Member

Posts: 158
From:Marysville, CA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-26-2004 03:00 PM         

---

I recently ordered three live aquarium plants from a site online. I am curious if anyone has done this in the past and what their experiences have been? Do your plants usually arrive in good condition? Do you get large plants?

Also, I was hoping to put a plant called "Ludwigia repens" in with my African cichlid because that tank is much brighter than my community tank. I currently have 30 watts of light on that tank and only 15 watts on my 20 gallon. Which tank would be better? Thanks for any info!

IP: Logged

Member

Posts: 146
From:canada
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-26-2004 10:49 PM         

---

hi,
What kind of African Chiclid do you have? I have heard that they are known for up-rooting live plants.

I just recently added live plants and they do make a big difference in an aquarium.

Cheers

IP: Logged

Member

Posts: 266
From:Canada
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 02-27-2004 07:35 AM         

---

What size tank is the 30watts on? You should have about 2-3 watts per gallon for a low to average needs plant. Are your lights flourescent or incandescent and what's the max. wattage for your canopy?

IP: Logged

Member

Posts: 158
From:Marysville, CA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-27-2004 09:22 AM         

---

The thirty watts is on a ten gallon tank that houses 1 evil melanochromis auratus cichlid. She does uproot the plastic plants in one corner of the tank where her cave is but leaves the rest of the tank alone. The hood is an incadescent hood but I have flourescent lights from Wal-Mart that screw into them. It says there is a maximum of 50 watts on the hood.

My 20 gallon tank only has live plants and although the lighting is dim they seem to be growing just fine. I add a fertilizer once per month and the light is a purplish color the fish store told me the plants would love. I leave the lights on both tanks about 15 hours per day.

IP: Logged

Member

Posts: 158
From:Marysville, CA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-27-2004 09:22 AM         

---

Oops, hit the button twice, sorry.

[This message has been edited by tina1 (edited 02-27-2004).]

IP: Logged

Member

Posts: 266
From:Canada
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 02-27-2004 10:23 AM         

---

I likely have the same lights on my 20 gallon. I find they work OK, although they'd probably be better if I found ones with a higher Kelvin rating or adapted the hood to a flourescent fixture. It's only moderately heavily planted though, so there's minimal shading etc.

Good luck!

IP: Logged

Member

Posts: 146
From:canada
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-27-2004 12:15 PM         

---

Hi Tina
I was wondering if you had suggestions for middle and front aquarium live plants that grow well...with little care? I have background plants that are doing well but would like to find other sizes. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

IP: Logged

Member

Posts: 158
From:Marysville, CA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-27-2004 01:31 PM         

---

Honestly most of the plants that I grow in my aquarium are potted ones from Wal-Mart that never have any identifying information with them. I know one is a wisteria but that's the only one I know for sure. In the foreground for my tank I think I have an Anubia, when I bought it the girl at the pet store told me it was an Amazon sword and only charged me $2 for it. But after looking online it definitly looks like an Anubia. I like it because it gets little green flowers, grows very slowly, and I never have to do anything special to it.

I give my plants a fertilizer with iron and other trace elements only once a month because when I was following the directions of once per week I poisoned my fish. The plants I purchased online were the Ludwigia repens, hornwort, and a foxtail. They were all listed as middle ground, hardy, and would do well with little care. That's why I picked 'em! I also love banana plants for a forground plant but they don't always do that well for me. They're cheap though, $1.99 at Petsmart. Hope that helps, good luck!

IP: Logged

Member

Posts: 146
From:canada
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-27-2004 11:53 PM         

---

hey Tina,
Thanks for the information. I just recently got Hornwort and it grows A LOT! I dont have adequate lighting either and I have never used any fertilizer. Word of warning...put it in the back because it grows very tall, very quickly. You can also take cuttings and let it float on the top. They dont need roots to survive.
Hope you get your plants in good condition!

when you buy potted plants, do you take them out of the pots or just shove them in the gravel?
Thanks

[This message has been edited by fishybiz (edited 02-28-2004).]

IP: Logged

Member

Posts: 158
From:Marysville, CA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-28-2004 06:42 PM         

---

I take them out of the pots and take all the pot filling stuff out of them. I really only buy them because they seem to be better established and grow faster. Thanks for the info on the hornwort. I got my plants today and they look great. I planted them in a fake rock that doubles as a planter and my vision of an actual "planted tank" is finally starting to be.

IP: Logged

Member

Posts: 146
From:canada
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-28-2004 07:10 PM         

---

Oh, I took mine out of the pot as well, then I read up on it and the fuzzy stuff is some kind of whool that has fertilizer in it...so I put it back in and planted the pot and all. Should I take it back out again? I know what you mean about having a vision of a planted aquarium. Mine is starting to take shape as well. I have noticed all of the plants are basically the same colour - light green and dark green. If you would like a really good web site for plants, go to:
http://www.tropica.com/default.asp

I found it to be really helpful.
Maybe you could post a picture of your newly planted aquarium on here sometime.
Regards!

IP: Logged

Member

Posts: 277
From: Indy
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 02-28-2004 08:50 PM         

---

"The thirty watts is on a ten gallon tank that houses 1 evil melanochromis auratus cichlid."

---------------------------------------------
Tina, your right this is one evil fish. I had one that would kill anything I put in the tank with it. It would even flip over a pleco and eat out it's insides. I like a variety of fish aggressive and peaceful but this guy was off the hook.

------------------
James (The Grateful One)

IP: Logged

Member

Posts: 158
From:Marysville, CA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-29-2004 06:44 PM         

---

gr8fuljames: he is evil! But I love him anyway, and I've actually been told that it's a girl and their not as aggressive. Whatever! And unfortunately I'm somehow not smart enough to post a picture yet. Maybe I'll figure it out someday. Thanks for the link fishybiz I'll check it out.

IP: Logged

All times are ET (US)