Live Plants

[55gal]

My dad and i wanted to get some live plants for our fish tank, we like the look better and we were hoping it would provide some cover for fish eggs. Anyway, we got one plant to see how it went and it has since died. Parts started turning brown and the leaves were littering the tank. I'm not sure of the species but it looked a lot like this http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di....cfm?pCatId=796

What causes them to die and what can i do to prevent it? We really want to try again.

 

[Leitch]

Dont you need to feed them with some sort of chemical?

Im not totally sure.

 

[afishdude]

it was probably cabomba or something like that, anywase it need ALOT of light. 2.5wpg+ and it also needs plant ferts and c02 to grow properly. if you want some nice plants i suggest you get hornwort. or java fern, or even a sword plant.

 

[three-fingers]

It really does depend what species it is, if it is cabomba, the most likely issue is lighting or fish ripping it apart. How much lighting does your tank have, and is it florescent?

 

[BigC]

Keeping live plants (sucessfully) in an aquarium is quite an art form. Approach George Farmer (plant section mod) on this forum for more indepth details.
There are various aspects such as substrate, lighting CO2 and flow and neutrients all come into play. Whilst you can get growth to some extent with deficiencies in certain areas but it will be no where near as what you could expect if everything was in equalibrium.

 

[afishdude]

george farmer helped me out alot when i was first starting planted tanks. i would suggest pm'img him and asking for some info.

 

[loachman]

Is your water soft or hard?

Most tank lights purchased with kits are insufficient for most plants.

Is the plant in a high flow region?

Do you have a gravel substrate? Most plants benefit from an enriched substrate, I'm not sure if cabomda is one though.

 

[George Farmer]

george farmer helped me out alot when i was first starting planted tanks. i would suggest pm'img him and asking for some info.

Or ask questions in the planted forum...