My First Planted Aquarium

[ESR]

I've kept various fish in various types of environments for many years, but I've never had live plants before. After a few years of keeping betas and goldfish in simple set-ups, I'm getting ready to start another, bigger tank, and I really want to stock it with live plants. Problem is, I don't even know where to start. Are there any books or websites that are widely used, reliable, and beginner friendly? Are there any plants that are good for beginners? Any that I should stay away from? Are there any reliable websites for purchasing plants? I have a 20 gallon tank, and I am planning on Danio, Gourami, Hatchet Fish, and Khuli Loaches, to start out with. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer a semi-newbie!

 

[ESR]

I misspoke-the aquarium is actually a 29 gallon.

 

[MrDibbs]

I'm no expert but can weigh in-- I bought my plants in a shop and learned that the types of plants are dependent on (at least) three factors: that the fish won't eat them, the substrate type and if they need special care/ additional CO2.

1) If you have fish that will eat plants then forget about it
2) Aquatic plants either take nutrients in through roots or leaves. This will make a difference in what kind of substrate they will thrive in or not.
3) Some of the plants are more difficult to care for, that will need special fertiliser mixes and additional CO2 injected into the water. I'm on my first planted tank too (so far everything is doing brilliantly) and I just went with the 'hard to kill' stuff.

Something I wish somebody would have told me: clean your substrate until it is f*&@^#&g sparkling before you put your plants in or you will have a huge mess stuck to the leaves and stems that will be a pain to get out. Also, make sure you plant the plants deep enough. I have green cabomba trimmings that really need to be buried deep. I didn't cover them enough and they kept popping out. Also, in my efforts to plant them deep enough, I crushed the stems at the bottoms which then rotted and snapped out, so be gentle, but bury them in there well.

I hope this is helpful!

 

[dougall]

I think that, when generalizing plants, the easiest way to group them would be their lighting needs.

Something that needs lower light will grow slower and need far less in the nutient department, that includes supplemental CO2

Not all plants need to have substrate, for example Java Fern will grow attached to a rock or driftwood.

Likely you will likely want to start with lower light plants, and work your way up (or stop, it's far less work that way) my personal preference would be for different types of cryptocoryne plants just because they are easy to work with.

As for books, there are bunches around.. I am personally a fan of Karen Randall's Sunken Gardens, you can buy a copy from https://www.sunkengardens.net/new-page/

But there are lots of options, local aquarium clubs are a great option, especially plant ones, but that would likely depend on your location.