Newbie Planter...

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rsandelius

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 28, 2005
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Detroit, MI
Alright... I want to try out plants. I just went out and bought some what the guy at the LFS called "shade plants" that he said the 30w (I think) bulb on my walmart-style hood that I have. I got three bunches of what appears to be something called "Ambulia" and a couple of what I also think is called a "Java Fern" (the guy recommended rubber-banding it to my lava rock because it would anchor itself and creep along as it grew).

I have the light scheduled on a 16 hour on, 8 hour off cycle via a timer. I don't know if it matters, but I also leave the picture window blinds open during the day, too, so I'm sure it's picking up a little bit of natural light from there, as well.

Take a look at my signature... do you think any of my fish are going to eat the plants?

How are other bichir owners with planted tanks handling the huge amounts of wattage for lights, considering that bichirs prefer more subdued lighting?

So... have I doomed myself? Do I need a new bulb? Do I need to fertilize? Do I need CO2?

Maybe the guy was just trying to make a sale, but he said that these plants wouldn't necessarily grow like crazy, but they would live well under my current settings. Think he's right?
 
rsandelius said:
Alright... I want to try out plants. I just went out and bought some what the guy at the LFS called "shade plants" that he said the 30w (I think) bulb on my walmart-style hood that I have. I got three bunches of what appears to be something called "Ambulia" and a couple of what I also think is called a "Java Fern" (the guy recommended rubber-banding it to my lava rock because it would anchor itself and creep along as it grew).

I have the light scheduled on a 16 hour on, 8 hour off cycle via a timer. I don't know if it matters, but I also leave the picture window blinds open during the day, too, so I'm sure it's picking up a little bit of natural light from there, as well.

Take a look at my signature... do you think any of my fish are going to eat the plants?

How are other bichir owners with planted tanks handling the huge amounts of wattage for lights, considering that bichirs prefer more subdued lighting?

So... have I doomed myself? Do I need a new bulb? Do I need to fertilize? Do I need CO2?

Maybe the guy was just trying to make a sale, but he said that these plants wouldn't necessarily grow like crazy, but they would live well under my current settings. Think he's right?
Click to expand...

i would cut back tremendously on your lighting. 12 hours at the most is all you need. the only problem animal i see are going to be the snails. if i'm not mistaken, they will eat your plants. 30 watts for a 29 gallon tank isn't that much. that's about a watt per gallon. enough for the plants that you listed. i.e. they don't need that much lighting to grow. however, if you DO want to get a little more into it as it sounds that way, i would check out a pc light. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9871&N=2004+113345 the fert and CO2 you can hold off on. i would only add the fert if i needed it and wouldnt' get into the CO2 until you get more into planting. but that's all imo.
 
Excellent! I will cut back on the light cycle (might let it go at the current schedule to help out with setting down roots, if you think that would help) as per your thoughts.
So you think the plants will help clean up the bottom even better than the snails? I don't have any problems with the snails eating a little bit, but if they're going to clean out the tank... then yeah. That'll be no good.

How do crayfish interact with plants, btw?
 
I have my lights on for 12-15 hours a day, but I have quite a few light intensive plants. Depending on how much you want the plants to grow/takeover the more requirements you willl have. Anubias grow very slowly. My java fern is kept in full light and grows tremendously. As to the bichir, provide it some wood to hide under, and there shouldn't be any problems.
 
Yeah... I'm working on finding some inexpensive driftwood to soak for a week or two to sink down in there.

I'm finding how amazingly DIFFERENT a tank looks when it has live plants instead of plastic... mind blowing!
 
Yeah, I never have had a tank that had fake plants in it. They either have real plants, or none at all.
 
i'm not 100% sure that the snails will destroy them completely, but i do believe i have been told this by someone. also the crawfish, in my personal experience with them, is a bad idea. they also will eat the plants. as wyldfya stated, having your lighting on for 12-15 hours a day is a good thing. but he has dependent plants. i don't believe that you do, so why try to fix something that's not broken so to speak? i think having it on for that much now is alright, but unless you get more and more plants, i would cut back. i just think that too much will give you a bad experience with algae and you'll get frustrated. plecos (that dont eat plants) are great fertilizers!
 
I'm not worried about algae... I've got alot of current in the tank. And a pleco is out of the question, due to the pleco possibly trying to suck on the bichirs slime coat.

And I don't need a pleco to produce fertilizer... between the botia and the CAE, I've got enough turds in my tank... lol

Do ghost shrimp eat plants?
 
rsandelius said:
between the botia and the CAE, I've got enough turds in my tank... lol

Do ghost shrimp eat plants?
Click to expand...
:ROFL: lolll. no, ghost shrimp will not eat the plants. actually they're awesome for planted tanks. i think your bichir might make himself a snack with them though. ;)
 
Sure... I've been feeding him ghosties for a long time... I just didn't want to start an infestation...
 
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