Can I keep plants in a 24" tall tank?

There are some other good European plant growers now besides Tropica - Dennerle, Aquafleur, Aquaflora to name a few. One thing all these have in common is that their plants have not been treated with chemicals to kill snails so they are safe in tanks with shrimps and ornamental snails. Their plants are available through UK sellers.

@Essjay Thanks for the tip, widens the scope somewhat.

Going shopping at the weekend (promised my youngest that she can choose the next occupants for our tropical tank), so will look and see what's available locally. I prefer that to shopping online if I can, keeps the local shops in business, and lets you see what you're getting.

I seem to remember that Pets at Home, of all places, sell Tropica plants, though they may not be available at every branch.

Essjay said:

I seem to remember that Pets at Home, of all places, sell Tropica plants, though they may not be available at every branch.

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Ooh thanks for the tip. We have two of those near us. I'll ring in the morning and see what they have.

While root tabs will help certain plants i think the need for fertilizer is over-rated esp if you have messy fishes (gold fishes) and you do regular water changes.

I have used nilgoc fertilizer and root tabs as well as sachem and api root tab; but in most cases i find little need. I'm finding my plants grow quite well in ro water with minimal fishes. Something to consider.

Unfortunately you have gold fishes so i will let twotank make the recommendation - i think most of the plants i grow would be a nice snack for your fishes - though i'm really happy with my ruffle sword which has a thicker leaf so maybe the gold fishes might leave it alone.

This is my discus tank which is ro water (wild caught discus); it has been setup for around 6 months so not a mature tank but the plants are growing well

(we think the discus might have worms so will treat them soon)






These are my ruffle sword plants;

Yossu said:

Love the idea of the terracotta pots. What sort f medium do you put in them, and how do you stop it coming out into the main tank? Wouldn't work for things like vallis, as they send out runners, which would leave the pot, but great idea for single plants.

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I used some old Fluval stratum (aqua soil) that I had used in a previous tank. To stop the soil from coming out I used a 1cm thick filter sponge cut to fit the bottom. This allows for water to pass through top to bottom, roots can also use the sponge to hold on to if any fish decide to start excavating . I used dwarf Sagittaria in a pot that sent out runners constantly. I never had any issues and if any runners did creep out of the pot I cut them off so the plant remained in the pot.


For soil there are cheaper options just make sure it is the granular kind and not powder.

Thanks to both of you for the replies. I'll see what I can find at the weekend and give it a go.

@anewbie Those tanks look stunning! I'd love to keep discus and/or rays, but apart from not having the money of space for a big enough tank, I don't have the skills for such fish. Sticking to goldfish and regular tropicals! Just out of interest, how big is the tank in the second picture? Can't work out if it's really deep, or if that's a reflection that makes it look twice as deep as it actually is.

The 2nd p

Yossu said:

Thanks to both of you for the replies. I'll see what I can find at the weekend and give it a go.

@anewbie Those tanks look stunning! I'd love to keep discus and/or rays, but apart from not having the money of space for a big enough tank, I don't have the skills for such fish. Sticking to goldfish and regular tropicals! Just out of interest, how big is the tank in the second picture? Can't work out if it's really deep, or if that's a reflection that makes it look twice as deep as it actually is.

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The 2nd picture you are looking at a 4ft wide end (48 inch) and the length of the tank is 10ft (120 inches). The two ruffle are at the front on the left with flower stalks. Combined they take up around 20 inches.

Btw all my tanks have inert substrate and plants seem to grow fine in it. That doesn't meant they wouldn't look nicer or grow faster in soil but ....

anewbie said:

The 2nd picture you are looking at a 4ft wide end (48 inch) and the length of the tank is 10ft (120 inches). The two ruffle are at the front on the left with flower stalks. Combined they take up around 20 inches.

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Wow, that's a big tank! I wish I had the space for one of those. Mind you, I suspect certain young people round here would use it as a paddling pool!

anewbie said:

Btw all my tanks have inert substrate and plants seem to grow fine in it. That doesn't meant they wouldn't look nicer or grow faster in soil but ....

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That's good to know. I guess sand is pretty inert (), so there's hope for me yet.

Thanks again