hornwaort and other plants i can get for free....

[tropicfishman]

My youth pastor has a planted 55 gallon tank and keeps offering some hornwort and other aquatic plants. I'm really unsure wether i want to go with live plants, I know they would benifit my tank greatly, and for free isn't bad, but I have researched them and found some info, he says i can just stick the roots in the gravel and it'll grow as long as I do good water changes. My question for the experts is this, Don't live plants need CO2, and some kinda supplements and fertilzers? It can be as easy as sticking the roots or stems in the gravel, can it? One of the plants he offered me, was a plant i can't rememebr the name of, but was a rapid growing ground cover type plant. If anyone can tell me what they use for there live plants it would really help me out, I needa know what is absolutely neccasary and what is not. And if you could give me some tips on how to take care of them, it would really help also. Keep in mind i have 3 Adult tiger barbs and a red tailed shark, so if any of these two fish would be harmful to live plants please tell me, and what small fish are harmful, I don't really like cichlids, just small fish like mollys, barbs and sharks. I might invest in a pleco when i get the 55 setup but not anytime soon. PLEASE HELP

 

[Jchillin]

Moved to Planted Tank forum

 

[Jchillin]

You can keep hornwort in a low-light (under 2wpg of light) tank. The issue of whether CO2 is needed is if you go over 2wpg.

 

[rich311k]

Give it a try. Some will grow some will not. Keep the ones that work they will make a nice addition to your tank.

 

[Skyrmir]

I'd say go for it as well. At worst some of the plants won't make it. I run a low light tank myself and you really don't need to dose ferts with the right plants. They just grow really slowly. Cryptocorene Wendtii is turning out to be my favorite so far. I throw in a root tab when first planting, after that the mulm that gets mixed into the substrate takes over. All in all I'd say the plants are half the fun of setting up a tank and getting a look you like for it.

Plus there's always the bonus that they clean the water so your fish are happier.

 

[jsoong]

Yes, go for it....you have nothing to lose. I've kept hornwort since day 1, before I knew anything about plants. I kept it in low light, with no fert or CO2, apart from poop from the fish, and it still grew well. Other plants like anubias, java ferns are also low maintanance.

Since you are getting surplus plants for free, why not try all of them in your tank. Don't do anythign special, and let nature take its course. You'll soon select out all the hardy, easy to care for, low maintanance plants that will work for you.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

And the other nice thing, if you get enough growing well, your nitrates will stay low too. But you will still need to do pwc's. But for the fish, means cleaner environment, and good hiding places.

 

[tropicfishman]

i'll give it a shot then, i'm doing a pwc tommrow so i'll root them then, till then there floating in the tank lol