what nutrient deficiency am I experiencing?

[cheeboonyong]

Hi,

my amazon sword plant grows new leaves which are long and narrow. but when i bought them, the leaves were all very broad. how do i know what deficiency i'm experiencing?

I'm dosing tetra flora-pride since day 1 of my tank setup (9 months liao). there is no chemical ingredients stated on the bottle. it just says iron, manganese, potassium, but does not contain nitrate or phosphate.

I'm running on 2x36W PL lights on 2.5x1.5x1 ft tank (1.5 is ht), ~1.5bps CO2, ph 6-7 (colour indicator, can't tell too exact), 0 hardness and 0 nitrite.

[wahboy]

hello friend,

maybe what you bought was an emergent plant, and the new narrow leaves that area growing are submersed ones. echinodorus shows very different growth when they are emersed and submersed.

hopes this helps.

Wahboy

[FC]

The emerge and submerge form can look dramatically different. In most cases even the leaf's shape changed, not just the size. This is the biggest problem I used to face when selecting plants because many species were sold in emerge formed.

Not to be concern, wait for another 2 weeks. As long as the plant continue to grow and does not fade in colour (to yellow or translucent), rot or drop leafs, they should be fine.

[David]

Hello cheeboonyang

Echinodorus are more root feeders rather than water column. So dosing your tank with liquid fert is not going to do much for this species. Which Echinodorus are you speaking of?

for most green type of Echinodorus, Root monsters and laterite balls are idea. if its the red type especially Rubins, Red Flame, Bartii, Osiris....Iron fertilisation by insertion to the root level is a must.

Oooh...one more thing....has the crown of the plant being lifted out of the substrate and the roots are exposed?....if yes, remove the plant, trim off the roots and replant.

[sherchoo]

David,
I dun think ferterlization is CBY's problem. Wahboy and FC theory should be correct as the plant bought is the emerse form and it is not a form of deficiency.

[cheeboonyong]

To all who offered their advice, many thanks.

it's 0 kh, not gh. just learned about this kh, gh thingy only recently, so going to add soda after CNY. not too fast over a period of time, preferably 1 degree a day rite?

got 2 different species. one large & one dwarf. both are green species. not sure about the scientific species, but not the fancy kinds. just the cheap varieties. both have the same narrow leaf problem. I'd like to believe it's the emerse issue and not any fertilisaton issue, hee hee.

anyway, other than that, the 2 plants are growing very well, sprouting leaves every 3-4 days. so i guess since that's not a nutrient deficiency issue, i should just be glad and leave everything well alone.