Doing Water Changes With Live Plants?

[Scienceluvr8]

Ok, so about a month ago, I purchased an amazon sword to go in my 2.5 gallon tank. It receives enough light, and I give it fertilizer after each wc. A week after putting Flapjack in his new tank, he got fin rot. He is still recuperating from it, but getting much better. Anyway, because of that, I completely clean his tank every 4-5 days, and of course I have to take everything out of the tank...so now my amazon sword is dying, and I would like to know how those of you with live plants handle water changes in your tank?

I don't know if I should just take it out all together( I really don't want to, I love the look of live plants), or just keep trying? I know you can clean with a gravel vac, but since he is still dealing with fin rot, I have to clean his tank completely... So any suggestions?

[neenjar]

Do you have the sword fully submerged? They are grown for sale only partially submerged and when you fully submerge them it takes a couple months for them to acclimate. it that time all of the leaves die off and it starts to sprout new ones, this is normal. trim the dead ones so they do not rob nutrients. As long and the root structure is not rotting away then it should bounce back.

[RoseyD]

I created a 2.5 gallon planted tank with the hope that it will be a low tech environment - ideally, I don't want to do full water changes on this tank. But the plants I chose aren't quite perfect fits, and I continually am playing with the substrate in taking out the bad ones, and adding others... so I've had to do several 50 percent water changes to make up for all the substrate disruptions and some algae growth issues that tend to arrise from not having a filtered (or better spoken) circulating water type tank.

I think that once I get the plants matched better, that the tank will resolve itself and algae will disappate. (fingers crossed) ...

Regardless of algae, Lancelot keeps blowing his bubble nests - so it's working for him...

[neenjar]

I missed the 2.5 gallon part, you are only partially submerged.

what fertilizer are you using? how much of it? what kind of light does it get and how much?

[dr2b]

I clean with the gravel siphon...but I don't siophon around where I know roots are. I actually had to do a complete clean the other night (gravel, water, etc) and I was absolutely amazed at how big my roots had gotten lol. Umm, but I think Neenjar covered it question-wise in figuring it out. When I began giving mine 12 hours of light a day and Flourish root tabs, my plants thrived.

[Shawtee]

Yeah, i just leave the plants in tthere and only hover above them with the syhponn (To clear up droppings/food) but leave plants in there, acnhor them.
I got a potting kit which helps protect the roots of mine! x

[Scienceluvr8]

Well, I leave my light on for 9-10 hours a day. I use the Florapride drops from Tetra; the instructions say to use 2 tsp/10 gallon, so I use 1/2 teaspoon for each water change which is about every 5 days. I always examine my plants, and the roots seem to be actually growing larger, and they seem to be in good health, though I don't have anymore long leaves :/

[dr2b]

Amazon swords need 12 hours of light a day. I say give it time... after it finishes acclimating it will grow new leaves. I am getting about 1-2 new leaves a week now.