Live Plants
- Thread starter Fish Bones
- Start date
It depends some are easier to manage than others, and depends if the cichlids you are keeping will let them grow some with eat them some will uproot them just for fun
Well, cichlids are just a thought right now, but i dont want to invest a ton of money right off, and ive read that you need special lights and CO2 for plants so that may be awhile down the road.
If you are interested in them than yes. Go for it. But it's good to start out with low maintenance plants, and make sure you choose wisely when it comes to the tank inhabitants.
Live plants are a great idea for any aquarium, assuming, like Alex said, you don't have fish that will destroy them. Plants will help remove harmful nitrogen compounds from the water, especially if you have species that will grow quickly and constantly reproduce, like water sprite or hornwort. Those two species in particular are also great because you can just let them float at the surface of the water and forget about them (and they actually grow better this way, as opposed to planting them in the substrate), and if you're keeping skittish or nocturnal fish, they will appreciate the shade that these plants provide.
Another good plant to buy is Anubias. Anubias grow extremely slowly, so they won't absorb as much nitrogen, but they're very hard to kill, so they're nice to have for decorative purposes in a beginner tank. The one thing to remember with Anubias is that you can't bury the rhizome (the horizontal structure that the roots grow out of). The best way to plant them is to tie them to rocks or driftwood with thread; it's actually not even necessary to bury the roots in the substrate.
And if you do want plants that you can actually plant in the substrate, you can always look into the various species of Hygrophila, Cryptocoryne, Ludwigia, Rotala, Vallisneria, Hemianthus, etc. You'll just have to make sure that the specific species you're looking at is recommended for beginners. If you do a Google search like "Hygrophila for beginners," you'll be able to find several suitable species.
The most important thing for you to have success with plants is going to be to avoid letting algae get out of hand. Algae will compete with the plants for resources, and if the conditions aren't right, algae will always win in the end. As long as you make sure your aquarium isn't exposed to natural light (i.e. near a window), you don't leave your lights on for more than 8 hours per day, and you keep an adequate water change schedule, you probably won't have any issues with algae.
Another good plant to buy is Anubias. Anubias grow extremely slowly, so they won't absorb as much nitrogen, but they're very hard to kill, so they're nice to have for decorative purposes in a beginner tank. The one thing to remember with Anubias is that you can't bury the rhizome (the horizontal structure that the roots grow out of). The best way to plant them is to tie them to rocks or driftwood with thread; it's actually not even necessary to bury the roots in the substrate.
And if you do want plants that you can actually plant in the substrate, you can always look into the various species of Hygrophila, Cryptocoryne, Ludwigia, Rotala, Vallisneria, Hemianthus, etc. You'll just have to make sure that the specific species you're looking at is recommended for beginners. If you do a Google search like "Hygrophila for beginners," you'll be able to find several suitable species.
The most important thing for you to have success with plants is going to be to avoid letting algae get out of hand. Algae will compete with the plants for resources, and if the conditions aren't right, algae will always win in the end. As long as you make sure your aquarium isn't exposed to natural light (i.e. near a window), you don't leave your lights on for more than 8 hours per day, and you keep an adequate water change schedule, you probably won't have any issues with algae.
There are actually many plants that don't require any special lighting or pressurized CO2. Any plant that is recommended for beginners is going to do fine in a standard aquarium setup, without any special equipment. In fact, stronger lights, fertilizers, and pressurized CO2 actually make plant-keeping much more challenging and complicated, so that's probably best left to the advanced keepers.
Easiest plants to care for? The various anubias and java ferns. Tie them to rocks or driftwood. Make sure that you don't bury the rhysomes, or they will slowly die.
I would say they are great for the aquarium, just started with plants in my recently. They look great! and are good for the aquarium. However I personally would get some experience first, just to get the hang of taking care of an aquarium prior to doing plants. It just adds another variable that you have to think of. Once you feel comfortable with taking care of an aquarium, then make the jump to planted. But that is just me.
Hello; CO2 is not required. I have three nicely planted tanks right now and have had many such tanks over the years.
Also I have never used special lights. I started using screw in incandesnt bulbs 50 years ago, modifies my hoods to fit CFL bulbs and lately am using screw in LED bulbs. All have grown plants for me.
