Bitten the Bullet on Plants

[AquaBarb]

I think there might be a murder soon

My BN keeps parking himself onto the leaves and breaking them off their stems.......flippin' vandal keeps bouncing about from leaf to leaf. He is like a toddler testing everything out to get a reaction.....mischevious little blighter. Keep telling him to stop using the leaves as a trampoline but he ain't listening

Have rules all by themselves do Bn's

I remember having to rescape my 29g 3 times in a couple of months because of mine. Hes a good boy now tho his in a bigger tank

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Have rules all by themselves do Bn's

I remember having to rescape my 29g 3 times in a couple of months because of mine. Hes a good boy now tho his in a bigger tank

I can see now why artificial is so popular.......why didn't I do that?

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Well...sorry to all of your real plant purists but I have had enough of these plants.

Leaves going black and delaminating, turning skeletal overnight and messing up the water chemistry too

Before anyone says "well you should expect some die-off".....maybe so but not to extent that is going on and even the fish are not their usual selves.

Yes, I followed instructions about fertilising them and sticking them with proper plant glue etc etc etc

I refuse to risk the lives of my fish.....so tomorrow I have a delivery of artificial and the rocks/plants/wood in there now will be binned. I am actually trying to decide whether or not to bin them all today and leave the fish with just a bare aquarium for 24 hours.

So totally disappointed. Not what I expected at all. Anubias are meant to be one of the easy plants...well they are NOT. They are awful.

 

[seangee]

I think there might be a murder soon

My BN keeps parking himself onto the leaves and breaking them off their stems.......flippin' vandal keeps bouncing about from leaf to leaf. He is like a toddler testing everything out to get a reaction.....mischevious little blighter. Keep telling him to stop using the leaves as a trampoline but he ain't listening

He just does not like your arrangements. I spent weeks replanting things daily in different places until we agreed on a compromise but even after almost 20 years with the little bugger (well not so little anymore) I have to accept that some areas of the tank are his and planting anything there is just a waste of time.

Some really easy options:

1. Limnophila sessiliflora
2. Hygrophila Siamensis 53B
3. Hygrophila Costata (can get very big)

These all propogate by division - so if a bit breaks off plant it. You can still expect to have to replant regularly until the roots establish properly with a BN in the tank.
And my own favourite which you just chuck in the top is Limnobium laevigatum.

All currently in stock at https/www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/. Happened to still have their page open because I ordered frogbit yesterday and my usual goto site (Proshrimp) seems to be critically low on stock of anything at present.

 

[Wills]

Oh no sorry its not worked out Can you get any pictures to show us whats going on?

@seangee is Costata quite easy to get to convert to submerged growth in low tech? Think I fancy it in one of my tanks with the thinner leaves than Siamensis but everything I see is super emerged form and always worried how long it will take. Considering hunting it out on ebay or facebook as you do get people selling clippings.

Wills

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Oh no sorry its not worked out Can you get any pictures to show us whats going on?

@seangee is Costata quite easy to get to convert to submerged growth in low tech? Think I fancy it in one of my tanks with the thinner leaves than Siamensis but everything I see is super emerged form and always worried how long it will take. Considering hunting it out on ebay or facebook as you do get people selling clippings.

Wills

To prevent further harm to my fish, I just did an 80% water change and binned the lot. The fish now only have a very healthy wandering triffid (apongeton) that is over a foot tall but refuses to sit no matter how many times I ask it to sit, 6 sprouting bulbs (apongeton and tiger lotus), 6 moss balls and two ceramic coconut shell hide things in the aquarium...and obviously sand.

Tomorrow I have a delivery of artificial coming and on Friday some Hornwort from https://www.wetland-plants.co.uk/ that I have had success with in the past at providing cover etc.

I knew things would not work out. Bulbs and floaters, I am fine with but anything else....kiss of death. Frankly I admit to giving into pressure from those who were derogatory about my aquariums and my use of artificial. Three hundred quid down the swanny....c'est la vie.

 

[Playsander]

You can grow the Hornwort as a floater.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

You can grow the Hornwort as a floater.

I have always done that in the past, so will be doing the same this time around.

 

[seangee]

Oh no sorry its not worked out Can you get any pictures to show us whats going on?

