What Plant Is This?

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FTS: 
 
The pretty deep red leaf at the top:

 
Here's the sword I'm wondering about:

 
Browning leaves and courting gudgeons:
 
First on the "lily," the floating leaf is different from those in the initial photo.  Are these leaves from the same plant/bulb?  The floating leaf looks exactly like my red tiger lotus, Nymphaea lotus.
 
How long has this tank been running, with the other plants?  And you are not dosing any fertilizers at all, correct?  Soil substrate with sand cap.
 
I like the branches, nice aquascape.
 
Byron.
 
Yep. That leaf is from the same bulb.

I've had the tank running since August. Did a first planting then, but I lost most of my plants because my lighting was too weak. Only the amazons and anubias made it through. Then I upgraded my light to two t5s at 21 watts each. I replanted the tank about two weeks ago (and I have more plants in the mail). Friday did my first dose of flourish and added the flourish tab next to my mystery plant. My substrate is organic MiracleGro top with gravel.

Thanks! They make it hard to clean the tank, but I like the way it looks and the fish like weaving between the branches.
 
Byron said:
 
Hmm. I'll see what it does for a few weeks and if it starts to bend over, I'll trim it down a bit. Picked up some Flourish and the Seachem tabs. I had API root tabs, but I get better growth with the Seachem.

Byron, I believe you've mentioned across the forum that Excel contains some sort of toxin. In what sort of scenario would Excel be safe to use? I'm assuming plant-only tanks, but perhaps there is something else?
I would expect the leaves to grow fairly erect.  The leaves on my lotus do until they reach the surface, they they begin winding hither and yon.  What is your GH?  Iron might be useful too...I was just noticing in the photos the yellowish green of the leaves.
 
Excel (Seachem), like the similar CO2 Booster (API), is glutaraldehyde and water.  Glutaraldehyde is a powerful disinfectant that is used to sterilize instruments in hospitals, in embalming fluid, anit-freeze, and to kill bacteria in ship ballasts when they travel from one ocean to another.  It carries a product caution for inhalation and skin irritation in humans.  I accept that many use it, but I have a basic approach that such potentially-dangerous chemicals have no useful purpose being dumped into an aquarium.  Obviously there are considerable risks.  Even when used according to directions, it usually kills some plants like Vallisneria.  It has the capacity to kill bacteria, plants and fish.  I find it very difficult to accept that using such a chemical will not have some detrimental effect on the fish or the biological system.
 
I have never found a need to add CO2, but if I did want to expand from my basic low-tech natural planted tanks Ito high-tech I would much rather go with diffused CO2 which is natural.  There is quite a quantity of natural CO2 occurring in most fish tanks, certainly sufficient for my plants' requirements.
 
Byron.
 
Ok, this just freaked me out! I have used Excel in tanks for years!!! How is this information not on the label? And I never noticed any detrimental effects in my 29gl tank that I used to have. I dosed Excel in that every day. Although, Could that be the reason that my dwarf sag never quite grew well in that tank but took off in my 10gl? 
 
Seachem on their website give the ingredient in Excel as pentanedial.  This is glutaraldehyde, as you will see if you search it anywhere.  There is a safety data sheet in a link on the Seachem website, this is it:
http://www.seachem.com/support/MSDS/FlourishExcel.doc.pdf
As you will see, this document carries several cautions.  Just so you know I am not making this up.
 
As for using Excel, note that I did not say it would always kill fish; many use this and undoubtedly will continue to do so.  I won't.  I just do not see any logic in adding such a risk.  When I see others considering this product, I feel it only fair to point out these risks.  Obviously not everyone knows about this.
 
In the FAQ, Seachem admit that Anacharis is often killed, and I know from others that Vallisneria seems to be.  Seachem also admit Excel can kill algae, though they do not recommend it be used for this purpose.  All this just makes me less likely to add it to an aquarium.
 
Byron.
 

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