Aquatic Plants: To do or not to do?

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susanne_1989

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Oct 12, 2007
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I've always been curious about live plants in a tank but have been to timid to do it.

What do I need to know? Just the basics please. From reading posts in the plant section I gather bits and pieces but can't put together a good picture of what I need to know to get started.

My tank at the moment:

30g
5 mollies, 3 platties, 2 corys, 2 tetras, 1 pleco, 2 blue gouramis and 1 small alage eater (name is escaping me right now)

I will be in the near future moving my gouramis to a 55 g octagon tank. I want to breed my mollies and want to provide better cover for the babies because I've never liked the nets. Bred mollies before in a 10g tank with plenty of artificial cover. Would like to go with more natural cover for them this time.

Thanks:thm:
 

Dwarf Puffers

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Dec 11, 2006
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Before anything else, you have to get your stocking straightened out...

-What kind of tetras are they? All tetras require groups of at least 6.

-Plecos can reach 20" long and are massive waste producers.

-All 3-spot gouramis are very agressive with each other (Mainly males).

-Link a pic of the algae eater. If it is a CAE (Chinese Algae Eater), it can get to 12" and can be very agressive.

As for plants for fry, java moss, hornwort, and water sprite are usually <1$ a bunch, sometimes free, and are great for cover.
 

GirlieGirl8521

Planted Tank Collector
Dec 21, 2006
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How much light is over the tank? That will decide what plants you should get (which ones will do well).

If you have stock lighting, you should look into java fern, anacharis, anubias, and cryptocorynes.

For those plants, you just need some kind of light (not incandescent though) and some substrate/gravel. :)
 

kj5kb

KEEPER OF CATS, FISH AND CATFISHES
Mar 1, 2007
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Don
Rats a rotsa fishes for a 30G...HOW_EVER <comma>, the post did ask about live plants...not "am I over/incorrectly stocked" so I'll say my piece and get of the soap box (does soap even still come in boxes?)

<soapbox mode ON> :headshake2:

Choice of fish sounds reasonable to me, except:
Pleco will get huge..prepare to rehome 'im soon. He will need room...the 30G may have more "floor space" than the 55g oct tho.
Blue Gouramis are one of my old favs...they MAY get along fine, they MAY beat the crap out of each other...I've seen both; they are likely to pick on/eat your little guys tho...Glad you are going to move 'em.
Corys/Tetras seem to do better in groups...easily fixed once the Gouramis are out!

<soapbox mode off> :grinyes:

So ya want sumthing green in the tank that ain't algae, huh?

You want the short answer?

DO...IT!

longer answer:

A good cheap fry hiding plant is java moss. take a big wad of it, tie a string around the middle to a rock, and DONE. It grows even under low light, provides plenty of spaces for fry to hide as well as a supplemental food...they can pick algae off the feathery strands.

Hornwort/cambomba/anacharis do well in low-light, too. You can usually buy these at a LFS or pond supply place, but I prefer to buy from ebay or on AC where you can get healthy, pond snail free plants for a good price.
They are bunch plants, you can tie them together to a weight and allow them to root themselves as they wish. I prefer NOT to use lead weights long-term in my fish tank, tho..I use rocks, ceramic beads, etc.

See pics:
20H Endler tank, hornwort on left/top, a few red crypts and a few young amazon swords, water wisteria near back to right of heater, and java moss next to it. 17W of light...not nearly enough light. Plants living but not growing much except hornwort...which is darn near impossible to kill.

10G Platy fry/growout tank: big wad of java moss on lower right has been overshadowed by hornwort jungle. Not very attractive, but fry love it. 15W of light, "OK" for the size of the tank with lo-light plants.

I'm thinking you want 30+ fluorescent watts over a 30 to start with...

Many lo-light plants are available here on AC. I've had excellent value from mikeswetpets on ebay, too.


--Don

DSCF0727.JPG DSCF0728.JPG
 
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susanne_1989

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Oct 12, 2007
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The tetras (black shirt) have been in there for almost a year. I had let my tank go dormant until about a year ago. Have thought of adding more to them but want to wait until I get my gouramis moved. I had also decided to move my pleco as well. Don't feel my stocking is inadequate as they are all healthy and generally not picking on each other. My algae eater is an oto and I want to add a couple of more but haven't done it yet. I don't have a lot of options for buying fish in my local area. Walmart and Earl May 30 miles away are my options. My b/f has a wonderful LFS and that's where my gouramis and cory came from and will pry wait until I travel (250 miles away) down there next time to add stock to my tank.

I still have a few other questions. Can I just add the plants into my gravel? Do I need to change type of filter? I have a Whisper power filter with the sponge type filter and carbon bag in it. I have seen comments about CO2. Is this something that is required to care for plants?

Thanks
 

msjinkzd

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if you are going a low light, low tech route there is no need for co2. Do you know what wattage your lights are? Some plants can be rooted in the gravel, some require that the rhizome stay exposed. You don't necessarily need a fancy substrate to have plants work, you just have to pick appropriate plants. You don't need to change your filter, its fine. If you decide to dose ferts, you may decide to discontinue using carbon. Moderate to high light plants need co2 and a good fert dosing regimine for them to grow and thrive.
 

susanne_1989

AC Members
Oct 12, 2007
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Thanks, that's exaclty what I needed to know. Will be looking to make these additions to my tank once I get my 55 g done.
 

DarkSoul

Mad Scientist
Mar 12, 2007
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Here is my daughters tank... I have a ton of plants, 5 cories, a betta and a pleco..... All I dose with is flourish excel, which is an organic form of carbon.... basically replacing CO2 so to speak.

As you can see, my plants are lush and beautiful, and I have done barely anything to them.

I may start dosing ferts if I see the need for it, but at this time, the need for ferts is nill.

15102007.jpg
 

Squawkbert

Senior padder
Oct 3, 2006
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2 things to look through...

Since you may well want to consider function over form, read some of the stickies here.

For both general information & more specifics on higher tech setup requirements, Rex Grigg provides a nice, concise guide to planted tanks.

Until you pick an approach, all I can tell you for sure is you're going to need some light... and you have some stocking issues to work out.
 

Hooked Newbie

Today will be yesterday tomorrow
May 25, 2007
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I agree with most of the above advice. Especially with the Pleco and Algae eater (if CAE). The most basic approach to wade into the shallow end with plants (and the one I took) would be to replace the stock bulb to one with better spectrum &/or add a better light hood. Stick with low light plants (Java Moss, Java Fern, Wisteria, Sprite, Anacharis, Crypts, etc.). And possibly dose Flourish or Flourish Excel. I've gradually been able to increase my plants to supposedly higher light plants (including foxtail and a couple unknown Swords) going by this without adding CO2 or replacing my hoods. I also grow hair algae like it's nobody's business though. :(

Definitely worth it though! Going to live plants has such a huge impact on look and health!

A couple random pics...

Guppies 123.jpg Tank.jpg
 
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