@seangee is Costata quite easy to get to convert to submerged growth in low tech? Think I fancy it in one of my tanks with the thinner leaves than Siamensis but everything I see is super emerged form and always worried how long it will take. Considering hunting it out on ebay or facebook as you do get people selling clippings.

Wills

Don't remember which form I bought, but I had no problems and treated it exactly like siamensis. Once it started growing I kept nipping off the tips and replanting till I had a lot. I did end up chucking it and replacing with siamensis because it became quite unruly, but that could just be my lack of attention ... Once its established I tend to just "mow" it rather than replanting the clippings and removing the straggly straggling ones.

 

[Wills]

To prevent further harm to my fish, I just did an 80% water change and binned the lot. The fish now only have a very healthy wandering triffid (apongeton) that is over a foot tall but refuses to sit no matter how many times I ask it to sit, 6 sprouting bulbs (apongeton and tiger lotus), 6 moss balls and two ceramic coconut shell hide things in the aquarium...and obviously sand.

Tomorrow I have a delivery of artificial coming and on Friday some Hornwort from https://www.wetland-plants.co.uk/ that I have had success with in the past at providing cover etc.

I knew things would not work out. Bulbs and floaters, I am fine with but anything else....kiss of death. Frankly I admit to giving into pressure from those who were derogatory about my aquariums and my use of artificial. Three hundred quid down the swanny....c'est la vie.

I've totally changed on artificial in the last year or so, the stuff available now is amazing.

Don't underestimate your skill in growing bulbs though - I've never been able to get them going. I've got a Crinum in my tank at the moment that I'm not sure is surviving... but thats my best attempt so far.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I've totally changed on artificial in the last year or so, the stuff available now is amazing.

Don't underestimate your skill in growing bulbs though - I've never been able to get them going. I've got a Crinum in my tank at the moment that I'm not sure is surviving... but thats my best attempt so far.

When I took the rocks and plants etc out they had creatures on them that I have zero clue as to the ID

They were about 1cm long and the thickness of sewing thread, beige in colour and looked/behaved like a tiny leach or catepillar in that the back half of their body stayed anchored to the leaf and their front half sort of reared up and wiggled

I found several of them in leaves that had turned blacky/browny mush

Since I have no idea what they are I played it safe and removed every single rock, wood and plant....raked the sand and rinsed the moss balls. There are no signs of them on the bulbs but I am watching them.

The plants were individually celephane wrapped Tropica and Aquadip plants. I have notified ProShrimp as to the hitchikers.

I did not want my fish to suffer, so thats it. I am artificial plants and bulbs/floaters only and anyone who does not approve.....well....tough. I am NOT going to endanger my fish to please everyone else.

 

[Wills]

When I took the rocks and plants etc out they had creatures on them that I have zero clue as to the ID

They were about 1cm long and the thickness of sewing thread, beige in colour and looked/behaved like a tiny leach or catepillar in that the back half of their body stayed anchored to the leaf and their front half sort of reared up and wiggled

I found several of them in leaves that had turned blacky/browny mush

Since I have no idea what they are I played it safe and removed every single rock, wood and plant....raked the sand and rinsed the moss balls. There are no signs of them on the bulbs but I am watching them.

The plants were individually celephane wrapped Tropica and Aquadip plants. I have notified ProShrimp as to the hitchikers.

I did not want my fish to suffer, so thats it. I am artificial plants and bulbs/floaters only and anyone who does not approve.....well....tough. I am NOT going to endanger my fish to please everyone else.

Definitely you do what works for your beautiful fish

 

[Deleted member 149562]

My 53......with triffid Tiger Lotus and Apongeton loitering across the surface....everything else is artificial....fish are safe and healthy, thats all that matters to me.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Apart from the Hornwort that is due later today.......the 29 has now reverted to artificial with live bulbs....the fish are much happier, more active...and no more water chemistry imbalances

Plants are fine if they are right for you. But they are not right for everyone and the health of fish should always come first over what others might think you should be doing in your aquarium.

We are a little misty but that will settle in a day or two

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Two weeks later and the bulbs have gone crazy and have filled all the empty spaces, the Hornwort is doing well....and the fish are healthy, boisterous and doing brilliantly after the Anubia debacle

Fresh from a water change and lights too bright