Best plants?

[Cozens]

Hey, just wondering if anyone could suggest a few plants that work well in an aquarium that will eventually be mostly covered by Phyllanthus Fluitans. obviously will need to be plants that can thrive even with low levels of light reaching the bottom. So far I have Java Fern, Java Moss, Echinodorus Tennelus, Cryptocoryne Lucens, Microsorum Pteropus, Echinodorus Radicans and Alternanthera Rosaefolia. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Hey, just wondering if anyone could suggest a few plants that work well in an aquarium that will eventually be mostly covered by Phyllanthus Fluitans. obviously will need to be plants that can thrive even with low levels of light reaching the bottom. So far I have Java Fern, Java Moss, Echinodorus Tennelus, Cryptocoryne Lucens, Microsorum Pteropus, Echinodorus Radicans and Alternanthera Rosaefolia. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Not sure how Alternanthera reineckii "Rosaefolia" will get on, it didn't enjoy life with me.

Other than the plants you mention, I have a couple of ferns in all the tanks, Bolbitis heudelotii and Ceratopteris thalictroides.

Other plants that do well are Cryptocoryne wendtii, Echinodorus bleheri, Aponogeton undulatus and Helanthium tenellum.

cheers Darrel

 

[Cozens]

My workmate did mention red leaf plants like the Rosaefolia don't tend to fare so well. Thank you for your input, I will write these down and try and get hold of some if and when some of my current plants don't flourish. Would also like a carpeting plant but I don't have any substrate specifically for plant growth under the sand so don't know if they would do well.

Kyle

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Would also like a carpeting plant but I don't have any substrate specifically for plant growth under the sand so don't know if they would do well.

I've never had much joy with carpet plants either, the main problems are that plants like Hemianthus callitrichoides "Cuba" and Glossostigma elatinoides are not really fully aquatic and have a very high CO2 demand.

The other problem is that Apistogramma spp. are part of the Geophagine lineage of cichlids and they do quite a lot of sand sifting. Some of the larger carpet plants like Eleocharis spp., Lilaeopsis spp. or Cryptocoryne parva, are more likely to be successful.

I have a lot of structure like dead leaves, moss, 1/2 coconut caves and wood at the bottom of the tanks, so there isn't really any space for small light demanding plants.

Have a look at: <"All the leaves are brown">.

cheers Darrel

 

[BigTom]

For carpet plants I've had slow but steady growth from L. brasiliensis and E. acicularis in dim low tech tanks with lots of floating cover. Worth a shot.

 

[Cozens]

Very interesting article Darrel, glad to hear there are leaves such as beech which do not stain the water as much as I suspected leaves would. I didn't know leaves could last up to six months! I thought they'd be gone in a few weeks, that was also a factor in my choosing not to go down that road. And I suppose as the leaves start to break down they would contribute some sort of food for the plants to feed from?

Tom, thank you for your suggestion, I will take these into consideration when the time comes to try out some new plants.

Kyle

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

glad to hear there are leaves such as beech which do not stain the water as much as I suspected leaves would. I didn't know leaves could last up to six months! I thought they'd be gone in a few weeks, that was also a factor in my choosing not to go down that road. And I suppose as the leaves start to break down they would contribute some sort of food for the plants to feed from?

Most leaves don't create a huge amount of tannins, I like the water to have a bit of tint.

How long they last depends on the leaves, but Beech and Oak are both quite long lasting.

I usually have a mix of structural leaves and some softer leaves that break down more quickly.

The leaves that last a long time, have very little in the way of food value (they are mainly structural carbohydrates) which is why they aren't decomposed more quickly.

cheers Darrel

 

[Cozens]

What softer leaves do you use? As I wish to get my apistos breeding I thought the leaves would be a good addition to get them in the mood so to speak. Although the male is showing signs of flashing his colours and fins trying to attract the females. Do you have any pictures of your layout for leaves in your tank/tanks?

Kyle

 

[dw1305]

H all,

What softer leaves do you use?

Any of deciduous Magnolia, Maple (Acer), Hornbeam (Carpinus) and Blueberry (Vaccinium). My suspicion would be that the type of leaf doesn't matter too much. If you have a look at shrimp breeding web sites they are selling Mullberry (Morus), Walnut (Juglans) and Guava (Psidium) leaves to fed shrimps, as well as IAL (Terminalia).

For structural leaves I use any of evergreen Magnolia (M. grandiflora), Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica), Beech (Fagus), Camellia and 2 evergreen Oaks, "Holm Oak" (Quercus ilex) and Lucombe Oak (Q. x hispanica). They aren't necessarily the most suitable leaves, but I can collect all of them without walking too far from my desk at work.

Magnolia grandiflora works really well in a bigger tank (they are big leaves). I thought they would probably be fish safe, because they sell them for Dart Frog vivaria.

Do you have any pictures of your layout for leaves in your tank/tanks?

Not many but, you can see the kind of set-ups I use.

from this thread <"How to do ...>.

cheers Darrel

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

For carpet plants I've had slow but steady growth from L. brasiliensis and E. acicularis in dim low tech tanks with lots of floating cover. Worth a shot.

I should also have said that Tom didn't post any links to the tanks he has had, but they are absolutely stunning and well worth a look.

From <"Poco Pozo">.

and this one from <"Bucket O' Mud">.

cheers Darrel

 

[Cozens]

Wow I really like that first one of Toms..Looks so natural! I may find myself going leaf picking on the weekend.. Thank you for your advice, much appreciated Darrel!

Kyle