Matt Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Hey All, I seem to have abit of trouble Keeping my plants alive in my Female Fighters Tank... I have tried numerous speices and none of them seem to want to live for me... I got to the LFS, Buy the Plants, Bring them home, A week later they are dead... So far the only plants that i can get to grow is Duckweed and Java Moss... Please Help!!! what am i doing wrong lol Thanks Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 we need some details about your set-up Matt. how much light is there, how big is the tank, what is the substrate and what plants have you tried to grow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 we need some details about your set-up Matt. how much light is there, how big is the tank, what is the substrate and what plants have you tried to grow? Hey, Sorry... It it a 2 ft Tank, with a light going from about 8 am to 8 pm. I am have tried to grow a few type.. Mainly Val, some types of lily and swords, Foxtail, Elodea and a few more that i have no idea what they are... I asked the LFS what species would be best and he told me these ones... i asked if plants have any special needs and he reply with no... i think he might have told me that so when they die, stupid me will go and spend more money at his shop... Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 what sort of light is it? do you know how many watts? and what substrate are they planted in? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 what sort of light is it? do you know how many watts? and what substrate are they planted in? Hey, Umm the light it sometype of bar light (not too sure what you call them) and i have got no idea how many watts it is... Thats the problem with buying stuff from Garage Sales LOL.. They are planted in umm Nature Gravel.. Little brown rock lol... I am not much help lol Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 a lot of plants have a higher light requirement than standard tank lights provide. Your best bet is sticking with low-light plants like cryptocoryne, java fern, java moss and anubias. Don't be put off by the price of java fern, anubias and crypts - they are worth it as you won't have to replace them 47 times. How big are the individual pieces of gravel? if it's much larger than coarse river sand it's harder for the plants to root in it (not a problem with Java moss and fern). Also if you have duckweed on the surface that will reduce the light available to the plants below the surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 a lot of plants have a higher light requirement than standard tank lights provide. Your best bet is sticking with low-light plants like cryptocoryne, java fern, java moss and anubias. Don't be put off by the price of java fern, anubias and crypts - they are worth it as you won't have to replace them 47 times. How big are the individual pieces of gravel? if it's much larger than coarse river sand it's harder for the plants to root in it (not a problem with Java moss and fern). Also if you have duckweed on the surface that will reduce the light available to the plants below the surface. Hey, Thanks Lilli, The gravel is about 5 to 10 mm across... Should i get rid of it and replace it with sand... The Duck weed is not completely covering the water or anything... it is just a little bit around the corners of the tank and stuff..... i will have a look at the shop to see if they have any of them plants... Thanks Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handsfree Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Matt Maybe you need a change of emphasis from a fish tank with some added plants to an aquatic garden where fish will prosper. To achieve this can I suggest the following: A layer of rich garden soil on the bottom of the tank, maybe 15mm depth. Mix in some laterite if you can get it. Cover this with a thick layer of river sand of mixed particle sizes so the gaps are filled to stop the soil from migrating up. Use a regular flourescent fitting with a Triphosphur tube, this is a must. These tubes have a temperature rating of 5000+ deg K. Mark the date you install the tube and change it every 12 months. Control the lighted hours with a cheap timer set to about 10-12 hours per day, (like a tropical day). Do not use any aeration. This dissipate the CO2 from the water which the plants use as a carbon source. If you want to have filtration, use a small cannister type with the outlet below the surface. This is just a quick summary, for more details, EDAS in Melbourne have a DVD on the subject. I should add, I have no association with EDAS other than personal contact with some members Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 Hey, What type of Garden soil.... is that safe for fish... and will that bulb go in my standard fitting... or do i have to buy a new one? Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 Matt do you have a picture of your light? that would help identify the neccessary bulb type to fit it. I believe you use top soil, though i would wait for keith to answer that question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handsfree Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 Matt Any sort of rich garden loam is OK. You would need to be cautious of pesticides and fertilisers that may have been used nearby. Don't used potting mixture because that tends to contain excessive wood and bark chips that will rot and cause problems. For a standard 2ft tank, you will need a flouro tube of the same length, I think they are 18watt. The tubes are the regular old style 2-pin (each end) types. Standard larger tanks require multiple tubes because they are deeper. Small compact flouro bulbs will not have the power or intensity the plants need and are unlikely to be Triphosphur. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste84 Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 matt, how the hell did you kill the elodea?!? it's one of the toughest plants to kill! i'm assuming you got the plants from furrballs right?? they're all really healthy plants and well looked after, i've only had their plants die on me when a) the snails ate them; and when i planted the anubis in the gravel - it rots their roots, after i put them on rocks and logs and stuff they grew just fine. that said i also use a "tropical strength" light, which provides a lot more light than the average fluro. also, stupid question, but does the tank have a thermometer? those are tropical plants and don't do too well in cooler water, so you need to watch the temp. also given the recent heat waves we had a few weeks back (killed all my plants), that's another thing you need to keep an eye on - the tanks over heating. my tanks hit 35c without any heaters in them, hence the plant die off. just something to think about ^_^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch33 Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 for filling a 2ft tank i would be looking at buying the substrate from an online supplier allthough they are fairly expensive compared to gravel the amount required would be minimal if you have a bunnings where you are you can pick up suitable fluro globes for 10-15 dollars Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 I manage to kill tropical elodea indoors... but outdoors in unheated tubs with full sunlight it grows well. Come to think of it... most of my plants dont like my 80L tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch33 Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 elodea is a cold water plant not tropical Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Oh. I feel slightly better about it dying indoors, then :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 So, this thread has finally prompted me to get off my butt and begin sorting out my tank. I have been wanting to do this for quite some time but the idea of deliberately putting black soil in my tank has always pulled me up short BUT yesterday I bought a new triphosphur globe for my light and some lovely dirt for my tank, dug out the river sand and threw in the dirt, then topped that with the original river sand. :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handsfree Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 go Mouse It takes a giant leap of faith to put dirty black soil in your tank, but the rewards will soon be apparent. There will be a rise of nutrients in the water once you fill it, so you will need to have the tank reasonably heavily stocked with plants. Start with some fast growing cutting plants and as funds permit, change over to more desirable types. As the plants grow toward the top, cut them back and re-plant the cuttings to thicken up your underwater garden. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Mummy I'm scared - I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore!! Seriously though, thanks for all the advice Keith. I've always wanted a gorgeous, lush, planted tank, but its always been a "one day" thing when I finally worked out how to stop killing every plant I put there, so I'm hoping the new globe and scary dirt will be my salvation and I will no longer be a plant assassin You know what we really need on this forum? A list of all the true aquatic plants and their light requirements! I can never work out which is true aquatic and which isn't, and of course most lfs sales people tend to say "course its true aquatic - its growing in water ain't it??!" :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handsfree Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 http://www.australianrainbowfish.com/index.htm This is a good place to start. Click on the Aquatic Plants link. Many of the different plants have a brief description of what conditions suit them best. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste84 Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 elodea is a cold water plant not tropical Ray actually there are both cold water and tropical varieties of elodea. the only tropical/warm water version of elodea is E. Densa, but there are several cold water varieties such as A. Canadensis, E. Nuttallii, and E. Callitrichoides; the last often being mistakenly sold as tropical HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Thanks :scared: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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