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Starting up a freshwater tank and need advice

Look for a rhizome (it looks like a 'horizontal stem').... If the leaves are growing out of a rhizome... and then there's long green roots coming off that as well, then it's anubias. It does appear to be anubias to me. BUt, the key is to check the plant. The rhizome will be fairly obvious if you dig it out just a bit.

anubias-nana-roots-rhizome.jpg
 
I don't think the plant in post #120 is Anubias. It may be a stem plant, or perhaps more likely a Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii) which is not a true aquatic plant but seems to be readily available as such. It can survive submersed for months, even years, according to sources.
 
Nicola Main said:
Echinodorus rings a bell ... I'm sure it's a type of that.
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That is not a species of Echinodorus, that I am certain of. But you couldhelp narrow this down...are there individual stems with roots at the base, or are those stems all joined together with a crown?
 
OK so I have had the plant confirmed by Fishkeeper Scotland as Lobelia cardinalis https://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/lobelia-cardinalis-586-p.asp and they have also put in my request for Salt and Pepper Corys and Sparkling Gouramis the next time they do an order for fish they will put my request in with the rest so at least I know I will be getting the types I've fallen in love with! Just have to wait a few weeks but all good! I can get my group of Tetras or Rasboras at the store first then introduce the rest when they are ready :) Woohoo it's all coming together xxx
 
That is a stem plant. Glad you pinned it down.
 
Nicola Main said:


Do you think I should get more plants? I realise I am getting Sparkling Gouramis and they need a lot of cover. Also is there anything I can use to help keep my plants healthy? Or should I wait until I'm fully cycled?
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You must have floating plants for the gourami or they will be severely stressed. Water Sprite is the best as it is native to their habitat and it grows thick root masses and the fronds (leaves) grow rapidly. Frogbit, Water Lettuce can also work though these3 are not as good as Water Sprite (Ceratopteris cornuta). Some stem plants allowed to just grow floating also provide what you need; Brazilian Pennywort and Wisteria (Hygrophila difformis) are two of the best for this.

Plant fertilizer is going to be essential now as this is a new tank and you have very few natural nutrients. These occur from fish foods that pass through the fish and in the substrate the waste is broken down by bacteria (snails first speeds this up). Flourish Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium (Seachem) or FlorinMulti (Brightwell Aquatics) are two comprehensive supplements, and you use very little. These (whichever) willhelp your floating plants and stem plants rooted in the substrate.

I would get a couple more chunks of wood. This always settles fish faster as they like hiding places and feel safer.
 
Along those lines as what Byron said... be careful the wood you choose. Mopani is great, and will fill the tank with tannins, which will darken the water to a 'tea' color, and this will also cut down the light a bit, and provide the fish with some stress fighters.
 

Thanks guys you're brilliant and have been so helpful! Have ordered the Seachem which should be arriving later in the week. I calculated the dosage I will need via their website and it is 1.2ml. I received an email this morning from DHL saying the black background I ordered is coming this afternoon so will get that on. If I get water sprite can I just leave it floating on the top or do I need to cut the roots? I don't want it to take over the tank so how do I control it?
 
All you need to do to keep any floating plant under control is to remove some when it starts to take over. I throw mine in the compost bin.

Leave the roots there, let them hang down into the water. Fish will browse for bits of food among them. You can trim them if they get too long.


A 1ml syringe or pipette is useful for measuring small doses. It's hard to measure accurately using a cap. I have a pack of 1 ml pipettes from Ebay marked in 1/4 mls and I also have 1 ml syringes from the local pharmacist - these are particularly useful as they are graduated in 100th of a ml. Ask for a babies' medicine dosing syringe (they'll give you the third degree if you ask just for a syringe)
 
I would suggest going on YouTube and spend some time there you can search 10 best fish for a beginner.it has a ton of useful resources and there's a guy on there name Cory from aquatic co-op... A lot of times I've just let YouTube run in the background while I'm working around the house.. there's a ton of info about each and every species of fish you can think of.
As for Cory catfish? you can get away with two or three it doesn't have to be a school of 10. I have 4 in a 20 gallon and one refuses to hang out with the rest of the cory's unless it's meal Time. I named him James Dean Welcome to The fish world good luck
 
Cories need to be in a group of at least 6. They live in groups of hundreds in the wild and the need to be in a group is hard-wired into their DNA. "Getting away with" two or three does not mean the cories are thriving, just surviving. We should aim to fulfil the requirements of the fish we keep, even if that means keeping more than we would like.


One other comment - just because someone posts something on their website or a video on YouTube doesn't mean the information is correct. Always check with a site that is written by fish experts not just fish keepers. For most species this means http://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ or https://www.fishbase.se/search.php (though FishBase gives little information on how to keep fish)
 
I definitely hope to have around ten S&P corys ;) and the four to six Sparkling Gouramis. I just need to wait to find out if the store can source them for me with their next order. It might even be months before I get them but I'd rather wait.
 
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