Newbie questions about goldfish and plants

[Heidyth]

Well I am finally getting ready to buy a 20 or 30 gal tank for my 2 fancy goldfish and 1 apple snail. I will probably add 1 more applesnail too. I want black gravel because I love the look of the tank they are in with it. My question is what kind of plants would do well with them or should I just go plastic? I want to learn about plants but don't want a heavily planted tank. Plus the boys uproot the small platic ones they have in the 5 gal they are in. I finally gave up replanting the small forground plants. I am also very concerned about getting to much CO2 if a problem arises. I was thinking of making a DIY co2 set up with some big port wine bottles.

Umm one other ? Why do you use fleet enema. I must say being a newbie and reading a post about adding drops to a tank made me almost laugh myself out of my chair.:D I never thought plants had that problem:p
Linda

[SpiritualSniper]

i don't think many plants would survive in a tank with goldfish and apple snails.... maybe some kind of tough floating plant, but the only ones i can think of are too big for a 20/30 gal. and i suggest you go with the 30 gal, since goldfish need a lot of room.

[Heidyth]

SpiritualSniper

Thanks for the reply. I was afraid I might have trouble with the boys and plants. I am also planning on getting a 55 gal with clown loaches cory's some dwarf gouramis and some boeseman's rainbows. I want to make hills and caves from polystyrene and put some java moss on the hills and caves. With some kind of plants around the sides and maybe a meadow circle of plants to look like trees but I will have to do a lot more research on plants before I do that. Oh the boys are going to have the roman ruins in their tank. I fell in love with the ones at petsmart.com. But I want a more natural look to the 55 gal.

Linda

[goldfish freak]

Defintely get the 30 gallon tank over the 20 gallon. Goldies are messy fishy that can grow quite large, they would do better in a 30 gallon. I would suggest for plants that you try driftwood or bogwood that is planted with Java fern or Anubias nana. These to plants are know to be fairly goldfish proof. Also they will not be able to uproot them since they are attached to the wood. I don't know if the apple snails will eat these palnts though since I know that these type of snails do eat plants.

[Ranger]

Hi Heidyth:

Before purchasing some plants read a few more posts here, there are allot of variables you'll need to address.

First off: for this tank it sounds like your fish and the look are your primary emphasis. That's in no way bad, it's all a matter of preference but that will limit your options on plants. For example goldfish are a hard water fish (pH above 7.0) many plants prefer lower pH coming from tropical waters. Second CO2 will LOWER your pH. So there is a trade off: pH best for goldfish or plants. Now there are certainly plants that thrive in "base" water, Java fern and Egeria come to mind but gold fish and apple snails love to eat plants so anything you add could become potential grazing. Also the decorative black rock I've seen is generally to large to best raise plants in. I have seen photos of some fantastic planted goldfish tanks so it is doable.

You'll need light and it will probably seem like allot if your use to the standard light strips that come with most tanks

I use to have Oscars and they’d pull up plants too. Here is a trick, get some nice looking synthetic plant (plastic or silk) and remove the bases. Then choose some rocks that weigh enough to hold down the plant (decorative lava rocks work well). Drill a hole in the rock and epoxy the plant into it. They look good and won't float.


The fleet enema is to add phophate (PO4). This plant nutrient only needs to be added in tanks with stong lighting and CO2 which are especially designed for maximum plant growth.

[Faramir]

The "traditional" goldfish plant is Lagarosiphon major. Elodea canadensis can also be used, but it's a bit pathetic IMO.

Vallis will grow in "cold" water, and is happy with higher hardness and pH. Another "tropical" plant that is actually from a temperate zone is Cardamine lyrata, although it's a bit delicate and possibly the goldfish will see it as a self-service salad bar.

What these plants also have in common is being pretty "easy".

[Heidyth]

I did get the 30 gal. with a penguin 330. Everyone is very happy so far. I seeded the gravel with about half of the gravel from the 5 gal. I put the plastic plants in and they look pretty. The small foreground plants are dotted around the tank and buried pretty deep. Time will tell. The stand I got has room for another tank underneath. I am thinking about a planted gourami tank. Thank you all for the replies. I am going to do a lot more studying before I do a lot with plants. Thank you all for your replies. I know I'll be asking more questions later.