrimp are happy and growing great, and the water is clear, and except for a massive explosion of bladder snails (which are fun to watch; little hot air balloons) I am enjoying the hell out of this tank, and learning a ton too.

Nothing could be better!


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

That's the spirit! You've made my day...


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## jongalong (Aug 10, 2020)

dwalstad said:


> That's the spirit! You've made my day...


Just a quick followup - I trimmed the two or three leaves that were showing severe skeletal morphology, and snuck a root tab under where I think most of the roots are for the sword, and this is what it looks like now.

The root tab contained:
magnesium,
nitrate
phosphate
potassium
manganese
zinc
molybdenum
iron

I wonder which trace was missing in my tank?

Anyway - problem solved I suppose, as the sword now looks like this


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