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So I'm trying to find some plants that will do all right in my tank. I've got 120 watts on my 125 gallon tank; the tank is 18" deep, and I've set up certain areas in the back of the tank with rocks that hold up 2-3" of gravel, just for plants! I don't have any fertilizers, but I could buy root tablets or something for plants for planting if necessary, if they're generally available at the LFS; to tell the truth, I don't pay attention and I don't even know if LFSes normally sell that kind of stuff. So far I've got Java Moss, Java Fern, and Anubias nana, none of which of course actually root in the gravel, so these patches of gravel are, as of now, unused. I've also got Cabomba, but it seems that my tank is not good for this plant; actually, the LFS labelled it hornwort, which is why I got it in the first place.

Plants I'm thinking of including are water sprite, wisteria, and hornwort. Anubias barteri is almost undoubtedly going to be picked up some time in the future since I hear such good things about Anubias. Someone suggested to me Ozelot Sword, and this just happens to be one of the plants at the LFS right now; I had an Amazon Sword oh so many years ago in my 55 and it did fine for a couple years without ferts, but I wonder if Ozelot Swords will be better in this deeper tank. I'm also considering Crypts, but I'm nervous about meltdown; the LFS has green and red, I believe. I'm curious about Dwarf Sag as well, as it seems to be the lowest-light equivalent to a foreground plant I've seen. Any other ideas are welcome!

My Panaque took a nibble out of my Anubias the first night; since then, I started feeding lettuce and it hasn't touched it since, and it never even went near the Java Fern, though the Java Fern is placed higher on a piece of wood. I'm thinking if I just keep up the veggies in the diet then maybe the plants will be safe, but I'd figure I'd mention this little factor...

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

In my personal opinion there is no such plants other that indoorus placticsorus. All live plants require the correct light, substrate, or holder DW and feeding.

I mainly went for Anubias because my tank and conditions just liked them also I found them easy to grow in my conditions. The Betta tank is totally different plants are well fed liquid ferts and fert pellets and no melt down for the crypts.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

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Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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Haha, I figured I might be getting an answer something like that.

I have raised certain plants in the past without ferts or a special substrate and with just the normal fluorescent bulbs in the tank, though it was on a 55 not a 125. Because of that, I didn't think this tank was THAT inhospitable. Then again, if I was so great at raising plants in those conditions perhaps I'd still have them...

How does fertilization work? If it's just taking pellets and pushing them into the substrate near roots every so often, that might be something I can actually handle. Otherwise there's not much else I plan to change, as in my lights are staying the same and I'm sticking with my gravel substrate. I don't know much about CO2 injection, but I'm not really considering having any right now if it's not necessary. Of course, if lights are the main limitation on my tank, rather than nutrients, then I guess I really can't get much in the way of plants.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I just drop some liquid ferts in every day, some people do them weekly - liquid ferts are what you need for stem plants (like Cabomba) and others like java fern that are not rooted in the substrate. There are tablets and such that you can use to feed rooted plants like crypts and swords, you just push those into the gravel.

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My hobbies also involve garden plants as well as orchids. All plants require some form of fertilizing in one way or another. If in the ground or pots they are fed with liquid ferts or solids placed in or on top of the surface and as it breaks down it feeds the plants.

In a tank we do not have the pleasure of a solid medium, and many other things you can do to push plants along.

With the liquid ferts it will be mainly taken into the plant via the leaves. The sunlight is substituted with artificial lights of many types which are costly and do not have a long usage life.
The pellets will slowly dissolve and spread through out the substrate thus feeding the roots of theplants and again are not cheap and must be used regularly.

Yes plants will grow with out all this man made stuff but no where near the quality when fed correctly.

I have just purchased some crypts these are grown outdoors in cow dung and plenty of ferts they grow twice the size and and faster than in any tank.

Co2 has its place but can not be used in all tanks.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
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I've always had low-tech tanks (low light, no CO2), but I've also always used ferts.

Crypts and I get along very well, and I've never had a problem with melt-down. C. undulatus is probably the most hardy crypt I've ever encountered. I've even found it growing unrooted in a friend of a friend's ignored tank. C. spiralis and retrospiralis are also very hardy and forgiving, and make great background plants.

Cabomba caroliniana, as you've probably already discovered, is not good in low light and will 'explode' all over your tank eventually, as will Limnophila indica, which looks very similar.

Ceratopteris thalictroides (water sprite), Hygrophila difformis (water wisteria), and Ceratophyllum demersum (hornwort) are good choices. H. difformis does do best with a nutrient-rich substrate, and really liked my UGF.

I've never had an Echinodorus var. 'Ozelot', but I've heard that they are quite hardy as well, and apparently more so than the E. bleheri (amazon sword).

One tip that I've found really helps is to use the scientific names for the plants at the LFS, and, with luck, you'll find a staffer who knows them and won't misidentify what you're buying. I've struck gold that way at an LFS here, where the guy who does the ordering is a hobbyist as well and will order exactly what I want. I got the most beautiful Alternanthera reineckii var. 'Roseafolia' that way!

OK, yes, I'm a plant geek.

I vote! Do you?

Thanks for the help so far, guys!

Haha, you gotta be a geek with something; I'm a catfish geek myself, haha. Even the LFS workers give me funny faces... One of them commented that I must like the "weird fish", lol.

I think I will pick up some fertilizer tablets. Seems like it couldn't hurt.

I traded back the Cabomba for what I believe to be water wisteria. Matches pictures I've seen of wisteria, anyway, and the tops match emersed growth pictures. It wasn't marked, but I somehow doubted that the worker right there was going to be able to tell me what it actually was.

