Plant Feed ?

[L_Plates]

Hello i have 2 plants in my tank they are in the following photo. My question is 2 questions really, what plants are they and will i need some substrate ?

Cheers
LP

 

[poley]

hi,
the one on the left looks like Cabomba Caroliniana the other on looks like Echinodorus Bleheri. tbh they are both easy to keep no need for a CO2 unit. a bit of info on them,
Cabomba Caroliniana

This plant is easy to keep, although out of water it travels badly.

It has a high Alleopathic factor, which may be useful in keeping algae at bay, but also can be an adverse factor to certain other plants.

Like many Aquarium Plants strong water circulation is important, as it will easily become slimy in still water. The temperature should be kept at the lower end of the range for best results.

Maintenance Class : This plant is classed as fairly easy to care for.

Tank Position : This plant is recommended for a background planting position.

This Plant Is Suited To The Following:

• A pH range between 6.0 and 7.2.
• Soft to Hard water attributes.
• Temperatures between 64° and 79° Fahrenheit (18° to 26° Celsius).
• High intensity lighting.

Echinodorus Bleheri

This plant is commonly known as Amazon Sword Originates from S. America.

Without any doubt the most popular Aquarium Plants of the large Echinodorus family, and deservedly so. The leaf colours can vary from a dark green, to a lime green shade.

It grows fast, and should be pruned periodically. Reproduction is by runners, which when they show small plantlets, can be cut and placed into the substrate to become a new plant.

Is very tolerant of a wide range of conditions. It is subject to a bacteria, that can cause the leaves to become pale brown and translucent.

If this occurs one should try a short dip in a 1% Permanganate solution, and if this does not quickly show improvement (2-3 days), then the plants should be discarded.

Over all though a highly recommended plant for mid to background decoration.

Maintenance Class : This plant is classed as fairly easy to care for.

Tank Position : This plant is recommended for a middleground / background planting position.

This Plant Is Suited To The Following:

• A pH range between 5.5 and 9.0.
• Soft to Hard water attributes.
• Temperatures between 68° and 86° Fahrenheit (20° to 30° Celsius).
• Medium to High intensity lighting.

hope this help jon

 

[L_Plates]

Poley thanks for the reply the names you supplied are spot on.

Will i need to feed them any fertilizer at all ?

Thanks
LP

 

[L_Plates]

My swords seem to be going a little patchy and see through, any ideas ?

Cheers LP

 

[L_Plates]

Would you recommend i use Flourish Excel and Trace ?

 

[StandbySetting]

patchy and see through would generally be a lack of the big 3 (N, P and K) and or CO2, how many watts of light are over the tank? And what kind of tubes, what is the volume of the tank?

 

[L_Plates]

The tank is 60l and it has a 15w compact Bright Day Light and a 15w compact Cool Blue.

 

[StandbySetting]

Certainly a lack of CO2 then, if you can try and block out one of the tubes by fitting a reflector to the underside of it, or add some floating plants to block out the light.

 

[L_Plates]

Thanks for the reply.

I only ever run 1 light at a time is the wattage still to much with one light on ? A light is on for 12-14 hrs a day.

 

[StandbySetting]

only run one tube, for a maximum of 8 hours a day, that is all you need, put it on a timer if you need to.

 

[L_Plates]

Thanks i will start to do this and see how they get on.

Cheers
LP

 

[L_Plates]

I am also currently cycling my new 240l tank and i have gravel in there at the moment but nothing else.

I am planning on adding some easy to keep plants and was wondering if you would recommend i added substrate under the gravel ?

I dont plan on going plant heavy maybe 12 - 20 plants all in.

I just dont want to make a mistake by not adding the substrate.

Cheers LP