# Ordered a 6in amazon sword and this is what I got...



## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

It was supposed to be a 6 inch amazon sword....but they sent me this 18 inch amazon sword! How the heck am I supposed to fit this in my 5 gal hex??? :shock:


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## Deanna01 (Apr 22, 2013)

Wow! Where did you order from? I would call and tell them that you only have a 5-gallon tank, but that you appreciate it!


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

Off of eBay, I only paid $8 with free shipping. I can't believe how big it is. Can I take some leaves off or something and they'll grow roots? I dunno much about aquatic plants.

The ad said 6+ inch amazon sword.... To be fair. Lol. But that's waaaayyyy more than 6+ inches haha


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Amazon Sword grow too big for a 5 gallon. Look for a smaller plant like maybe anubius nana petite. Not a sword but better suited to your size tank.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

That is a WONDERFUL sword!!! Too bad you don't have room for it. Maybe if you put it dead center it will spread out. That's what mine did.

There are smaller swords; Echinodorus Parviflorus 'Tropica' only gets to around 6". I have several of these and love them.


ECHINODORUS PARVIFLORUS TROPICA SWORD, rosetta sword plant


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## InfiniteGlory (Dec 17, 2012)

I picked up a Amazon Compacta in a tube from Petsmart and it was about 4" tall. As I was washing the goop off the roots it split into two. Then it did a melt down for going into a new tank but it quickly recovered. That was back in January....fast forward to now and I have two 9" tall swords that have been grown under LED's. They had some help since my tank gets indirect light from a window with blinds and curtains. I can get a more recent one and post it later

February 14, 2013









May 08, 2013


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

Well I wasn't expecting it to be this big when I got it, I was gonna try to just keep it trimmed to an acceptable size LOL. 

Do you think I could put it in my pond? Or would it not fare well out there? Ill go do some research. Yikes! It's gorgeous though! In pristine health!


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

Well I decided to just trim off the tallest leaves, and got it down to 12/13 inches, and put it in my 5 gal. It looks huge in there, but it looks good haha. Once more leaves start coming in, I'll trim off the tallest ones again. It'll be a chore, but it'll work! Once I get my sorority up and going, it'll probably go in there.


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## cowboy (Apr 14, 2013)

I have a sword in my 2 gallon. Yes 2 gallon! I told the fish guy I wanted a little plant that grew very very slowly... This is what I got. Anyway, it grew 4 baby leaves in less than a month. I ended up taking four of the big leaves off and throwing them out. I know it's a waste but the guy didn't have a lot of room to swim. Easy to grow and care for plant. Perhaps I could have ripped off half and had roots on each side? Any idea?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Amazon sword leaves don't repair themselves so it's best just to pluck off the entire leaf/stem and let new ones grow. So you can literally take off all the leaves, set the crown in your tank (since most of the leaves are probably going to melt anyway with the new water chemistry) and then it will start growing small and get larger from there 

Nice lookin' sword though! He probably had a bunch of them and they where anywhere above 6 inches but yeah, kind of crappy advertising XD


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

It might look nice sticking out of the top of your tank if the plant is tall enough (so then it will look like you did it on purpose. lol). My Amazon sword is 2 feet tall. :-D The tips of the leaves stick out of the water in my 55 gallon tank.


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## cowboy (Apr 14, 2013)

I don't know how this will look but can you trim the tops after you remove the leaves you don't want


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

cowboy said:


> I don't know how this will look but can you trim the tops after you remove the leaves you don't want


If that's done, the stem will scar over and not look very good so as I mentioned before, it's best just to just pull both leaf and stem off the crown of the plant.


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## cowboy (Apr 14, 2013)

Ok point taken. Good to know


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

cowboy said:


> Ok point taken. Good to know


Yeah ^_^ some plants will regenerate a limb like that but some just don't which includes all swords, water sprite and anacharis that I can think of right now. Water wisteria regenerates as does most other hygrophila's and hairgrasses.


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

Well this is what it looks like.


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## peachii (Jan 6, 2013)

That looks really great in there actually.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

I agree! It's awesome!


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

I removed 7 leaves that were 13-18 inches and this is what I was left with, it's about 12 inches now, with some shorter leaves also. If they do all melt, which a few leaves are looking a little tiny bit brown, what do I do? Cut those ones off? I need to get some tank pruning tools, I overflowed the tank last night when I stuck my arm in there planting it hahaha.


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## Flyby Stardancer (Jun 19, 2013)

lol I know that feeling, shannonpwns! I ended up buying reptile feeding tweezers to plant with, on the suggestion of a friend. It's made planting SO much easier. I only have some tiny scissors for pruning, though... Hmmm.


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## InfiniteGlory (Dec 17, 2012)

The plant looks good in the tank. It fills it out nicely without looking crowded.


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

Yea I'm happy with it! I hope it survives my plant-noob care haha.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Swords are pretty hardy ^_^ and in lower lights it will grow slower so you don't have to worry too much about it over growing your tank. Also it's heavy root feeders so I suggest you getting root tabs of sorts so it can stay healthy, otherwise it kind of gets...floppy lol


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

Root tabs...okay thanks. Ill put that on my list of stuff to get next week (which is quite a large list btw....I can't stop buying fish stuff!) lol


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

lol yeah...I have one of those lists too....I literally buy AT LEAST one thing a week if not 10 XD haha

Gosh, this really is almost worse than a drug addiction...:shock: well not really lol but it's close!


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

Haha, yea I just went out and bought 2 more 10 gallons today....and I got a 20 gal long last week which will very soon be a sorority once I get the rest of the stuff for it next week. Plus all the stuff I've been buying for breeding....and I've got 6 fish being mailed to me on Monday...I'm up to my ears in fish stuff! I always go to the extremes, especially with animals haha...I can't just have one betta... I've gotta have 20, and I can't just have pets, I've gotta breed them....the joys of being a bored stay at home mom... Haha.


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## InfiniteGlory (Dec 17, 2012)

Sorry to drudge this up but I just took a new picture of my tank with the so called amazon compacta swords that are 9 inches tall


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Compacta isn't actually a "dwarf" subspecies of the Amazon Sword, it literally is an Amazon sword just a younger one is all. Just another ploy for stores to get money.


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

Pretty! Yea I love amazon swords, they're gorgeous. Mines doing good still, btw. I'm gonna be ordering a few more for my 20 gal!


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## InfiniteGlory (Dec 17, 2012)

well, I learned something new today. The sword fits fine in my tank so I guess I will keep it then :lol:


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