A new guy thinking about adding LIVE PLANTS

[daleekee]

I am thinking of adding live plants to my tank for the first time. Well, I added a small java fern to my 10-gallon betta tank this afternoon. I was hoping to find out which types of live plants others have had success with. I'm considering adding quite a few more java ferns and some banana plants, but I wouldn't mind adding something with more ample foliage. Any suggestions?

I suppose the java ferns will grow in time. I'm not sure how big I should expect them to get. I have a light, but it's not flourescent, it's just your basic yellow acquarium light (incandescent?). Can these plants survive with only this kind of light? Though I live in blisteringly sunny San Antonio, not much sunlight gets into the room.

I've read that java ferns should not be "planted" in the gravel, so I've used black cotton string to gently tie the roots to a plastic log-like structure. I have no idea why planting the fern in the gravel is a bad idea. Has anyone tried simply resting the plan on top of the gravel? It seems like it would be heavy enough to stay somewhat anchored on its own. What about banana plants? Should they be planted in the gravel or should their roots be left exposed? I'm not keen on the idea of adding actual driftwood to the tank.

I hear that bettas love java moss (I like the idea of him being able to rest in the plants), but I also hear they can be quite a hassle to maintain. I really wouldn't be too thrilled to go on vacation for two weeks and then come back to find my tank absolutely filled with moss. I suppose I could just be extremely diligent about keeping it trimmed or remove most of it before leaving for extensive periods of time. I can always get people to feed my fish while I'm away, but getting them to trim moss is another matter entirely!

My last question is this: I've read about the benefits of these plants (I'm not sure if certain benefits are specific to particular plants or if they all pretty much serve the same purpose). But aside from the problems caused by decaying plant matter, are there any harmful side effects of keeping live plants, particularly java moss? Do they add any harmful chemicals to the water?

Thanks!

[daleekee]

Oops, I forgot to ask this last question: has anyone had any succes with aquarium plant foods? Which do you recommend? Are they the least bit harmful to fish?

[amanichen]

Re: Roots

Many plants send their own roots out, and should be allowed to do that. Putting them in the gravel may cause them to rot. Only "plant" a plant if it has an established root system, and in most cases only the roots (not the bulb) should go into the gravel.

Re: Fertilizer

Aquarium fertilizers don't harm fish. Get one that's based on iron, with little or no phosphate. Fertilizers generally provide trace elements and micronutrients, while the fish provide the nitrogen (through ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) and phosphate (through food.)

Normally, people will inject carbon dioxide for the plants, because fish might not provide enough, but seachem claims to have made a fertilizer that contains an intermediate product of photosynthesis, which makes CO2 injection unnecessary.

Re: Benefits

Having plants will improve your water quality because they suck up phosphate, nitrogen compounds, and carbon dioxide. They also make your fish feel more sheltered, and comfortable in their habitat.

Re: Decaying plant matter

Just remove it from the tank. Plants aren't maintenance free, but if they're cared for well, they won't be a hassle.

Re: Java moss

Java moss grows in individual strands, so it's only a matter of pulling a little bit of the tangled mass off and tossing it away. In your average tank, it's not going to take it over in two weeks. It does grow more quickly than most plants though.

For more plant information check this out:

healthybetta.proboards19.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=generalfish&thread=1141693360

[daleekee]

Wow, thanks for the comprehensive reply to all of my live plant questions! This really helps!

[sawcat]

I've not had no luck growning plants in incandescent light. Had some in my minibow, but they didn't do well so I got a 10 watt flourescent bulb, but that got a bad algae problem and by the time I tried adjusting the lighting schedule it was too much, so I ended up breaking it down and now that bulb is in the 5 gallon (versus the 2.5) and it hasn't made such a problem, plus my snail is happily munching on it. The bulb I got was from Walmart (about $5). But if you get one and put it in a 2-3 gallon tank, do not do 8-12 hours recommended for plants. At max I'd try 8 hours to start and adjust from there.

Anubius Nanas are great low light, and my crypt is loving the big tank. I personally didn't like java moss, kept getting sucked into the gravel vac. You don't completely plant the anubius either. I just stuck enough of the roots in the gravel so it didn't float, but you can tie it to large rocks and drift wood if you have it.