Hardy plants that can survive nippy fish?

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Merkicus

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Jan 25, 2010
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I have probably one of the worst setups for plants ever - a giant pleco, a bunch of cory's, 4 convicts, and some soon to be dead (thanks to my convicts) Angelfish.

What types of plants can survive this? I think something like Anachris or Cabomba would be stupid, and I've tried Hornwart before but it just goes hog wild and gets a bit overzealous.

I have a tank full of plastic plants because they're low maint. and I'm tired of my live plants dying on me but I've also come to the realization that a lot of my non-success with plants is due to a lack of willingness to do needed maint. on my part.

I have a sword that is alive but probably not very well fed - it consists of about 30 little leaves that don't go very far (when I bought the plant it was probably 3-4 long, broad leaves)

Here's a pic of my tank from several weeks ago.

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/7073/photoly.jpg
 
The only fish that would cause problems would be the plec and maybe the cons (not sure how much of a digger they are). The corys will have a minimal effect on plants, if any, and the angel shouldn't be a problem at all.

That being said it would probably be a good idea to get some heavy rooted plants like swords or crypts. Once established they should hold their ground pretty well. They also need little maintenance.

Whats your lighting like?
 
I think my lighting is default - whatever bulb came with the setup, which I'm sure is a little weak.

I also have no CO2 setup or fertilizer (the liquid stuff is expensive and goes too fast, I have found) but I am going to remedy that.

Should I remove the plants from the little black buckets they come in? Whenever I have tried they usually don't seem to like it so I just let the roots grow through the grooves.

My plants seem to like to uproot themselves even though my gravel is about 3 inches deep...very annoying.
 
My convicts rearrange my tank all of the time. I ended up removing my plants and ended up doing rock caves. Convicts are cave spawners and they like to move substrate to suit them.
 
If you have the stock lighting the cryptocorynes should do fine, but the swords might like more light. Both are heavy root feeders and may benefit from root tabs...but I've had crypts grow just fine without any supplementation at all. You definitely do not need additional CO2.
 
snoopy65 said:
My convicts rearrange my tank all of the time. I ended up removing my plants and ended up doing rock caves. Convicts are cave spawners and they like to move substrate to suit them.
Click to expand...

Ok, good to know.

Maybe you could position them behind a large piece of hardscape (rock, driftwood, etc.) so they aren't able to get to them.

Forgot to mention that you should remove the plants from whatever they were attached to or put in at the store.
 
Anubias will work with any fish and they are indestructible. You can find many different sizes and types to make your tank quite good looking,
 
If your tank has just the stock lighting, it is probably way too low to be growing plants successfully. Hard to know for sure though, because it depends on the gallons of your tank, the height of your tank, the wattage of the light, and the type of light bulb...

That said, anubias as mentioned is a great choice, not many fish like to eat it. It is very slow growing. I did not see Java Fern mentioned yet. It is another that most fish will leave alone. Java moss is another you might consider. I am not sure how well fish like to eat it, but it grows well in any conditions.

The plants I mentioned all grow well in low light, and like being tied to rocks or driftwood, which you seem to have in your tank. They are pretty easy to grow for beginners (thus... I have them in my tank!)
 
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