Red Melon Sword training

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fish_4_all

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Mar 13, 2005
Messages
1,864
Location
Aberdeen, WA
I think i trained my red melon sword. It coud be too early to state a success but the leaves it puts out new are only 3 inches long at the most! Too early maybe because it hasn't put out any roots yet but it is growing and has 8 leaves now that are all small.

What did I do, I completely clipped off everything. All the roots and all of the leaves were completely removed short of just one tiny start of a leaf. Now I don't recommend this for any other sword type as this is the only species i have done it to but it seems to have worked.

img_702965_0_ed61550259ac2dc42f2760388c3831ed.jpg


If you remember my other posts, this thing litterally took over 3/4 of my 10 gallon tank before.
 
I remember that big sword! Now you're trying to keep it small? It looks very nice - almost like a crypt.

I had a narrow-leaf sag in a 5.5 gallont tank. It took up half or more of that tank. I moved it to a 10 gallon and it died back a lot. It didn't take to the move well. I was kind of sad because it was so gorgeous before, but so big. Anyway, now it is growing back much, much smaller. I'm thinking of keeping it pruned back pretty hard to see if I can keep it smaller also.
 
Smaller plants are hard to find, ones that stay small anyway. Most of them, that look like a sword require a lot of work. Crypts don't like to be moved, and most other broadleaves will not look like a Red Melon Sword nor grow as fast. If you know of a plant that looks like a Red Melon sword and stays small, small enough to only take up a partial corner, grows as fast and is as durable in a 10 gallon please tell me what it is.

Chances are the sword is going to revert back to full growth and become way too big once the roots get established anyway but it was the point of it was possible. I bought mine and was told by one of the LFS workers that he has one and it has never been larger than a small saucer, about 4 inches round and he has had it for 2 years. Mine outgrew my 10 gallon in 3 months.

Basically it was a way, if it stays small, to make the best out of bad information and the fact no one wanted a Red melon Sword that was big enough for a 125 gallon tank.
 
My re melon is not growing very fast at all.. I did however, break the bulb off of the bottom and have a second one starting. The main plant should grow faster now. The only small regular sword I know of is the compacta variety, and they don't come in red, yet.
 
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