Amazon Sword (Echinodorus sp) - Potted

Amazon Sword (Echinodorus sp) | Potted

Amazon Sword (Echinodorus sp.) is a classic South American aquarium plant—and one of the most popular plants in the hobby for good reason. It’s hardy, adaptable, and instantly transforms a tank with bold, broad green leaves that make an aquarium look lush and established.

Amazon Sword Overview

In the aquarium, Amazon Sword forms a rosette of large, arching leaves that spread outward and upward, creating a dramatic mass of greenery. In smaller tanks, a healthy Amazon Sword can easily become the dominant focal plant if you give it room and nutrients to flourish. In larger tanks, it’s often used to fill out the background and add that “full planted aquarium” look, with wide leaves that create depth and soften the hard lines of equipment and glass. Amazon Sword is especially appreciated for:

• Big, dramatic foliage: Broad leaves create a lush “jungle” look and add instant visual presence.
• Hardy and beginner-friendly: A resilient plant that tolerates a wide range of aquarium conditions.
• Natural structure and cover: The large leaf canopy breaks up sight lines and creates shaded zones that help fish feel secure.
• Spawning surfaces for certain fish: Many species—especially angelfish and discus—will lay eggs on broad, clean Amazon Sword leaves, making it a favorite in breeding-oriented setups.

Planted behind rocks or driftwood, Amazon Sword gives your aquascape a layered, natural feel and helps the tank look fuller and more balanced—and if you want to lean into a true Amazonian / rainforest-stream vibe, it pairs beautifully with our natural botanicals. Adding a few tannin-releasing leaves and pods (for example, leaf-litter style botanicals like catappa leaves along with sculptural seed pods) creates that authentic “riverbed litter” look, adds warm, tea-tinted character to the water, and makes the sword feel like it’s growing out of a real tropical streambank rather than a bare, open substrate.

Caring for Amazon Sword

Amazon Sword is undemanding and does not require intense lighting, but it does appreciate consistent nutrition—especially at the roots. It can be planted in gravel, yet it will generally grow faster and produce larger, healthier leaves in a loosely packed, nutrient-rich substrate. Because it is a heavy root feeder, adding root tabs near the base is one of the simplest ways to keep it thriving, and a complete liquid fertilizer such as Thrive can help maintain steady nutrients in more heavily planted aquariums. CO₂ is not required, but stable CO₂ can increase growth rate and overall vigor if you’re trying to achieve maximum size and fullness.

• Light: Moderate
• Temperature Range: 68–82°F
• Placement: Background
• CO₂: Not required (helpful for faster growth and larger leaves)
• Difficulty: Easy
• Growth Rate: Moderate

As it matures, Amazon Sword develops an extensive root system that spreads deep and wide, allowing it to pull nutrients efficiently from the substrate. It commonly produces runners and new plantlets, so with space and steady care it can gradually create a fuller “sword grove” effect in the background. In aquascapes, it pairs beautifully with textured stone like Ohko Dragon Rock or Seiryu Stone, and it also looks fantastic near driftwood—such as Stump Wood or Tiger Wood—to create a natural riverbank feel.

Why Choose the Potted Version

Potted Amazon Sword is a great option if you want a more stable, ready-to-place plant with an established root system. Many aquarists like being able to set the pot directly into the substrate while the plant adjusts, then remove it later and plant it normally once placement is finalized. That flexibility can reduce planting disturbance and make it easier to position a large background plant without uprooting neighboring plants or shifting your hardscape.

Amazon Sword is also available as a bare-root plant.

Shop with Confidence at Modern Aquarium

At Modern Aquarium, each potted Amazon Sword is carefully inspected, cleaned, and prepared by hand before shipping so you receive a healthy specimen that’s ready to establish quickly in your tank.

• Top Quality Store & real reviews: Modern Aquarium has been designated by Google as a Top Quality Store and has thousands of individual verified reviews from real customers, so you can shop with confidence.
• Live Arrival Guarantee & fast delivery: All of our live plants are backed by our Live Arrival Guarantee and shipped via FedEx 2-Day delivery to help ensure they arrive fresh, vibrant, and ready to thrive.
• Trusted sourcing: Our plants are sourced from some of the best nurseries in Florida and handled with care from the grower to your aquarium.
• What You See Is What You Get: Images on our site are typical representations. Because live plants are natural products, individual specimens will vary in size, fullness, and exact coloration.
• Support when you need it: Reach us through the chat feature on our website or simply give us a call—we’re happy to help with practical, hobby-focused advice.

If you want to push the “Amazon” theme beyond just the plant name, build a little streambank around it: tuck Amazon Sword near driftwood, then scatter some river rocks, a light layer of botanicals—leaf litter and a few seed pods—so it looks like the sword is growing up through natural debris the way it would in the wild. That mix of broad sword leaves above and botanicals below creates an instantly more authentic, lived-in look, and it’s a simple way to make the entire aquascape feel warmer, more immersive, and genuinely rainforest-inspired.