can you add plants after you have fish in the tank

[fishfanatic26]

I have never had real plants before and i was wondering can i get some now even though i already have fish in. I have gravel and i dont have a light but will have to get one. What kind of light do i need? What kind of plants are good for beginers? And anything else i need to know. Sorry i asked so many questions.

 

[FallenRedeemer]

Yes you can add plants after having fish in the tank. Amazon sword and water wisteria are 2 plans that I have done well with in my tank. Have another but don't know the name of it.

 

[fishfanatic26]

What kind of light do I need. My tank is a 30 gallon

 

[Aqualady40]

Swords and crypts will need root tabs- they are heavy root feeders....water wisteria, water sprite, anubias, java ferns, java moss, etc...are some. Does your hood have screw-in bulbs or tube? If they are the screw-ins, you can get Daylight 13w 6500k CFL

 

[fishfanatic26]

They are screw in. Where do I find root tabs?

 

[nereksnad]

root tabs are basically just a ball of clay. Clay is negatively charged, which means that the nutrients which are positively charged (like magnesium(mg++)) will get stuck to the clay. And since the clay is below the echinodorus, it's roots will consume the nutrients and use them as building blocks.
I don't recall previously reading that cryptocoryne is a 'heavy root feeder that requires root tabs' though.

 

[Rivercats]

Root tabs are not clay balls. They are a mix of macro and micro nutrients in a tablet or pellet form. Some individuals hand make clay balls with ferts such as Osmocote added into the clay before it's dried but these are not the standard root tabs that are sold in the US.

Crypts, Swords, and bulb plants are all heavy root feeders that draw most of their nutrients via their roots which is why they need root tabs.

 

[nereksnad]

then america has different root tabs than europe. i purchased root tabs only to realize it was a ball of clay with added chelated iron. was pretty disappointed about that.

 

[NewToFish1989]

Yes you can, I replace some of mine every now and again because my gourami's love eating them lol and no problems.