Plant/Fish ratio

SimonWoodstock

SimonWoodstock

Lush
Sep 14, 2003
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Hey, I was just curiousas to what the plant/fish ratio would have to be in order to not need an air source like a bubbler.

At the moment I have a 20gal. with 3 medium sized plants and 1 small with a 1" pleco, a few gupies along with 6 fry that survived, a 3" banjo cat and a gourami(which i think breathes from the surface?).

I think all i have is an air pump for a 10gal. tank running in it now, i probably will not take it up, im just curious as to how many plants per fish...the fish wont be too big because all i have is small tanks.
 
I think it depends on factors like lighting, fertilizer routine, CO2, etc.
I'm no expert, but I think the plants should be able to keep up with the fish if the plants are growing well.
Also, gouramis do breathe some air from the surface, and will actually die if they can't (or is that bettas, or both?).

Graeme
 
Lights drive plants

In order to count on oxygenation from the plants, you need to have enough light to drive photosynthesis. Then you need carbon, from decaying soil or from CO2 injection. Then you need fertilization, N, P, K, and traces.

Several plants will survive in a poorly lit tank, until they die.

If you can get ~2 watts per gallon or better, then you can start thinking about oxygenation by plants only.

Your milage may vary!
 
Alright, thanks guys....would either of you happen to know a good online resource i could use to learn more about plants. I am interested in them, I used to have plastic plants, but now i think the plants are half the aquarium.

I have been giving them 10 hours of light a day, i have a timer that the light is plugged into so its the same hours everyday. Does this sound good? (all the plants in there said they do well with medium lighting on the tab that came in the pot, if that helps...the only plant i can remember now is one i think is called wysteria or something like that)
 
Coming here was a good start. I learned most of what I know about plants from these guys.
The Aquabotanic forums are also useful, found at www.aquabotanic.com . Be sure to check out their plant database.
www.tropica.com has some basic info on a lot of plants, but it's not very personal.
The timer is a good idea too, I finally got one myself, so now I know that the photoperiod is regular and the right length.
I find that when you get a potted plant, it's best to carefully remove the rockwool and pot, to free up the roots.
Water wisteria is also known as Hygrophila difformis. Some people confuse it with water sprite, which is a fern. Wisteria grows from the stem like other hygros, but water sprite grows from the base and will unfold fronds.
Best of luck with you plants,
Graeme
 
This was a pretty thorough survey.

If you do it right there'll just be an awful lot of plant. The plant supplies list should be: light, ferts, some sort of carbon source, and a sturdy pair of snips. :D

Folks who are supplementing CO2 generally avoid things like bubblers. Bubblers work by increasing the surface area available for gas exchange and while it may mean more oxygen can get in, it'll drive CO2 levels down to ambient. I think that in a normal tank with reasonable stocking there'll be sufficient oxygen between the plants and normal gas exchange at the surface for the fish to be happy.

Bettas have the least complex labyrinth of the anabantids. Gouramis can generally get more oxygen from the air but neither of them need to.
 
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