Food for Sword and Water Sprite

[JoeyGeeze]

Hey guys...

I currently have a big water sprite plant and a big amazon sword in my 46 gallon. I've had the sword for over a month and the sprite for close to 4 months. When I first bought the sprite it literally exploded across my tank, I was cutting off baby plants every week... The sword happened to come at a bad time when I got ich, and hasn't had much growth at all. The heat and salt treatment beat both plants up pretty bad. I now have a lot of melting/wilting and badly lookin leaves, and the water sprite is down to a quarter of its original size.

Currently I have the standard single T8 bulb in my fixture with A glass canopy over the tank. My plan before the ich was to purchase a T5 dual lamp fixture, and I will be doing that this week probably now that the ich is gone.

I'd like to get my plants to bounce back and stay healthy, does anybody have any suggestions as to what type of ferts I could use? I've read that Flourish Comprehensive was good, and to use root tabs for the sword. I just wanted to check on here first to make sure there are no side effects for my fish, and that those are the right products to purchase before i do so.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[Bottomfeeder88]

Root tabs work wonders for swords especially with inert substrate. Neither plant is demanding so some water column dosing could go a long way for your sprite and other non heavy root feeders. I would try both.

 

[Bottomfeeder88]

Flourish works well both tabs and liquid. Other suggestions would be osmocote for roots

 

[JoeyGeeze]

Ok great thanks. Friday night I'm going to pick up some flourish liquid and root tabs. I'm not sure if my LFS carries any other brands but I will check them out as well. Hopefully that helps them bounce back because they used to look so good!

Is it ok to use both the liquid and the root tabs at the same time? I don't want to over do it.

 

[Bottomfeeder88]

Not sure how much light you get with that t8 but it also might be adding to your issue. To answer your question tho you should be fine using both as directed.

 

[JoeyGeeze]

Not sure how much light you get with that t8 but it also might be adding to your issue. To answer your question tho you should be fine using both as directed.

I don't think i get much with the t8, that was why I wanted to upgrade to the T5 HO fixture. It's the standard bulb that came with the fixture. I want to do a no top tank so the plants will grow out.

Thanks!! I will definitely pick up the ferts Friday.

 

[Coursair]

Once you get your new fixture you may need CO2 depending on which bulbs and how much wattage you have.

For now some Flourish Excel (Carbon source) may help, till you can add other CO2. Or you can look for someone selling Glut (the nickname for the chemical name for Excel) on The Planted Tank or perhaps on this board. Tom Barr makes his own and sells it my Club (he's a member). That's how I know about it.

 

[JoeyGeeze]

Once you get your new fixture you may need CO2 depending on which bulbs and how much wattage you have.

For now some Flourish Excel (Carbon source) may help, till you can add other CO2. Or you can look for someone selling Glut (the nickname for the chemical name for Excel) on The Planted Tank or perhaps on this board. Tom Barr makes his own and sells it my Club (he's a member). That's how I know about it.

Yea I was worried about that. I was hoping since the fixture sits 4 inches or so above the water and my tank is about 20/21 inches deep I would be ok. This is actually the fixture I'm considering:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23753

Not sure if that would cause a major problem with algae in my tank. I'm not totally against installing CO2, the budget just doesn't allow for it right now lol.

 

[Bottomfeeder88]

Lol I have that fixture on my 30. Even if you go with 2 bulbs you'll still need a form of carbon. Otherwise algae city.

 

[JoeyGeeze]

Lol I have that fixture on my 30. Even if you go with 2 bulbs you'll still need a form of carbon. Otherwise algae city.

Erghhh really?? When you say a form of carbon, could I possibly dose with Excel instead of setting up a CO2 system? How do you like the fixture??

 

[mohican]

Just a side note, but u should always quarantine fish before treating the whole tank including ich. This may have helped ur plants in the beginning. I personally would never add anything to my display tank that could be taken care of out of the display tank; esp with live plants. Hope ur tank gets better.

 

[JoeyGeeze]

Just a side note, but u should always quarantine fish before treating the whole tank including ich. This may have helped ur plants in the beginning. I personally would never add anything to my display tank that could be taken care of out of the display tank; esp with live plants. Hope ur tank gets better.

Yes, had I owned a quarantine tank I would have done that. However, I can't prove it came from any fish because the newest add at that time was a month old... My amazon sword was actually only a few days In the tank when I noticed the ich so it could have been from the plant. Either way, it's gone now hopefully for good. Just want to focus on making the tank thrive now, plants and fish!

 

[JoeyGeeze]

I purchased the tabs and flourish last night. This morning I used one of the tabs. My fish were actually trying to un bury it at first! Little pains in the ...... Hopefully it helps my sword out!