Aquatic plant or not?

[Ursi]

I bought this plant about a month ago.. (the one with the big leaves) and since then one by one the leaves and stems have been dying going brown at first round the edges until the whole leaf is dead. I have been picking off the dead leaves at the bottom of the stem, but gradually the whole plant is dying and it's definitely not doing well in my tank. This is how the plant looked about 3 weeks ago :




and today I got pics of how further leaves are starting to die :









Does anyone know if this plant is aquatic or not? I don't know the name of it, but I put it in the tank in the pot, is that what I'm doing wrong? Or should I just remove it altogether?

 

[nereksnad]

greetings.

do you have other live plants in the tank that are doing fine? if so, is the dying plant NOT creating any new leaves? when a plant loses leaves it is to withdraw nutrients to make new leaves, if leaves die and no new ones are created it can't live under water.

sincerely,
nereksnad.

 

[Ursi]

I do have other plants that are thriving yes, quite a few, this is the only one that's not, there is no fresh growth either no, not a single bit. You've answered my question, thank you, I'll take it out

 

[nereksnad]

i had a sump plant in my aquarium once too, that i bought as a aquarium plant. i got angry and told the store to give my money back and stop selling it and showed proof that the specimin name was not a true aquatic. i got my money back, but they still sell it. i know better now that i research what plants i want and then tell the store to order them in lol

sincerely,
nereksnad.

 

[jcolon]

It looks like a sword .. ozelot? If so it's aquatic, but swords are generally heavy root feeders and should be planted in the substrate dosed with Root Tabs. That leaf looks like it's got a nutrient deficiency. Generally browning / dying leaves are best clipped off so the plant can route nutrients to the healthier leaves.

 

[nereksnad]

if that is an Echinodorus then it is suffering from potassium deficiency, thing is i have alot of swords and even during times with no ferts at all when the leafs died new ones were made.

sincerely,
nereksnad

 

[jcolon]

Yep .. Sword leaves will just brown and die even with ferts dosed. I also find that when I clip of a dying one, new growth follows.

 

[Ursi]

So to solve the potassium deficiency I need to get root tabs? I took the plant out the pot and planted it directly into the base which is flora base to grow plants in, I use ferts once a week, where do you clip the leaves off? At the base of the leaf or base of the stem? Maybe that could be why I've not seen any new growth?

 

[nereksnad]

if flora base contains clay then you sould dose more liquid ferts and check if it has potassium in the first place, else try root tabs.

edit: leaves sould be removed by the stem of the plant, if you remove only the leaf the rest will just slowly rot away.

sincerely,
nereksnad.

 

[Rivercats]

Something else to consider is alot of aquatic plants, some swords included, are grown emmersed, then when put under water they have to go through a trasition to become immersed plants. Die off of leaves is common during this process. But also as stated above swords are heavy root feeders and using root tabs close to thier roots is very important for them.

 

[Ursi]

Ok thank you I will go to my lfs and see whether florabase contains any clay, get some more liquid ferts and see if I can get some root tabs, thanks all

 

[Ursi]

Also, (I always forget to add things in) I have clipped at the base of the stem, thanks

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Ok thank you I will go to my lfs and see whether florabase contains any clay, get some more liquid ferts and see if I can get some root tabs, thanks all

Good plan. Root tabs are important for swords as they feed more at their roots than most plants. Just put one about an inch or two below each area with a sword and even under your other plant groups. Root tabs are great to use with nearly any store bought substrate.

Also, its important to remove any dying leaves as they rob the plant of energy. The plant will use a lot of energy trying to save the dying leaves. If you remove them the plant will use that energy to grow new healthier leaves. Good luck!