plants

[sparklingcolorsafw]

Are live plants good for your fish tank? And when they grow how do you do a 100% water change if need be?

 

[Gunnie]

Live plants are very good for your tank. However, you don't say what kind of fish you have in this tank, and many fish will eat plants or terrorize them, so saying yes is a general answer. You could do a 100% water change with plants. It just might be hard to refill the tank without your plants getting dislodged while you are refilling the tank. What fish are in this tank?

 

[clutterydrawer]

Plants rule

They look great, they reduce nitrates, the increase the surface area on which benefical bacteria can grow, they add oxygen to the water, they provide shade and shelter for the fish making them feel more secure.

You should never do a 100% water change. are you thinking of doing one, and if so, why?

If you are thinking of getting some live plants you need to get ones that are suitable for your tank. often people get ones that are hard to take care of, so they die and pollute the tank.

 

[Lateral Line]

Yes, in general, plants are good for tanks. They, like fish, take some looking after, and not all setups work with plants, (cichlids, brackish etc.).

I can't think of a reason to do 100% water change, sounds very dubious.

 

[Timmy]

If you did a 100% water change I would think the plants will be OK for an hour or two - but I'd worry about the fish

Seriously though, my tank is heavily planted and moderately stocked and with a weekly 10% water change my Nitrate readings are zero. I have a lot of Hygrophila and that really seems to soak up Nitrates and is easy to grow. A recommended plant.

 

[blue_ram]

Are live plants good for your fish tank? And when they grow how do you do a 100% water change if need be?

Plants are great, provided that you have enough light for them. Your standard aquarium hood with fluorescent lamp isn't enough for MOST plants.

Also, just as you can't throw any fish in the aquarium and expect them to get along, you can't thow just any plants in the aquarium and expect them to do well. You'll have to plan carefully so that all plants have similar requirements. It's a bad idea to keep plants that require very high light requirements with those that require subdued light.

I had the best results when I setup the plants first, and added the fish slowly until I got just the right amount of Nitrate concentration in the water. Unfortunately, I found that heavy fish population results in algae.

Do a little research, and read up on it before investing time and money into plants.

 

[willywonka099]

Yes they have many advantages .... But as it was said before alot of fish will uproot them and things .... You can get floating plants for dirt cheap ... they sell them in bunches for $2 a piece at my lfs ... and had a sell ALL potted plants 2.88$ (u.s. $) .... If you can get them that cheap don't worry about lighting that much unless you don't have much time or money ... You could experament with some cheap plants and get a generall idea of what you want ... A good place too get alot of great deals on plants is aquabid.com

 

[sparklingcolorsafw]

I have two rosy reds, a light colored mystery snail, an albino frog, a small pleco, and 5 ghost shrimp. I was thinking about planting Hardy Aponogeton Bulbs, and a lily plant or something like that.

 

[lucky62]

Yes, in general, plants are good for tanks. They, like fish, take some looking after, and not all setups work with plants, (cichlids, brackish etc.).

I can't think of a reason to do 100% water change, sounds very dubious.

couldn't agree more .

Live plants are great , it's nice to look at tank with dense plantings, the fish [IMO] look better around live plants .

I believe my fish feel happier with live plants , that's what I believe anyway

Things would have to be pretty bad to do a 100% water change .

weekly water changes are really one of the top priorities in good fish and plant keeping .

10 to 20%A week [ IMO ] in a light to moderately stocked tank will give you a very stable ecosystem [ with fish is what I mean ].

 

[sparklingcolorsafw]

I'm leaving for two weeks, and don't know what my fish tank is going to look like when I get back. Though I'm going to do a 50% water change before I leave.

 

[nzmbunaz]

i have cichlids and apparently the dont harm java ferns.
currently my tank contains no plants but if u suggest some plants i may consider changing the ways of my tank.