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Would A Few Live plants (not fake ones) Take care of the feces that my fish produce? I'm trying to make my tank have as minimal maintanance as possible.

[span class="edited"][Edited by IhAvEsOmEfIsH 2004-08-13 04:53][/span]

Only if the plants are in good condition. If they die and start to rot, you will just have more waste in your tank. It is actually easier for a beginer to just do regular tank maintenence in many cases.

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IS THERE ANY WAY TO AVOID TANK MAINTANANCE?

Possibly - two ways. One, don't have any real fish in the tank (obviously not a top choice! )
Two, have a very large tank with strong filtration and very few small fish - something like a 40 gallon long with, say, five Platies. However, most people want to skip this plan too.
C'mon, maintenance isn't that hard - 25% of the water once a week or twice a month, it only takes perhaps 20 minutes, and if you hate the bucket brigade a python'll save you that. It takes no time at all but it keeps the fish healthy and happy for years to come - who could object to that?

-Molly
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well i'm going to add at least one becuase i hear that they make your fish healthier by providing oxygen to the tank

Live plants will help, but will NOT stop you from doing maintenance. There is NO way to avoid maintenance unless you dont want live fish. Dead fish are no fun.
I would suggest Amazon Sword, Java Fern, Giant Hygrophilia, Hornwort, duckweed, any of these plants grow well in low light, but they do require fertilizer at least 1 time a month.
Even with live plants you will need to still do water changes at least 2 times a month. Yes they will provide oxygen, but only in the daytime. At night plants produce Carbon Dioxide. If you want just oxygen, buy an air stone of some kind.
Tank maintenance only takes about 30 minutes every 2 weeks. It saves your fish lifes. Your clown loach espescially will need it as he will grow FAR TOO LARGE for your tank.


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Sorry to jump in on this thread, but.....
What fert do you give live plants in the tank, how would you give it to them without harming fish...sorry for asking a silly question...I am new to keeping fish and plants

You would give an aquarium safe fertilizer. Purchase one online or at your local fish store!
I use Flourish Excel, Nutragro (made by nutrafin), and a local made fertilizer when they have some in. You can also buy root ferts in the forms of tablets or sticks as well.



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I usually cheat and use Onyx Sand, Fluorite and Laterite and OCCASSIONALLY introduce ferts into the water column.

Ihavefish; either way, maintenance is inevitable. Some good starter plants are (also the most common at ALL LFS);

(some mentioned already)
Hygrophila sp.
Amazon Sword
Java Fern
Java Moss
Anubias sp.
African Water Fern
Cryptocoryne
Water Sprite
Red Ludwigia
Barcopa

Duckweed will take over if the water is still. Yes they perform a service but maintenance is required.

Gary

Thanks Pete