Going planted- what to get?

[LS2012]

No problem I don't mind, as a matter of fact, I have a couple of pothos in this tank too and I'm also interested in ur trial LS. Did it out compete the aquatic plants? Mine aren't doing too well because of lack of light probably, I'm planing on getting a small CFL lamp just for them, but I don't want them to hurt the aquatic plants

I'm not that skilled in aquarium plants, but I do have quite a bit of gardening experience...
I don't see how pothos would outcompete or hurt the other plants, especially with the size of your tank, eventual bioload and type of fish you've got in there. I like pothos for a few reasons; looks good, inexpensive, easy to grow and helps reduce nitrates. The biggest challenges I've personally experienced with aquatic plants are lack of appropriate tank light and my fish eating/uprooting almost everything. I've tried pothos in 2 tanks. First, my 36 gallon tank with black sand, low led lights, no ferts. Its a growout tank for my Ptychochromis sp.'tarantsy' and is close to a full window with great morning light. As you can see below, the pothos are doing well. Re, outcompeting - its the only plant my ptychos didn't eat! In my second attempt, my 110g, the pothos were there for about 3 months. Short version, I didn't use the correct method to attach them, made a mess and failed miserably. My trials aren't the best example, but I'm ready for phase two.

Ultimately, if you think your pothos are outcompeting the aquatic plants, you can trim or move them. Hope this helps!

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[LS2012]

Sorry, more problems posting through mfk app. Hope it works this time







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[convict360]

Anubias x10

Tie onto anything above gravel, forget about, short time later you have a fantastic looking plant that most fish tend to leave uneaten.

 

[RBoydIV]

With the right lights and substrate you can make almost anything grow. The only reason I have found for pressurized Co2 was for ground cover like baby tears. Aquariumplants.com offers a great cheap substrate . It is light and my cichlids love digging in it.
Also remember that cichlids and other fish will eat certain plants. My silver dollars shred anything but crypts and Anubis. Loved my Val's ate them over pellets until they were gone.

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[alexanian]

Thank you LS for sharing ur experience. By the way what r those plants in the 3rd pic, I really like how they look.

Anubias x10

Tie onto anything above gravel, forget about, short time later you have a fantastic looking plant that most fish tend to leave uneaten.

I heard a lot of good things about anubias, I think I'll probably try some. Thanks for the tip

With the right lights and substrate you can make almost anything grow. The only reason I have found for pressurized Co2 was for ground cover like baby tears. Aquariumplants.com offers a great cheap substrate . It is light and my cichlids love digging in it.
Also remember that cichlids and other fish will eat certain plants. My silver dollars shred anything but crypts and Anubis. Loved my Val's ate them over pellets until they were gone.

Too bad about the vals I like how they look in the background for now there isn't any available we'll see in the future. For now I'm thinking to get, in addition to the crypt and moss, a few anubias and maybe a fern or swords. I got the T5 bulbs for lights but I still didn't install them, I'm making a fixture for them. As far as the substrate goes it's sand and the best I can get is clay potting soil to place under the sand. Hopefully everything will work out.

 

[LS2012]

Thank you LS for sharing ur experience. By the way what r those plants in the 3rd pic, I really like how they look.

You're welcome! That's the plant I referred to in an earlier post. Willow hygro
There's also a few anubias, banana plant and bronze wendtii. I'm about to do an overhaul on that tank now that I finally have appropriate lighting.



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[Rosiewhatsis]

I've got Anubias nana, some narrow leaf Anubias, amazon sword, a fern that starts with a b...?, a couple of mossy balls of some kind and I am lighting with 2 10 watt mini bulbs. Never used fert, no co2, doing nothing special and they're alive 4 months now. Not much growth but I'm not surprised at that. They look pretty healthy. Probably most of those will work. Why do you think you failed in the past?

anubias doesn't care about substrate. The whole plant is above the substrate, tied to driftwood or a rock. My neons like to hide in the roots.

 

[convict360]

Everyone should try anubias in their tanks at least once, its like the Oscar of the aquatic plant world

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