Ruth asks…
freshwater plants?
what do i need in order to grow and keep freshwater plants in my tank? i have an empty 2.5 gallon tank and i was thinking about putting up plants in it before adding fish..
what soil is best to keep in the bottom of the tank? I’m assuming i plant them in the soil as opposed to keeping them in little pots right? what about the ph levels, water temp and lighting? my tank comes with a 12v flourescent lamp.
Also do i need a special filter or oxygen for the tank? I currently only have a filter that runs water through some plastic balls and some rocks and then cycles the water back into the tank…
I have no idea what i’m doing..
could you give me names of these plants?
I have also noticed in some tanks, they have the bottom covered in underwater grass, does anyone know what that is and is it easy to maintain?
Aquarium Lover answers:
Firstly – there are two types of underwater plants. Normal plants and “true aquarium” plants.
Normal plants at a petstore will only last maybe 5 or 6 weeks in the water before they die or turn to mush and have to be replaced (theres nothing wrong with using these plants).
“true aquarium plants” are plants that do actually live in aquariums and underwater and they last for YEARS and YEARS. Your petstore might have a couple, you can tell the difference because these plants are usually four or more times the price of the normal plants.
Now for the normal plants, NO, you do not need soil or sand. Just plant them in the gravel….. The PH and lighting you have for the fish are fine for the plants.
MOST of the true aquarium plants do NOT need soil or sand either – they can be planted in the gravel. Some of them however, do need to be in little pots with soil and stuff in them. However, they will be like this when you go and see them in the petshop…. You just bring them home and put them in your tank like that.
Now a heap of people will get on here saying you need fertilizers and special lighting.
Thats not true. The fish poop from your fish is the perfect fertiliser, ive been breeding true aquarium plants for years and never used anything else.
So bottom line – no, you dont need special circumstances for plants in an aquarium. A temperature of 70 and OVER will help, but you will need these temps for most fish anyway – definitely for any tropical (which will need a heated tank 74-82F).
Note: catfish and suckerfish will suck on the leaves of any plants and damage them over time, possibly kill the plants if they eat them too much – so one or two catfish/suckerfish in an aquarium with live plants is plenty.
Other fish dont matter.
There is NO problem with a plant or two in a 2.5 gallon tank… As long as the fish have plenty of room.
.
James asks…
Freshwater Plants?
Yesterday i went to the store and bought a 3 plant freshwater variety that came in a little black pot thing underwater- i have it in my tank now but i was wondering if there are any special things i need to know about caring for it- i have snails, eels fish and shrimp with it
well i think in the next month or so i will swith to pool filter sand will the plant still work?
Aquarium Lover answers:
You should remove any pots or weights that came with the plants before planting into your tank. If it refuses to stay in the gravel, just wedge it between small rocks until the roots are established. For plant cuttings in bunches, plant each cutting individually a short distance apart, otherwise the lower part of the plants will die off from lack of light. If the plant came already tied to a piece of driftwood, like Java fern, you can put the whole thing into your tank after a quick rinse.
For optimal live plant growth, you need about 2 watts of tank lighting per gallon of tank capacity. Also good to dose with liquid aquarium plant fertiliser once a week. You would only need additional stuff like extra CO2 if your tank is fairly heavily planted and if keeping more demanding plants. Watch out that your snails don’t eat holes in your plants’ leaves, most fish would be ok except for certain herbivorous species.
Laura asks…
Freshwater PlantS ?
Would a lot of fresh water plants in a tub with some pumpkinseed sunfish provide enough oxygen for 1-2 fish in a 20ish gallon tank ? Also I live in CT. so what water plants would be good and easy to find in my area ?
Aquarium Lover answers:
As John said, plants will not provide adequate oxygenation at night because of their night time respiration. Plants only produce oxygen when they can photosynthesize, which requires light. The only way you could possibly make this work is to have VERY strong lighting, CO2 injection, and fertilizer dosing all in exact balance. This will allow the plants to grow more rapidly, producing more oxygen (so their night time oxygen use is not as big of an issue). To do that, you will end up spending FAR more (a couple hundred dollars) than you would if you simply bought an Aquaclear HOB filter, which would provide a home for nitrogen fixing bacteria and oxygenate the water. Really, either way you will need a filter. If you want plants just for the sake of having plants (not oxygenation), consider Anubias, Java Fern, Cryptocorynes, Water Sprite, Tiger Lotus, Banana Plants, and Java Moss; all will thrive in low light (in the wrong spectrum as well) and are pretty much impossible to kill. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Soop Nazi
EDIT: Snails will have NO affect on your water chemisty; they aren’t leaching acid or anything. They will do best in hard water, but the snails do not make the water any different than it was before they were there. To remove snails and their eggs from plants, you can do a 5% bleach (NaClO) dip for 2-5 minutes with your plants (afterwords, thoroughly rinse the plants in water with a triple dechlorinator dosage to remove all chlorine).
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