Anabius

[BlazedSaint]

Hi Everybody!(hi Dr.Nick)
kk now that a lil silliness is out of the way, lol, i am new to keeping fish/plants. i set my 29 gallon bio cube up friday 8/2/12, i didnt mess with it all weekend except adding a little gravel and putting in a cave(small pineapple under the sea for my daughter) i just attempted to cycle the tank with zebra danios, this was a total lose, however i just recieved my order of plants from the dr foster and smith website, with that said im looking for planting instructions for anubis afzelii, anubis barteri, and hornwort, also is this safe to put in while cycling and can anyone suggest a way i can cycle my tank using these plants with minimal lose of fish lives?

 

[BlazedSaint]

Also Any Information Regarding these plants would be welcome how they grow/ good places to put them im tank/ even facts regarding how to help them root, how well they grow pretty much any general info i can get would be lovely

 

[brennae]

I never have luck with hornwort but I do have a lot of anubias. I attach them to rocks with rubber bands (can use fishing line too). The trick with them is not to bury the rhizome otherwise it will rot. I have heard of people using superglue to attach plants to rocks and driftwood but I have never tried it and am not sure how nontoxic it would be.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Hello
I cycled my tank in two weeks! Hers how I did It
Live plants, they suck up a lot of ammonia, believe it or not
I added tetra safe start, and in two weeks my parameters were perfect
I did I fish less cycle, fish in cycles are cruel for fin a the ammonia burns their gills and plus, it takes longer than a fish less cycle
Do you have a master test kit?

 

[BlazedSaint]

ummmm, no but i just ordered a test kit recommended by brennae in a different thread, and brennae would u still mount them to rocks or drift wood if they are bare root/potted plants( my afzelii is bare root my barteri's are potted) or would u plant them in a hole as if to plant a rose bush in your garden? and same question for the hornwort( it says to strip 2 inches down to the nods and prop up in the tank)

 

[brennae]

Anubias yes, they all go above surface attached to rocks etc. Hornwort I always let float but I have bad luck with it so some one else will have to chime in there. Banana plants are awesome and you just throw them in the tank. They sink and eventually grow roots that go down into the substrate.

 

[Mebbid]

Hello
I cycled my tank in two weeks! Hers how I did It
Live plants, they suck up a lot of ammonia, believe it or not
I added tetra safe start, and in two weeks my parameters were perfect
I did I fish less cycle, fish in cycles are cruel for fin a the ammonia burns their gills and plus, it takes longer than a fish less cycle
Do you have a master test kit?

Fish in cycles are far from cruel as long as you are diligent about water parameters because the ammonia is only toxic at concentrations dependent on your ph and temperature.

Fishless cycles are however easier.

My new favorite method is a silent cycle which means you fill your tank up with fast growing stem plants such as anacharis and water sprite and allow them to absorb all of the ammonia. Fish can go in after the plants settle for 2 or 3 days and you shouldn't ever really have any problems with ammonia / nitrite

To plant the hornwort ust strip the leaves off of the bottom inch or so and gingerly insert the stems into the substrate using a pair of tweezers. The occasionally come out of the substrate but just be patient as they will start growing roots before too long and be just fine.

 

[BBradbury]

Fish In Tank Cycling

Hi Everybody!(hi Dr.Nick)
kk now that a lil silliness is out of the way, lol, i am new to keeping fish/plants. i set my 29 gallon bio cube up friday 8/2/12, i didnt mess with it all weekend except adding a little gravel and putting in a cave(small pineapple under the sea for my daughter) i just attempted to cycle the tank with zebra danios, this was a total lose, however i just recieved my order of plants from the dr foster and smith website, with that said im looking for planting instructions for anubis afzelii, anubis barteri, and hornwort, also is this safe to put in while cycling and can anyone suggest a way i can cycle my tank using these plants with minimal lose of fish lives?

Hello Blaz...

Cycling a tank with fish is very efficient and won't hurt the fish if you do your research before and don't just blunder into things with no clue how to proceed. Plants are helpful, but won't do the job alone. You must have a source for ammonia. That would be hardy fish like Feeder Female Guppies (my preference), but Zebra Danios, White Clouds, Platys and Tiger Barbs will easily survive the process. But none of them will, if you don't know how to do your job.

B