Switching From Plastic To Live.

[Dulceman]

Ok so made the decision to go to live plants and eventually weed out the plastic ones. Today I got some Mondo grass, and am looking for suggestions on what else to put. The tank has been running for about 1.5 months and has had fish for about 1 month. It has 3 Red Wag swordtails and 1 Rainbow shark. Not sure if that helps but thought I would throw that in, also it's a 30 gallon

 

[minnnt]

Mondo Grass is non aquatic i believe?

 

[Dulceman]

Ok....just saw that you mentioned it being non aquatic, so did some research. It is non aquatic but I pulled it out of a tank and bought it at my local pet store. How funny. It's already planted so we'll see. Thanks

 

[colleen0309]

Watch for signs of it rotting. Get it out right away if it starts to rot or you will have water quality problems.

 

[Caprichoso]

Ok so made the decision to go to live plants and eventually weed out the plastic ones. Today I got some Mondo grass, and am looking for suggestions on what else to put. The tank has been running for about 1.5 months and has had fish for about 1 month. It has 3 Red Wag swordtails and 1 Rainbow shark. Not sure if that helps but thought I would throw that in, also it's a 30 gallon

Java fern, pygmy chain sword, amazon sword, hygrophilia(any of the varieties except sunset), anubias and crypt wendtii are a few of my favourite, low maintenance plants I've always had much success with them in all different light and nutrient conditions.

 

[minnnt]

Ok....just saw that you mentioned it being non aquatic, so did some research. It is non aquatic but I pulled it out of a tank and bought it at my local pet store. How funny. It's already planted so we'll see. Thanks

So you have been advised that it is non aquatic, you have seen for yourself it is non aquatic but you are still going to leave it in your tank to rot and cause water issues? There is just no helping some people!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Non-aquatic plants can live for a while fully submerged, but it will start to rot and cause issues. It really isn't worth it. Plants are cheap enough to be easily replaced. Just pull it out and don't cause yourself the headache (which is coming... probably when you least expect it).


Secondly, to know what types of plants would be best, it would help to know about your water parameters and your lighting situation. The size of your tank would also be very important. Rainbow sharks require fairly large tanks, enjoy heavily planted areas in the tank, some wood and rocks. Hopefully you have all those things (or at least are planning to plant an area thickly in the near future).


There are some very easy for beginner plants, but it would be easier to recommend plants if we knew the lighting situation. Some plants can thrive in low lights, others must have high light.

 

[Dulceman]

OK.....gonna pull out grass and plant in my front yard. I have a 30 gallon tank with a 15w Actinic blue light. It has a window about 50 feet in front, but no other windows in the room, so guess you could say its a dark area. It does have bright spot light above but hardly use those lights.Not sure what more you need.....

I have a pic of my tank in the forum under new tank and fish section

 

[eaglesaquarium]

0.5W/gallon is low light.

I'll post some plants in a little, but any mentioned in my sig will work for you and are easy to care for which is why I have them.

 

[librarygirl]

I just added live plants too and I have very low light. I was advised to get Anubias, Windelov, Java Fern, and Java moss. I learned a lesson a while back about buying plants from some pet/fish stores as the ones I bought were non-aquatic as well but didn't realize it until I got home and looked them up.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It's true. A lot of plants for sale at pet stores are semi-aquatic. The rule of thumb I use for plants is RESEARCH FIRST, BUY SECOND. (It's the same rule I use for buying fish.)


Low light plants that work well for beginners:

If I were you, I would start out with some Java Fern, Java Moss and Anubias. Each of these needs to be attached to something else though. They don't do well with their rhizome (fern and anubias) under the substrate.

Another good plant is Amazon Sword. These can grow quite large, but that will take a good amount of time before you have to worry about it under low light. These are also sold in varying sizes, so you can decide how much you are willing to spend and buy the size that fits your budget. It will grow, but you need to be patient. It won't get humungous though under low light, but it will get to a good size. Mine have been growing for about 6 months and have tripled in size, but they started off very small, so they are only about 8 inches tall now.

Then you can go with Cryptocorynes, Echonodorus.

Courtesy of lijdma06:

Crypts small - c. parva
Crypts mid-sized - lutea, lucens, wendtii (all three colors red, green, brown)
Crypts large - retrospiralis, spiralis, balansae

And then there is the simplest plant to grow of all... anacharis or elodea. These things will grow no matter what you do. In low light, you might see it melt back a bit (same for most stem plants) but once it gets used to the light present they will grow. My leaves are much smaller than the leaves that I had on it when I bought it, because of the lack of light, but they are now VERY quick growing. I have to trim it back every two weeks or so. If I don't it would probably grow straight out of my tank! It's fun, because I put it in front of my filter outflow, and they sway in the current and add different movement to the tank than the darting around of the fish.




You are going to want to sift through this link for a BUNCH of useful information on all things plants... including a thread on what Plants are for aquaria and which are not.

 

[ShaedM]

elodea plant is brillaint, leave it in your tank and it just grows! Asian Ambulia - grows in total darkness!! (ok maybe not total darkness) but it's a brilliant first time plant.

 

[minnnt]

Cabonba is also a great stem plant as it grows like the clappers. Amazon swords are not as easy to grow as you make out. They require a fair bit of nutrient and the right water conditions.

Crypts are fantastic plants though, once they have initially melted and acclimatised themselves with your water conditions they are great. There is also loads of varities to choose from.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Then I must be exceedingly lucky. I do nothing other than change the water and trim back the dying leaves.

 

[Dulceman]

It's true. A lot of plants for sale at pet stores are semi-aquatic. The rule of thumb I use for plants is RESEARCH FIRST, BUY SECOND. (It's the same rule I use for buying fish.)

Should've done that but I bought first since I was already there. And it looked so nice in the tank. I have it planted outside in front next to my ferns now......see if it does any better there. Since i have a large "Roman Arena" type decoration in my tank......is there a plant or moss that will grow on that? I know there are so many different types out there that need to grow on something....just wondering.