Brazilian Sword Plants are almost clear

[Relic1882]

Hello. I'm pretty new to planted tanks altogether. I have a 24" SunGlo tube for lightning. I have a few Brazilian Swords planted in sand that's probably 4" or so in the rear and sloping downward to about 2" in the front. I recently had a problem with all of my fish dying in a very short time. I couldn't prevent it. I still don't know what happened and it happened very fast. Since then, my plants have become very clear looking. They've lost nearly all of their color. I understand that fish waste plays a part in keeping them fertilized. The problem is I'm really new at plants and I don't plan on having more than 2 oscars in the tank when I have it completed again. Can anyone give me fertilizer suggestions in the meantime? I was at the store today and saw a couple fertilizers that said they were supplements of a fert program for aquatic tanks, but I don't know what to buy to get good results. I don't have any special test kits except for the Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and pH kit. At the moment I'm assuming it's a fert nitrogen deficiency because before my fish problem they were screamin' green and growing like weeds. I actually got 3 extra plants growing off the 1st one within a few weeks. I need help. Thanks a lot

 

[malkore]

First of all, a 29gallon tank is NO place for an oscar, let alone two. Maybe for a couple of months if they are still at 2" long, but after that, you're looking at a 75gallon tank, minimum, for one oscar.

Your problem is a lack of light. Swords do best at 1.5watts per gallon or higher, and you have 20watts over a 29gallon, so not even 1 watt per gallon. Swords also are heavy root feeders, and usually require root fertilization, even in plant substrates like Flourite.

 

[opiesilver]

Brazilian Swords, Spathiphyllum tasson, is not a true aquatic plant either. You can buy them under the common name "Peace Lily".

 

[travis simonson]

If what you have is a plant sold as 'Brazilian Sword' you most likely have what is known as a bog or marginal plant that was never intended for submersed growth. What is commonly (and unfortunately) sold in many lfs's as Brazilian Sword is a variety of Spathiphyllum tasson (aka Peace Lily) that is actually a terrestrial plant that may live for some time submersed but will eventually decay and die, causing all sorts of problems. This plant is commonly sold in many lfs's and they give no warning as to the fact that it will die if kept submersed. It is not a true Echinodorus sword plant and should not be kept in aquariums as a submersed species. Make sure to notify the store you bought it from that it should not be sold as such. I did so with my lfs and they were good enough to relable it as a 'bog' plant and now sell it with instructions as to its true nature. I hope this helps.