ok, i know this is a dumb question, but ive got my first planted tank now, its a 29 gallon tank, but the plants have taken over, and now cover almost all of the surface of the tank, as well about an inch down from the surface. the fish seem to love it though, thats why im not sure, ive got in the tank 3 gouramis, 3 tiger barbs, 3 cherry barbs, 1 neon tetra, 1 pleco, and 3 rainbow sharks. all of them are doing good, healthy, and the plants seem healthy also, just recently one kind of them flowered and had some seeds that are now starting to grow. Basically im asking if there are too many plants in my tank, or if alot fo plants are good. Here is a pic of the tank.
too many plants?
- Thread starter johnskate17
- Start date
Well there is no such thing as having too many plants unless no light can get to them and the fish cant swim. You can cut them a bit if it would help. Your picture didnt work.
It's important to prune your plants so they don't become too dense - if they've grown over the surface of the tank, lower plants will be deprived of light. It's actually to their benefit to trim some of the plants back.
Different types of plants need different types of pruning. If you have stem plants you can uproot them, trim the bottoms off and replant just the tops, or you can leave the stem in place, just prune off the top and plant it next to the bottom half. The trimmed bottom will put out one or more new shoots and the top cutting will put out roots and continue to grow.
If you have rosette plants (like swords) or strap-leaved plants like vals, they cannot be trimmed like stem plants. You can remove old/damaged leaves at the base. Plants with rhizomes can be cut into several pieces and replanted, but if you have anything other than stem plants I recommend posting here and/or looking up how to prune specific types of plants - it can be tricky and you don't want to hurt a plant accidentally.
One of the hardest things I've found about having a planted tank is the amount of plant material I throw out when I prune. The stem plants grow back beautifully and seem to benefit from it, but it still feels strange to pull them up, cut them into pieces and replant them every couple of weeks. If I don't cut them back enough, I find that in a matter of a few days the tank can go from looking nicely full to looking like a weed-choked jungle.
Different types of plants need different types of pruning. If you have stem plants you can uproot them, trim the bottoms off and replant just the tops, or you can leave the stem in place, just prune off the top and plant it next to the bottom half. The trimmed bottom will put out one or more new shoots and the top cutting will put out roots and continue to grow.
If you have rosette plants (like swords) or strap-leaved plants like vals, they cannot be trimmed like stem plants. You can remove old/damaged leaves at the base. Plants with rhizomes can be cut into several pieces and replanted, but if you have anything other than stem plants I recommend posting here and/or looking up how to prune specific types of plants - it can be tricky and you don't want to hurt a plant accidentally.
One of the hardest things I've found about having a planted tank is the amount of plant material I throw out when I prune. The stem plants grow back beautifully and seem to benefit from it, but it still feels strange to pull them up, cut them into pieces and replant them every couple of weeks. If I don't cut them back enough, I find that in a matter of a few days the tank can go from looking nicely full to looking like a weed-choked jungle.
im trying to post the pic of the tank again, havent used this forum very much yet and hadnt tried to post a pic, but other wise, im not sure on the types of plants that i have, one i believe is a apongeta? or something, i had the book with that in it, but i lost it and dont remember the spelling, but other than those plants there are a few other types, i think they would be stemmed plants, they are like a long stem with the leaves on top that float, 2 kinds of the plants do that with different type leaves.
so ill try to trim them and re-plant them, that would help thin them out. hopefully here is the pic again... i see why now, it now says it was too large, should of read that and resized it. here it is.
so ill try to trim them and re-plant them, that would help thin them out. hopefully here is the pic again... i see why now, it now says it was too large, should of read that and resized it. here it is.
johnskate17 said:
Why is your water so green? It looks like algae to me......aka green water. You should really do some water changes on that tank. Otherwise, nice set-up.
we did a water change recently, i think it may be our filters, they turn brown pretty quickly, and would it be algae even if it sint on the glass of the tank? would bigger filters clear the water beter? cause after like a 2/3 water change the water gets greenish colored pretty quickly. like a few days
Those aren't stem plants, you'd be best off looking up how to prune them online. If you try to trim the leaves on an Apongeton, I imagine the leaf will die. I don't have experience with these plants, so I'm sorry, I can't offer you any advice on whether you need to prune them or how to go about it.
Stem plants are things like Cabomba, Ludwigia, Bacopa, Myriophyllum, etc.; those are the type of plants that can be trimmed and replanted as I described.
If you'd like help with the green water problem you could post some more info, specifically:
Fertilization
Light (type, wattage, K rating if you know it, photoperiod)
Water change routine
CO2 (if you add it or not)
Any other tank specs and water test results you can provide (esp. NO3, PO4)
and hopefully someone can pinpoint the cause and help you out.
Stem plants are things like Cabomba, Ludwigia, Bacopa, Myriophyllum, etc.; those are the type of plants that can be trimmed and replanted as I described.
If you'd like help with the green water problem you could post some more info, specifically:
Fertilization
Light (type, wattage, K rating if you know it, photoperiod)
Water change routine
CO2 (if you add it or not)
Any other tank specs and water test results you can provide (esp. NO3, PO4)
and hopefully someone can pinpoint the cause and help you out.
because the aponegetons are the only plants in there they tend to do very well like that and with the low light as is on those tanks they love hugging the surface. its not a problem as far as the plants go and alot of fish really like the kind of shaded effect that gives. makes them feel safe.
yeah, the fish do seem to love it. they allways hang out at the top of the tank. Were really not sure on what type of wattage or lamp we have, the tank came from my brother. Its an Eclipse tank, and looking online it said 2000K lamps. We havent really tested the water or fertilized the plants with anything. We got Aquasafe in a yellow bottle from the store and use that with water changing and setting up the tank. Also sometimes a pH tablet that fizzes and says it balances the pH. The fish do seem pretty happy though, swimming around and hanging out all day, and none have died since we set it up so it seems to be running pretty safe for them to live. I think the filters might be too small and thats why the water turns green so quickly each time? or is the green/brown color not from a problem with the filter, but something else?
The water is green because the tank is out of balance. Probably has little to do with your filters.
If you are satisfied with it as it is, fine but you'd probably be happier with a clear tank.
The fish won't care one way or the other.
You don't have too many plants. Just the wrong types for your tank, unless you want to get some lower light plants for under the canopy your Apons. have created.
Adding more plants underneath and water changes would help a bunch to alleviate your algae problem.
What size tank is it (in gallons)?
Len
If you are satisfied with it as it is, fine but you'd probably be happier with a clear tank.
The fish won't care one way or the other.
You don't have too many plants. Just the wrong types for your tank, unless you want to get some lower light plants for under the canopy your Apons. have created.
Adding more plants underneath and water changes would help a bunch to alleviate your algae problem.
What size tank is it (in gallons)?
Len