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I would like my mom's 60-gallon tank to be more planted, but we haven't had much success with plants in there, I think a combination of fish nibbling the plants and fairly harsh conditions is to blame. So far, jungle vals, various medium to large swords, and java moss thrive. A couple aponogetons that I grew out in another tank from bulbs are doing ok, but showing signs of being eaten. I don't think I'd put crypts in there again - we got a large plug of them, and they either melted or were eaten down to stubs - they're starting to sprout back but I don't have high hopes for their long-term survival. Java fern is growing on some of the driftwood. Fish stocking is as follows:

2 Synodontis eupterus (one about full-size, one about 5" )
2 kribs (male and female)
2 pearl danios (survivors of a larger school)
4 giant danios
6 ottos
1 SAE
1 whiptail catfish

Light is moderate to high (I think), dosing with Excel although I think kind of irregularly (no other CO2), red Fluorite under at least an inch of plain gravel as substrate. Aquaclear filter has very high flow rate that has even uprooted some plants we've tried. Also has a BAD case of BBA, which the SAE seems to be keeping from spreading, but not really doing much against what's already there. The BBA has actually nearly killed a couple anubias, which I scrubbed thoroughly and moved to a different tank (where they're doing fairly well now).

So, what plants would be able to survive in this tank, besides the ones we've gotten to grow already (especially that might look different from the elongated/spear shaped green leaves of nearly all the ones we currently have)? Which of my fish might be nibbling the plants?

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Have you considered Anubias they are easy to grow and have a tough leaf. They must be grown onto either DW or rocks but they prefer DW.

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We've tried Anubias, but they've gotten covered in BBA faster than they grew, as well as appeared to be nibbled on.

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try some pothos plants...

they are common house plants and can be foated in the water...

you buy them from a hardware store or nursery and simply romove the soil and rinse WELL! and then you can simply just drop them in... do not try to put the roots in the cgravel as they will rot and keep an eye open for rottin peices as it was a terrestrial plant, but just needs to become accustomed to its new water territory... it will just thrive in any tank...

also try hornwort... it is cheap and easy to care for and thrives nearly everywhere.

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

Hi,
This is the second time I've see you mention "Pothos Plants"
I was absolutely certain you were misspelling, something.
So I looked it up and sure enough, you were correct!

However, these plants require periods of time when the
soil they are planted in, dries up - completely, and then
gets re-watered. These plants will not survive in an
aquatic setting, and possibly not in a terrarium either.

Here is a link on these plants (in general) and their care:

http://www.bachmans.com/tipsheets/indoor_plants/Pothos.cfm



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that is not always the case as manay people have them in a fully aquatic setting on FP and i am only one of the many...

although i dont argue that they prefer the soil to dry, they can adapt to be completly aquatic or live in a terranium and can adapt to nearly any enviro ment offered as long as water is available at some point...

fish patty is actually the one who told me about the qauatic nature of pothos and i tried it and it worked very well. the only thing is the established roots will rot out and make room for new aquatic roots...



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

Well, i have tried Pothos, or Devils Ivy as it is sometimes called, and i have had it for a good long time. As long as there is sufficent lighting, which is probably high, as it was a terrestrial plant, it will sustain itself. I wouldnt say thrive, but it certainly will grow. One thing you have to watch out for is to cut off any initial rot, as it is going to spread, as did with mine. IMO, pothos isnt the lovliest looking plant as it is thin very very sparcely leaved. You will do much better with the Anubias category of plants. They look better, and are truly aquatic. Besides, pothos grows just about as slowly in my tank as the Lancelot Anubias i have.

The crypts might have just melted due to a change in water chemistry. They are extremely, extremely, notorious for that, and it is very common too, unless you are very careful in the acclimation process. They will eventually grow back as long as teh metling chemical is removed via waterchanges. Their long term survival is actually pretty hopeful!

If you could remove all visable BBA, and scrub off any decor that has it, and clip off the infested leaves, then you can control it. You will have to put an end to the source though, and what it is, i do not know, but i do have a few theories, and many of them are common problems....

• You dont have a lot of fast growing plants that will suck up extra nutrients

• You are keeping the light on for more than 12 hours

• Your nitrates are high due to existant nitrates in your water supply or not enough weekly tank maintenance

• You may have farm fertilizer runoff in your water

Thats pretty much all i could come up with for the causes. You should check your water supply. If it isnt that, then you should put your light on a timer, and give it 3 bursts of light about 3-4 hours each, with an hour break in between. That will control the lighting aspect of the algae.

Finnally, i dont think that any of your fish could be nipping at the plants severly enough to kill them off. Maybe one of the bottom feeders, like the SAE or whiptail could be chewing a bit too hard? If you are having problems, you should try the starter pack of flourish brand fertilizers.

A few good high light to medium plants are:

Aponogeton madagascariensis, if you have particle free and clearish water. Needs at least 2wpg. Nice lace looking leaves.

Groundcover Plants, if you have high light, at least 3wpg. (IE: Riccia fluitans, Dwarf Haigrass, Glosso)

Stem Plants, if you have 2wpg, preferrably more for some. (IE: Water Wisteria, Anacharis, Moneywort, Ludwiga, etc.)

Those are just at the top of my head, and im sure that you know some or most of this. If you want pretty leaves that dont really need over 1wpg of lighting, Water Wisteria is one of my favorite ones. They grow fast to suck up nutrients, and are pretty! A definate A+ in my book!

Hope i could help, and sorry for the longish post!

~Goby




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Thanks for the recommendations so far, I will definitely be thinking about those plants.

We've tried a few different ground-cover plants (glosso, chain sword) with no luck because the current generated by the filter uprooted them very quickly.

I'm still open to more recommendations!

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The best plant which grows in my tanks is the wisteria.
It will grow right up to the top of the water so it's a good background plant. I nip off the tops which by then have roots all the way down the stem and plant those closer to the front where the khulis love the softness of it. I just keep the front ones trimmed.

I just added more gravel to my sparkling gourami tank and took up the plants to replant after the new gravel and one wisteria had fallen over at some time in the tank. It had rooted all the way along the stem and was one big plant with several stems all growing upwards. The wisteria seems to like low to average lighting. I do not fertilize or CO2.