Who keeps Echinodoras 'Kleinerbar' and E. rigidifolius

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Cohazard

Arapaima
MFK Member
Jul 13, 2005
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Does anyone here grow these swords? What parameters are you keeping them at?


I'm going to try keeping them in warm water (80F), neutral ph, but I don't know my DKH.

I've heard they dont' need intense lighting since they are heavy root feeders, so I will be using plant food sticks, and my lighting will be 65w CF's.

I need to get the right temp though since I'm using 50/50 right now. Think I'll go with 10k.
 
Thank you for the link that is very helpful! Now I want some bolbitis lol

I'm really pissed because the swords were nice and healthy but the retarded broad that bagged them for me just dropped them in an empty bag and they must have landed on the stems since most were broken :irked:

I've read that trimming upon initial planting will trigger growth, but I don't know if this is too extreme. The 'kleiner bar' lost more than half of it's stems.

I trimmed the roots, haven't got the root tabs yet, will do that after class tomorrow/later today, you know what I mean.
 
The swords should be fine. They won't grow fast, but fortunately, they don't die fast also.

I pulled 5-6 leaves off of mine the other day and it looks as good as ever.
 
Cool good looking out! Can you give me some details on your setup and conditions that the swords are growing under?
 
Very good to hear, so that confirms that they are mainly root feeders. I wish I had known this sooner so I could've already had a few nice big swords in my polypterus tank lol

I planted them last night and even with half their root systems chopped off, they ard holding well. My bigger bichirs really like that corner where I planted them and even with their clumbsy bulk swimming back and forth against the plants, the swords held in place.

I'm thinking about swooping up an E. ozelot I saw at a petco nearby. Its a nice looking plant, and I've kept one before in a 29g under normal flourescent lights (it was one of those Eclipse filter/light/hood combos) and it grew small, but was fairly healthy.


Is there any specific type of plant fert tabs I should be looking for? Or are they all pretty much the same stuff?

Thank you again for the help.
 
Stick to the brand names and you'll be fine. I use the Seachem, but there are several others. Check out plantedtank.net for more info on ferts.
 
Okay I stopped by that petco today to get the little ozelot sword, and well, I went a little crazy lol

Their 'plant tank' is a stand a lone system, and it's a mess of plants just tossed in.

I took it upon myself to go digging through all the plants and in between all the bamboo and non aquatic plants, I found that there are a lot of nice swords in there!

Here's what I picked up:

Ozelot sword (two of them in the same pot)

Echinodoras paniculatus 'bleheri'

Echinodoras amazonicus 'amazon sword'

Echinodorus argentinensis 'argentine sword'

and some other big sword that I'm not sure on the ID because it's lable fell out.

I'm guessing it's a red rubing, but it's all green, so any ideas what it could be?

It has long broad leaves, rounded edges, leaves extend all the way up the stem from the base of the plant.

I'll try to get pics tomorrow.
 
Just an update:

Most of the plants are doing well, they are not fast growing though.

The only one that isn't doing well is the 'kleinerbar'. After the damage it received when I first got it, all the big leaves fell off and all that was left were the smaller leaves. Those leaves have not grown from what I can see, and I don't see any new leaves coming from it.
 
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