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Hi,
We just recently decided to try live plants. We really like the looks of them, but I'm not sure if we've got the right plants for our conditions. Right now we have an amazon sword (I think) in a 29 gal with 20 watts (approx 0.7 wpg) and a grassy plant (don't remember what it is) in a 5 gal with a bulb that doesn't say how many watts.
The grassy plant doesn't really seem to be growing and the amazon sword seems to be growing funny shaped leaves.
We got these plants because the lfs people said they would be fine in just gravel, and low light in the case of the amazon.
We would appreciate any advice we can get.
Thanks
Oh, here's a link to pics of our tanks and the plants:
http://photos.yahoo.com/skeletaljosh

Hmm...an angelfish and some neons in a 5 gal? Thats a deathtrap. First of all, the angelfish will get too big for the 5g. Also, neon tetras are the angelfish's natural prey. I think you should replace them with a few puffers or a betta, or some other small fish that can live in there.

About the plants, I am not sure what they are.

Thanks for the observation, but please read my active threads, you'll see the angel is still small and about to be moved to a new tank.
Thanks

Oh, ok sorry. Good thing you are getting a bigger tank. I think you should get some dwarf puffers for that 5g.

Ok Think you should get a new LFS. Giving you some dodgy information.

The grassy plant, I actually had once my self but I've forgotten the proper name for it. Japanese Rush or Japanese Fan, I'll get back to you on it. It doesn't grow and mine eventually disintegrated after about a month, I suspect it's a terranium plant not a true aqauatic, meaning it will survive for a while and then slowly die off.

The sword is not an Amazon Sword hence the "funny shaped" leaves.I'm pretty sure it's a Radican Sword. It won't grow as thick or huge as an Amazon. Might be pushing your luck with 0.7wpg.

I'm a bit pushed for time now, but I'll recheck I've got the right ID and get back to you.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

the japanese one i believe is not true aquatic as well, they are for people with frog tanks, or like lizards and turtles, terranium plants.

the sword, it does not look like amazon at all, eventually they will not grow funny leaves anymore, instead, they'll grow small white and clear leaves because of lack of light. try boost your light to 3wpg, and i think they need some rich substrate too, add some tablets if you dont have the right substrate.

as for your lfs, you probably want to egg them sometimes. check out this thread on INSANE LFS

http://www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/thread.asp?id=43092

Ok back again. The grass plant is Japanese Dwarf Rush (Acorus Variegatus) it is a bog plant but can grow submerged. Light is low-medium. Very slow growing. As I say my own experience with this plant is that it slowly disintegrated, BUT I was running at that time with even less light then you (o.5wpg) so you might have a chance with this one. Just watch out for yellowing at the base , a sure sign of lack of light.Chances are the bulb in your %gal is more than 5 watts so light shouldn't be an issue. But as it's a very slow grower might be a while before you see any changes.

The Sword I'm beginning to think is Brazilian Sword (Spathiphyllum Tasson). A medium to high light plant so this might not work out and like all sword plants would appreciate some root tabs for fertilization.

You can google both of these plants names for more information and photos.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

no, thats not brazilian sword, i had those before, they are dark green, kind of like anubias kind of color. they are not true aquatic plant.

as for your sword, that is radican sword or melon sword, still need more light though. good luck

Thanks for all the great info! I'll look into getting some fertilizer tabs and see what the possibilities are for getting a stronger light.
So far we've gotten the plants from chain store's, but I think I'll start looking elsewhere for more plants.
Thanks!

Ok,
After a little quick Googling, the grassy one does look like a Japanese Dwarf Rush, and the sword looks like a Melon Sword, although I can see how the one big funky leaf looks like a Brazilian Sword. Thanks for all your help!