beginning of my planted tank

[phillyofish]

here is a pic of the plants that I got from the auction and from Tom yesterday.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j248/phillyofish/DSC03198.jpg
let me know what you think. how do the people that have java moss in the tanks have it kept?

[phillyofish]

thoughts...anyone, suggestions. any good sites for plants?

[TKC747]

I think you have it better managed than I, but with me, the java moss kept getting drawn to the intake of my filter, so what I did was put up a tank divider and put the moss in that compartment. So it was kinda like a refugium but your set up looks totally so much better,

Congratulations

Tom C.

[CrabbyMatty]

Sam, is the broad leaf plant in the photo the one that Bill explained is hardy with african cichlids?

Matt

here is a pic of the plants that I got from the auction and from Tom yesterday.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j248/phillyofish/DSC03198.jpg
let me know what you think. how do the people that have java moss in the tanks have it kept?

[phillyofish]

That is an ozelot sword

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/plants/RosettePlants/OzelotSword.php

this and anubias are good candidates for cichlid tanks.

[phillyofish]

I used black zip ties to secure the java moss to the driftwood. once it has secured itself I will remove the ties.

[emartin]

Sam, is the broad leaf plant in the photo the one that Bill explained is hardy with african cichlids?

Matt

Matt,
Amazon Sword plants can live fine with non-herbivorous africans but they can be sensitive. They always died on me, but I never had CO2 added to the water or ANY fertilizers so that may be why. Sword Plants need a LOT of light though, and that light will produce hair algae so you need hair algae eaters. Siamese Algae Eaters/Flying Foxes work but you have to make sure your haps don't eat them. I can get you 4-6" Siamese Algae eaters if you need any, I have a couple around that size.

The plant that ALWAYS seems to do well and is impossible to kill (and LOVES low light conditions) is Anubias and Java Fern.

Anubias is the one Bill referred to. I've had Anubias in all my grow out tanks and display tanks for close to four years now no problems at all. It's just that without CO2 and fertilizers they grow slower than Altolamprologus fry... They will flower quite often in african tanks, mine do ALL the time... I love it and the fry love it, it provides amazing cover for them to hide in.

Another plant that THRIVES without fertilizers or CO2 in african water is Aponogeton boivinanus (I can never spell this one right...). I've had a plant of it grow 3ft leaves and produce 5ft long flower stalks until it decided to go dormant, drop the leaves (which kept clogging the overflows), and just be a PIA... I never replaced it for some reason not sure why...

I never tried this one matt, but given all your tanks have gravel it would probably love it in there. Vallisneria, especially the "Jungle" (larger leaved) Vallisernia. This is AKA 'Eel Grass' and is found all over the world including Lake Malawi and Tanganyika. This should do VERY well in your tanks with gravel if you just add fertilizer root tabs in with them.

You can never go wrong with Anubias though!

In this old 2year old video of mine you can see Anubias hastifolia I think that was and the Aponogeton boivinanus (before it reached its prime) as well as various small Anubias barteri I think and Java Fern: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA3DeRH6jzY&fmt=18

[emartin]

I used black zip ties to secure the java moss to the driftwood. once it has secured itself I will remove the ties.

THat always worked for me. I used to use rubberbands but got concerned after one got loose and the fish tried to eat it thinking it was a worm. I got the rubber band out in time and removed the rest and switched to black ties.

[CrabbyMatty]

Cool video Ed. Those fish must have thought it was Thanksgiving. I'm not ready to add any plants....yet. But it's helpful hearing there may be options with my setups to do some and have some success. I just need to add plants now to my ongoing list of things to learn about.

Sam, I do like the plants in your tank. Mine are all hardscaped so any natural green (besides algae) looks really good to me.

Matt

[phillyofish]

Matt,
I never really kept plants before, but since I got this nice piece of driftwood I figured that I would make it look more realistic. I will try the Anubias and update pics.

