# holes in swords



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

Noticing a few holes in my sword plants, what is causing this? I do have amano shrimp and a few pleco's if that makes a difference.


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

It could be your Plecos, or it could be a different reason. We need more information (tank size, lighting duration, amount of lighting, type of lighting, whether CO2 is being injected or not, whether you are dosing fertilizers or not, what kind, how often, etc).


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

30g, 12hrs on timer, single aquaglo bulb (unsure of wattage), no c02, substrate black flourite sand.


----------



## aln (Jan 26, 2010)

i ahve the same problem with my swords too lol
i dose iron and diy co2 
and now they're even turning brown


----------



## shadow_cruiser (Jan 26, 2010)

Holes in leaves is usually potassium deficiency.


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

It's possible it is a potassium deficiency, but given the low lighting, it might just be the Pleco munching on the leaves...


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

Would adding more zuchini give them something to eat? I have one L200 3" and 4 L144 fry still under an 1".


----------



## shadow_cruiser (Jan 26, 2010)

Didn't even see the pleco part. From my reading on the planted tank forum, this is a common issue with swords and pleco's. Potassium deficiency is pin-holes.

Found this on another forum, might help



> It really depends. If he is a big pleco and there is little algae in the tank then yes he will eat your plants. Not to the point that you have no plants at all, but you will notice holes in your swords and other plants.
> 
> If he is a small pleco and you have a little algae you will notice small holes. If you have enough algae to notice then he will spend most of his time eating it.
> 
> I have both condition in my tanks. I have a 10 gallon that has alot of algae and the small little pleco in there doesn't bother the plants. I also have a 44gal that at one point had alot of algae but doesn't now except in small spots due to a 3-4" pleco I put in there that i got for cheap from petsmart. Since there is not much algae he does much some on my swords. Hasn't effected growth as ot yet but if it gets much worse i may switch the little one and big one.


Another good post
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/g...83756-what-causing-these-holes-my-amazon.html


----------



## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

My plecos are still small so I isolate them in a smaller tank within my main tank (has holes to allow water exchange to avoid buildup of any sort) and they just eat the blanched cucumber all day long. They were not eating with my other fish since they are significantly bigger and my plecos just hide most of the day. Now I can make sure that they are eating enough until they get big enough to hog a cucumber for themselves lol.


----------



## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

Plecos are "skinning" sword leaves at night and can make wholes in them, but you need to look at the form of the wholes. 
If they look like a result of rubbing, it's a pleco's job. If they are small and rounded, it's lack of nutrients.


----------

