Sword plant help

[David Snell]

I could use a little advise with my sword plants. My swords are deteriorating. The leaves are getting very thin and looking like very bad lace plants. Any idea?

My water is soft, temp about 75-77, I use Seachem fertilizers (regular, trace, iron, & excel), 150 watts of lights. No Co2, yet.

David

[Aaron]

how soft is soft? what's your gh and kh readings? swords respond better to root ferts like seachem root tabs rather than water column ferts.

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

Add half a jobes fert stick under the roots. careful not
to get it into the water column.

[SCMurphy]

Do you have a pleco in this tank?

[Larry Grenier]

Would pushing some Laterite around the roots do the trick as-well?

[krisw]

I've also had heat issues with swords. As it's getting colder, make sure you keep the temperature of the tank up in the normal ranges. Finally, what substrate do you have in the tank?

[David Snell]

Thanks for the all input.

As for the hardness, that a good question. I need to get a hardness test kit and my conductivity monitor just died.

The substrate is all florite. I will re check the temps, but in the past, I've not had problem with this temp before.

No plecos in the tank, but 3 woodcats and 2 peckoltias, I've not seen them eat the plants before, but perhaps that's part of the problem.Also few tetras and cories, a few amano shrimp, and 2 SAEs in the tank.

I think it's nutrient related, I will have to pick up a few test kits in the near future.   What test kits do you all like to use?

As for the Jobes sticks, who all uses them (or other in gravel ferts) and how successful have they been for you?

[150EH]

What size is your tank, 150w of lighting could be your problem. I have 'rubin' and have had other swords with a 50% flourite substrate and never had a nutrient problem.

[RTRJR]

Peckoltia damage is identifiable - middle and lower leaves abraded to the veins (young leaves rarely - not acute damage as much as chronic), largely centered at the geometric center of the leaf, less damage both toward the petiole and toward the tip, and set-in from the edges. Most of these fish I've kept do not damage swords (the larger bristlenose species do more), but I have not been keeping them much lately, so there may be other species common now that I haven't kept.

[SCMurphy]

Maybe I should have asked if there were suckermouthed catfish with rasping teeth in the aquarium.