[BlondeFishGal]

Matt,
Amazon Sword plants can live fine with non-herbivorous africans but they can be sensitive. They always died on me, but I never had CO2 added to the water or ANY fertilizers so that may be why. Sword Plants need a LOT of light though, and that light will produce hair algae so you need hair algae eaters. Siamese Algae Eaters/Flying Foxes work but you have to make sure your haps don't eat them. I can get you 4-6" Siamese Algae eaters if you need any, I have a couple around that size.

The plant that ALWAYS seems to do well and is impossible to kill (and LOVES low light conditions) is Anubias and Java Fern.

Anubias is the one Bill referred to. I've had Anubias in all my grow out tanks and display tanks for close to four years now no problems at all. It's just that without CO2 and fertilizers they grow slower than Altolamprologus fry... They will flower quite often in african tanks, mine do ALL the time... I love it and the fry love it, it provides amazing cover for them to hide in.

Another plant that THRIVES without fertilizers or CO2 in african water is Aponogeton boivinanus (I can never spell this one right...). I've had a plant of it grow 3ft leaves and produce 5ft long flower stalks until it decided to go dormant, drop the leaves (which kept clogging the overflows), and just be a PIA... I never replaced it for some reason not sure why...

I never tried this one matt, but given all your tanks have gravel it would probably love it in there. Vallisneria, especially the "Jungle" (larger leaved) Vallisernia. This is AKA 'Eel Grass' and is found all over the world including Lake Malawi and Tanganyika. This should do VERY well in your tanks with gravel if you just add fertilizer root tabs in with them.

You can never go wrong with Anubias though!

In this old 2year old video of mine you can see Anubias hastifolia I think that was and the Aponogeton boivinanus (before it reached its prime) as well as various small Anubias barteri I think and Java Fern: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA3DeRH6jzY&fmt=18


I agree with Ed, just some notes...

Sword plants in general, do need good levels of light but they are root feeders, so as important or even more important is to feed their roots -- root tabs are good for them if you are not using substrate suited for plants. They develop big, strong root systems that will spread out like a spider web under the substrate.

I have killed java fern. Yes, you read that correctly. The woman who wrote a column on planted tanks for years killed java fern. Know how? Too much light. If I put java fern in my tanks, I have to do so so that it gets ALOT of shade. The lighting in my tanks is quite high, b/c I do a lot of red plants. So too much light and the java fern turns black. I’ve killed a number of them! Never a dull moment in the hobby LOL

Most anubias grow slowly, with or without CO2. But even so, they do great in African tanks and look quite pretty, adding that natural element to any tank.

Aponogeton boivinanus is often just sold as a bulb, no leaves or just a few. It's actually called a rhizome. And yes, it will have unbelievable growth for a long time and then go dormant. Not all species do, but lots do. Some folks take them out of their tanks and move them to cooler waters for a while, then replant and the growth will start again and the plants does well for a long period of time. I personally never take them out. I just leave them in ... yeah, they look kinda ratty but I know in a few weeks they will start growing again, so I live with the ratty period.

Most vals like hard water. The trick is finding varieties that your fish won't eat. Giant is tougher, whereas, one of my favs, corkscrew val is a very cool looking plant, but for your Africans, it will just be lunch!

Any plants in a fish tank will help with keeping water quality higher than without plants, so besides looking really pretty, they are working their little butts off to upgrade your water too! ;)

[TOMMYN3D]

How is this planted tank doing?any changes or is it doing well the way it is?

[phillyofish]

Plants are still there, have to occasionally clear the java moss from the filter intake. Fish have chewed the tips of a couple of the leaves and nipped at the roots of the pothos cuttings.

[phillyofish]

any suggestions on supplementing plant supplements in tablet form to plants attached to driftwood? maybe inserting them to a pouch and placing close to the roots?

[phillyofish]

bump

[Greenhacker]

Looks like a great start! I have really dense drift wood, but my moss never really attached itself, so I use fishing line. It's more permanent.