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I've been looking and marveling at the sheer beauty that live plants can bring to an aquarium and broke down and had to have some. My aquarium has very little light (0.72WPG) so my choices are very limited, and even more then that I'm not going to be investing in a heavy duty plant setup (c02, ferts or fluorite). So after some research I've decided that java fern and amazon swords are going to be my best choice so I've ordered 4 of each.

Now I have some questions regarding exactly what can I expect from them...

1. Did I make good choices on the plants? Will they do well in my modest environment?
2. Are there any other plants I could get?
3. I've read that java fern grows slow and amazon swords grow fast... How fast and how slow are we talking? (given my aquarium)
4. Do I acclimate them like I would a fish?

To Recap (EDITED!):
Aquarium Size: 55g
Total Lights: 30W of 6500k
WPG: 0.54
Stocking: Slightly Overstocked

Last edited by john.stone at 19-Nov-2004 03:02

hi john id strongly recommend getting higher lighting because all the ferts and co2 will be useless if you dont have the correct lighting for photosythesis! you might just end up with algae probs because the plants will not use up all the nutrients, i htink u got good plant choices for beginners, anubias are another excellent option, they are beatiful and virtually indestructable!

Hi John,
Personally, I would not class the Amazon Sword as a
fast grower. However, they are heavy root feeders.
That is they obtain most of their nutrients from the
substrate. Because of that, I would not group them
together. They will grow quite large and could soon
become the focal point(s) of the tank. The fern could
become something to fill in between them.
As the swords grow and put out runners forming new plants,
I would gently bend the runners in the directions where
I wanted the new plants to grow. Once the babies reach
about 3-4 inches in size and are rooted, you can then
snip the runner severing the baby from the mother plant.
Leave about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch of runner on each side of
the baby.

Keep your lights on for about 10 hours, and because of
the "slight overstocking", I would not add any ferts
of any kind for a while.

Check out this site:
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nutrient.htm

When your plants show these symptoms, then I would start
adding ferts. If you do it before hand, you could wind
up with blossoming algae. It will rapidly out grow your
slow growing plants and take over.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

...and if there is one good thing to be said about over stocking, it's that you're likely to have a higher level of CO2 in the tank than average, which means you might not actually need to add CO2. Check your pH and KH and calculate the level of CO2 in the water. You can also raise your CO2 level by minimising water movement on the surface (turning off an air pump, that is). The Java Fern will really like the CO2 it will get and will be bubbly very shortly, which will compensate the turning off the air pump.

However, monitor your fish closely. As your aquarium is not very well lit, the Java Fern might not produce enough oxygen for them. In that case, turn the air pump on again. If it does work, turn on your air pump on anyway when you turn the lights off.

And no, you don't have to acclimatise your plants like you would acclimatise fish. Just snip off older dying leaves, and plant them.

Last edited by untitled at 18-Nov-2004 09:54

All but one of my tanks have standard lighting, nothing special. Other than the swords and java fern you mentioned, I've had very good luck with anacharis, both as a floater and planted. Recently I've gotten into crypts and anubias and they've been doing well.


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John,

Good initial choices. The Amazon Swords will not be rapid growers but they are heavy substrate feeders. As they grow, they may dominate your tank. Anubias will be a very slow grower.

You have a great many choices in low light and easy plants. A great resource is:

http://www.tropica.com

I would definitely consider cryptocoryne as a plant in your tank. It comes in browns and reds to offset the strong green of the swords.

Plants do not need to be acclimatized but they should be properly planted. Be sure to trim dead foliage and cut back roots. The plant crown should be exposed when planted and the roots should be carefully spread into the substrate.

Last edited by Bob Wesolowski at 18-Nov-2004 10:41

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

I agree with Bob/Theresa on the crypts and Theresa on the anubias, they are great plants. But I wanted to add that unless you want a bunch of snails I'd rinse your plants in water and very gently run your fingers along the leaves, anything slimy would be snail eggs and can easily be removed.

Last edited by mattyboombatty at 18-Nov-2004 11:22

---

Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Hi John
I recently made up a list of low light plants for my sister, because she had very little lighting, like you, and has been killing plants left and right.
Heres the list I compiled: (all plants require .5wpg+ and little to no care requirements)
Japanese Fan - Acorus Pussilus
Blood Stargrass
Anachris
Dwarf Lily- Nymphaea Stellata
Onion Plant- Crinum Thaianum
Asian Ambulia- Limnophilia Sessiflora
Sagittaria Subulata
Amazon and Ozelot Swords
Cryptocorne Walkeri &amp; Wendtii
Java Fern
Java Moss
Rotala Indica
Banana Plant -Nymphoides Aquatica
Any Anubias Plant
I hope this helps you some.


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Hi John,

1. Did I make good choices on the plants? Will they do well in my modest environment?

Java ferns will do very good, they are hardy and not need much attention. Amazon swords in the other hand need a little more light than .75wpg, they will live but don't expect much growh of them, they also need a deep substrate since they develop quite large root systems.

2. Are there any other plants I could get?

You may get most var. of anubias, they will do great in that kind of light and if your tank is slightly overstock wont need extra ferts.

3. I've read that java fern grows slow and Amazon swords grow fast... How fast and how slow are we talking? (given my aquarium)

VERY slow, swords grow very fast under iron rich substrate and high light, so they will not grow very fast in your tank as is. Java fern even with the extra right conditions IME is a really slow grower.

4. Do I acclimate them like I would a fish?

Well they don't really need it in order to survive, but I always wash them under running water from the tap, and carefully rub each leave with your finger tips, in order to get rid of snails or snail eggs. Some use a 2 minute chlorine dip made of 1 part of chlorine in 19 parts of water in a bucket. I tried this but didn't liked it, most leaves will resent this and may die.

Welcome to the green side

Thank you all _So_ much.

The tank can get indirect sunlight if you think that would help.

Again thank you all for the information.

Also... Would java moss be a good choice as ground cover? Is it even possible?

Indirect sunlight will help. Do you have an algae problem in the tank in its unplanted state? Sunlight can cause algae problems because it's hard to control its duration or intensity.

Also I believe you have yoyo loaches. Many species of loach eat snails, although I'm not sure about yoyos in particular. Maybe someone else can help with this. If they do eat snails you might not need to rinse the plants so well.

I've had success with anubias, asian ambulia and giant hygro in low light tanks with very little maintenance (no ferts, no CO2). I haven't had success with java moss, but that might just be me :%)

I've seen 55 gallon tanks with 40W of NO flourescent on a couple occasions. Most of the plants I was going to mention are already listed, but I thought I'd list a few more:

Bacopa monnieri
Jungle Val
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Saggitaria subulata
Bolbitis heudelotii

I'm aware that some of these plants are most likely listed as higher light plants, but they've done well in the 55 gallon tanks I've seen. It helps that you have plant bulbs in there... just make sure they're being changed every six to twelve months and you should be okay.

Also, I wouldn't decrease surface agitation in a tank that's heavily stocked. With that small amount of light, it's not going to increase photosynthesis enough to offset the air exchange that has to happen with tons of fish in the tank. The plants aren't going to need CO2 that badly; you could add Flourish Excel for better results.

-Sarah

No algae problems... A bit of brown but that wen't away very quickly.

Yeah, I'm not worried about snails. My yoyos will make quick work of them . But I'm still going to rinse them a bit just incase.

I'll look into those .

Edit:
Thanks for the tips wolfie8113

Last edited by john.stone at 19-Nov-2004 00:15

You can use Java Moss as a ground cover if you loosely attach it with fishing line or black thread to a piece of wood. You can try rock. It has no true roots.

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright