Amazon sword is quickly becoming one of the most popular plants to keep in the aquarium keeping hobby and we only expect its popularity to keep on climbing due to more and more people switching over to planted tanks and trying their hand at aquascaping.
Although the majority of tanks with amazon sword growing in it shouldn’t have any problems with the plant’s growth rate, we have noticed a number of people reaching out and asking why their amazon sword is turning yellow recently.
We wanted to make this article to try and help our readers better understand the main reasons that their amazon sword may be turning yellow as well as how they are able to prevent this issue in the future.
Provided you take action soon, the majority of yellow amazon sword should be able to recover quickly and not have any long term problems.
Why Your Amazon Sword Is Turning Yellow!
Here is a quick overview of the more common reasons that your amazon sword will start turning yellow and we will go over each of them in more detail later in the article:-
- Not Enough Fertilizer!
- Unsuitable Substrate!
- Poor Water Parameters!
- It’s New To The Tank!
- Disease!
- Not Enough Space!
- Not Enough Pruning!
- Problems With Lighting Intensity!
- Pests In The Tank!
- Water Flow Problems!
Some aquarium setups can have two or more of these problems in them at the same time so keep this in mind when looking for reasons that your amazon sword is turning yellow.
Not Enough Fertilizer!
If you want your amazon sword to be healthy and have vibrant growth then you need to make sure that there is enough fertilizer in the water for it to uptake.
The vast majority of aquarium keepers do not provide their plants with nearly enough nutrients and this can often lead to a number of problems, one of which is leaves turning yellow.
Different fertilizer products will have different dosage instructions depending on their strength to always check the specific instructions for your aquarium fertilizer product on its label and follow them.
Unsuitable Substrate!
The substrate that you have in your tank can also play a big part in the health of your plants and if it is unsuitable then this can cause a number of problems, one of which is leaves turning yellow.
We would recommend using a good quality aquarium soil as this will provide your plants with the nutrients that they need to stay healthy and also help to keep the water parameters in your tank stable.
Poor Water Parameters!
If the water parameters in your tank are not within the correct range for amazon sword then this can cause a number of problems, one of which is leaves turning yellow.
The main water parameters that you need to keep an eye on are the pH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.
A decent water test kit should easily be able to provide you will all of the information that you need to be able to work out if there is a problem with the water parameters in your tank as well as give you a good idea on how you are able to fix any problems.
It’s New To The Tank!
If you have only recently added your amazon sword to the tank then it is quite normal for the leaves to turn yellow for a short period of time as the plant adjusts to its new environment.
Provided you take action quickly and ensure that all of the other factors mentioned in this article are not causing the problem then your amazon sword should start to recover and the leaves should start to turn green again within a few weeks.
Disease!
There are a number of different diseases that can affect aquarium plants and one of the more common ones is called “Yellow Leaf Disease”.
This disease is caused by a number of different pathogens including bacteria, fungi and viruses and it can often be quite difficult to treat.
If you think that your amazon sword has this disease then we would recommend taking a sample of the affected plant to your local aquarium store for them to take a look at.
Not Enough Space!
Another common reason that amazon sword leaves will start to turn yellow is because the plant is not getting enough space in the tank.
Amazon sword is a fast-growing plant and it can quickly outgrow its space if it is not kept in check.
If you think that your amazon sword is not getting enough space then we would recommend pruning it back quite severely to prevent it from
Not Enough Pruning!
If you do not prune your amazon sword on a regular basis then it will start to become overgrown and this can often lead to the leaves turning yellow.
Pruning will help to keep the plant healthy and also encourage it to produce more leaves which should be a brighter green color.
Problems With Lighting Intensity!
The light that you have in your aquarium can also play a big part in the health of your amazon sword and if it is not intense enough then this can lead to the leaves turning yellow.
We would recommend using a good quality aquarium plant light for your tank as this will provide your plants with the intensity of light that they need to stay healthy.
Too Much Light!
However, it is also possible to have too much light in your tank and this can also cause problems with the health of your amazon sword.
If you think that the light might be too intense then we would recommend moving the plant to a different part of the tank where it will receive less light.
Pests In The Tank!
One other thing that you need to be on the lookout for is pests in your tank as these can often lead to problems with the health of your plants.
A common pest that affects aquarium plants is called “root-knot nematodes” and these can often cause the leaves of the plant to turn yellow.
If you think that your amazon sword has root-knot nematodes then we would recommend taking a sample of the plant to your local aquarium store for them to have a look at.
Water Flow Problems!
The final thing that we are going to mention is water flow as this is something that can often be overlooked but it is very important for the health of your plants.
If the water in your tank is not flowing around the plant then this can cause a build-up of toxins which can lead to problems with the health of the plant.
We would recommend using an aquarium powerhead to create a good water flow around the plant and also to help keep the tank clean.
This should help to improve the health of your amazon sword and stop the leaves from turning yellow.
