Plant with Gold Fish

gsparsan

gsparsan

AC Members
Dec 2, 2007
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I have a 70gal tank with several tropical species and 1 pair of gold fish. The gfish are about 5.5" long, not counting the tail. I had a few plants that were doing well before I introduced the gfish. They are uprooting everything. Each day I wake up and the plants are in a new location. They are not actually eating the plants but they dont let the plants in the gravel. What do I do?

Do I just live with a messy decor with half of my plants floating and the other half scattered around above the gravel?

Do I get rid of the plants? I can't get rid of the gfish. They are really nice otehrwise. I would like to have plants in my tank.

Do I get fake plants? I don't really like fake plants. At the moment, the only artificial thing I have in the aquarium is air pipes and filter hose.

I only have 5 or 6 plants. Will putting a lot of plants help? Is there a specific species of plant that will be suitable?

Any suggestions?
 
Have you tried potting them? I plant my goldies plants in vases and then fill the vase up to the top with sand so that they have no way of getting to the roots, as long as the plant is firmly planted it works wonderfully.

They dig up the plants because their rooting through the gravel for left over food, so if the plants are potted they can root through the gravel without disturbing the plants.
 
Mine do the same things!! I plant the plants and 10minutes later they have decided to re-decorate the tank themselves. I personally use plastic plants because of my goldfish tearing up live plants in the past.

However try placing some rocks, like big rocks around your plants or attaching them to wood or big, heavy rocks of some sort.

Good luck! :goldfish:
 
The one plant that they don't touch is one that i have slipped into a hole in a rock, with a piece of lead / cotton holder. The plant roots are not in gravel but the plant seems to be doing well. That should be the easiest one to lift up but for some reason, they leave it alone. I will try to get some small clay pots and see if it works. I will so much like to have a lot of plants in my tank but if they are going to spend most of the time floating around, no point.
 
yes the gf is a cold water fish and doesnt get enough o2 in warmer water(generally). however i have had success with larger rocks 1" stones around the base of plants or to some sort of anchor. At my lfs they attach lead weights to the plants to keep them down. Im not sure if lead in the tank is a good thing...anyone know?
 
boostnbuds said:
Im not sure if lead in the tank is a good thing...anyone know?
Click to expand...
Someone here reported these don't seem lead. Whether it was lead or not, it's fine for use. People have been using those without any reported complaints to my knowledge.
 
The tank is not heated. I live in the tropics so its the same water temperature for both gfish and tropical. I have tried re-planting a bit deeper this time and so far the plants are ok. I'll have to wait for tomorow morning.
 
gsparsan said:
I have a 70gal tank with several tropical species and 1 pair of gold fish. The gfish are about 5.5" long, not counting the tail. I had a few plants that were doing well before I introduced the gfish. They are uprooting everything. Each day I wake up and the plants are in a new location. They are not actually eating the plants but they dont let the plants in the gravel. What do I do?

Do I just live with a messy decor with half of my plants floating and the other half scattered around above the gravel?

Do I get rid of the plants? I can't get rid of the gfish. They are really nice otehrwise. I would like to have plants in my tank.

Do I get fake plants? I don't really like fake plants. At the moment, the only artificial thing I have in the aquarium is air pipes and filter hose.

I only have 5 or 6 plants. Will putting a lot of plants help? Is there a specific species of plant that will be suitable?

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Well, my first suggestion would be get a 20 gallon (US) tank for the goldfish. The temperature requirements of the two different types of fish are obviously different and they would benefit from the change.

You can then think about what types of plants to get, or you could always go down the fake plant route.

For real plants, try - Anubias, Java Fern, Java Moss, or some of the smaller swords. I also have a plant called Creeping Jenny in my goldfish tank which they seem to ignore.

To stop them uprooting them cover the roots with a few heavier stones or even some medium sized bogwood etc.
 
depends on the goldfish, fancy goldfish actually prefers the same tropical temperature.

As to plants, you have a few choices:

1) Get hornwort or anarcharis, and just let it float around in the tank. Or tie one of the tip to something in the tank.

2) Get some anubias / java fern, and tie them securely to the rocks.

But yes dont get fake plants, they just make the tank look.....so fake!
 
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