I like the idea of Crypts, so I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers and go for it sooner or later and hope they don't melt! The C. spiralis and C. retrospiralis look like great backgrounds plants. Sweet, they'll do better than the Vallisneria I was considering too, lol. Hmmm, all these Crypts are confusing; doesn't help that one LFS here labels all of the Crypts just that: "Crypt". They do this despite the obvious apparent difference; one that comes off the top of my head is one that is long, skinny, and has really rippled leaves (looked kinda like Crinum natans?). The only species they label specfically are the wendtii's, green and red.

So now I have Anubias nana, Hygrophila difformis, and Microsorum pteropus.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Also consider water sprite. It is similar to wisteria, and also in its looks, but i think it grows very nice and tall. This is a great plant for surface dwellers, because it is also a surface plant too, but ive primarily seen it in the substrate....

About ferts and swords, make sure you have an adequate amount of substrate, being that you have at least 2 inches of gravel, as cryptocornes and swordplants have a large root system. Also be aware that they absolutely looove their tri yearly fertilizer tabs, and i have experienced this firsthand. My 20g is quite planted, but with only .75 wpg, and along with the sword that i had, it was growing nicely and steadily, until i added some root tabs. I have waited about 2 weeks to a month, and BAM!!! It rocketed and grew so quickly! I think an ozelot sword (Has spots or dashes on its leaves) would make a nice addition to any tank, and i am sure it will grow in your tank. Just be aware that they might get rasped a bit by the panaque, but all in all i think that it will survive.

The cryptocornes: I have 1 crypt in the 20g upstairs, and even if it is less than 1wpg, it is still growing, but steadily. It first melted when i got it, but it took only 2 weeks for it to grow back, and when it did, it grew back better than before. I have a C. wenditii "Brown" or "Copper" (I dont know the real color name). These also like root tablets i hear.

To administer the root tabs, i just push them halfway between the bottom of the tank and the surface of the gravel, about an inch or two from the actual plant. I have heard its best to plant in the 4 compass rose directions, but i am almost out of root tabs.

CO2 is not necessary in such low light tanks, as it wont have much of an effect hence inadequate light for it to "Boost" grow. If you added like a better fixture, you will have such great growth with added CO2, but that is another like ~$200 combined (CO2 + Light Fixture). The fish will supply all that is needed.

Last but not least, i would at least dose some liquid ferts, like Flourish and some nitrogen ferts. If you have a tank full of fish, and if you have some nitrates, the nitrogen fert can wait.

Good luck, and i hope you can establish a nice little half planted tank! The swords would look great as a focal point! They grow nice and tall, with no actual stem part, just a whole leaf, IME in low low light tanks.

(PS: Changing out the light bulbs on your flouro fixture once every year or every 6 months will maintain optimum light quality i hear!)


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I've had good luck with the crypt wendtii's too. They mostly only melt if you either really mangle them, or tank conditions change drastically (such as if you're bad about doing regular water changes and change 40% of the water after 3 weeks without doing anything - this is how my mom likes to do it. Where's that fish-slapping smiley when I need it?)

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i would recommend the hybrid aponogeton bulbs they sell at walmart...

the bulbs grow into healthy plants in not that much time (about 2 weeks to a month) and they look lovely. the only problem is you can't tell what they are going to look like exactly because they are hybrids. also they sell hybrid lily bulbs at walmart so take a look. it is about 3$ for a pack of arround 4-6 bulbs fro the apons and 2-4 for the lilies.

also get hornwort!!!! it gorws great in almost any condition after it acclimates to its position.

GOOD LUCK!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Well I'm considering on picking up Crypt crispatula var. balansae (what I think that crinkly Crypt I mentioned in the above post is), Anubias barteri, and the Ozelot Sword in the near future. I am more confident that the Ozelot Sword will do okay; I did a google search and found someone that did 1 wpg with one in a 90 gallon. That gives me more confidence, since keeping a plant in a shallower tank means that the plant has less water (and therefore particles) above it to dim the light from above. If someone did it in a tank about as deep as mine, at least I know it's possible, right?

I'm slightly confused by Ozelot Swords, though. Some have stems, and some don't, and some have broader leaves. Thus, I assume there are actually different varieties! I hope the plant I'm getting is still pretty easy.

I'd love some hornwort, but I'll just have to wait until it's available near me.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I still have not sure what the crinky leave Crypt is, but I think it is retrospiralis now. I got two of them and an Ozelot Sword today. I saw some other Crypts, but they were melting and wasn't sure if it's a good idea to buy Crypts that are melting or Crypts in the same tank as melting ones.

I also had a great surprise. It turns out that two of my bulbs are actually 50 Actinic - 50 Daylight! What difference does this make?

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I believe you don't want the 50 Actinic - 50 Daylight. You want something that is Daylight with a 5500-6700K. I believe actinic's are for saltwater and do nothing for freshwater planted. They can be used but its said they grow algae better than plants.

Tigermom

Well even if I "don't want them" as you say, the lights are going to stay; I got the whole set-up second hand years ago. Thanks for informing me, though.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I have a 50-actinic 50-Daylight and i still have some good plant growth. This is the first successful planted tank i have ever had actually. I do have some algae on the glass and the plants but it doesn't look too bad.

Although i did order a 6,700k daylight bulb i would still use the actinic if i had to.

Good luck!

†Aquapickle†

I've been doing some research and it appears that these lights really aren't that great. I'll keep with it for now, but the next time my LFS has a 25% off sale I'm hitting them up for four tubes of daylight bulbs. Probably after that I'll get some great growth, lol, considering how old my lights are.

The Ozelot Sword is dropping it's leaves, but I think they were the emersed leaves. The newer, probably immersed leaves do not appear to have changed, or at least they're not fading like the emersed leaves are.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.