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I just switched over to real plants recently. I got quite a bit of anacharis, a large java fern, and 3 amazon swords. I have a 55 gallon tank and currently have 0.72 watts per gallon. I've heard people say swords need more light but they have been doing fine so far. I also added 9 long finned zebra danios, I had never seen these guys before but I like em a lot and reccomend them. Any advice would be great. Im gonna try to get some pictures up soon. Thanks.
-Ryan

Hi Shizzy,

Well, I hope you surprise me, but I am one of the people who would say that the Amazon will not do well in less than 1wpg.

This might actually be a blessing. If it grows really slow then it would take forever until 3 of them take over your entire tank. Under normal growth conditions this would happen rather sooner than later as Amazons are pretty big swords.

I will keep my fingers crossed that your sword will do just fine. How do you define “have been doing fine” and also how long is “so far”?

Good luck,

Ingo

PS: Long Finned Zebra Danios can be fun, but they are also very very active. What else should go in the tank?

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

i would say more light would be beneficial, i have 2 swords that almost fill a 70g, so you might need to look at other options or replacing them if they grow too large.
as for the fish, danios like quite a bit of swimming room but will also enjoy getting in amongst the plants, they are really hardy and undemanding fish, and very active making them interesting to watch.

Well, its only been around 4 days so far. Have been doing fine means nothing looking visibly bad. I did forget to get some ferts though. How long can they go without them? Is there any paticular kind I should get? The danios are very active, they are fun to watch. I might reduce the school to 6. I also have 6 platies in there with them (2 neon sunburst, 2 tuxedo, and 2 "mickey mouses" cause my gf liked them) Im planning on adding 6 corys (not sure which kind), a pair of cherry barbs, maybe a pair of swordtails, maybe a school of lemon tetras, I was also looking into a bolivian ram. But im not so sure after the posting of the Ram's aggression. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.
-Ryan

I would like to get more light when I get more money. But it can be tough as I go to college (Sacramento State). I looked at different setups, I've been having trouble fining a nice one with a light oak finsih, gotta match you know. Anyone know of a website where I could get one? Thanks.
-Ryan

Shizzy,

Plants – that’s good that nothing is going downhill yet .

You should try to get ferts as soon as you can. In the meantime maybe increase your water change frequency to once every 4 days, 30%, as tab water usually has nice goodies in them.

Any interest in adding dry ferts? Greg Watson sells them online and we can help you figuring out how much of each you should add.

Otherwise, a good line is out there from Seachem Flourish, which you can buy from Big Al’s. You should get the Excel, Trace, Nitrate, Potassium, maybe also Phosphorus (depending on your tab phosphate), maybe the Iron too. I personnaly used all of the above except Phosphorus (high tab concentration) and the Trace (I used Flourish itself, which also contains trace elements).

General question, do you know the Micro and Macro Nutrient needs for plants?

As for the lights, I am not so experienced on full canopy style hoods; mine are fixtures that sit on legs on top of the tank (which has glass tops).

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 21-Nov-2005 17:49

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I have marble queen sword growing at 0.7 wpg (30 watts over 42g). It more than tripled in size since I got it about 4 months ago and I only add a dose of Flourish or Equilibrium once every 3-4 weeks (or when I remember). The tank is fully stocked though, so the fish & food provide enough nitrate and phosphate for the plants. The only issue with the low light is the lower leaves would wither when they become shaded by the upper leaves, but new leaves come up once a week or so to replace them anyway. The Anacharis and Java Fern should do fine too in that light; I have both in the same tank. Here is a pic of the tank (can't miss the sword ).

-P

Wow, you have a beautiful tank, I feel a little better now about my low light situation. What other plants do you have in there? I really like that tank. And as little fish stated I do not know the micro and macro nutrient needs, but I will get the ferts as you suggested. Thanks.
-Ryan

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for the compliment. The full plant list for that tank can be found in my profile (under "Main Tank" ). Wisteria (back right in my tank), crypts (i.e. cryptocoryne species; front right), Anubias, Bolbotis Fern (mid center), Giant Hygro (back center) should adapt quite well to your current lighting.

With your current stocking of 9 danios & 6 platys, you'll probably find soon that your NO3 will diminish quite rapidly due to the Anacharis (it's a big-time nitrate sucker IME). Once you increase your stocking (or if your platys decide to multiply ) then the amount of nitrate produced by them might be sufficient to satisfy the Anacharis. Do you have a nitrate test kit? It might be worthwhile checking the nitrate level periodically until you get more fish, so that it doesn't bottom out (algae will appear very quickly when that happens). If the nitrate ever gets around 5ppm or below, it's time to add more nitrate (in the form of KNO3 or Flourish Nitrogen). Another indication of low nitrate is when the Anacharis stops growing.

If I were you, I'd get a comprehensive (micro) fertilizer like Flourish or Tropica Master Grow initially. Add a dose weekly and see what happens. One thing NOT to get when you have Anacharis is Flourish Excel (CO2 substitute). This product will immediately kill your Anacharis.

What kind of filter do you have? Ideally you'll want as little surface agitation as possible to preserve any CO2 that you have in the water. I have a canister filter and I put the spray bar (output) below the water level to achieve this.

Hope this is not too overwhelming. Ask more questions if you have 'em. Cheers.

Last edited by upikabu at 21-Nov-2005 23:32

Last edited by upikabu at 21-Nov-2005 23:33

-P

I have a tetra 350 series hang on filter. The water dumps just below the surface so it doesnt seem to agitate it too much. Hmmm, I thought wisteria needed medium light to grow, maybe ill give it a try. I think a lil wisteria farm would look cool. I'll go buy the reccomended ferts in a few days. Thanks.
-Ryan

Just watch the water level with respect to the filter output. Top up when it gets low.

-P