Newb to plants

[jespenguin]

So, I recently bought some live plants for my 55gal. I bought java fern, anacharis, something labeled aluminum?, and some tall grassy like plant that I can't remember for the life of me. Anyways, they seem to be doing ohk, the anacharis started a really dark color but I think they are turning green, and my javas are a bright green but have some brown spots on them. Reading random threads I was worried about lighting when I bought them, so I bought a daylight bulb, 6500k to see if this helped. Might be helping, it's very hard to tell. I think they are greening out but it may be my hopeful imagination I also bought liquid ferts. I'm just wondering what kind if timeline am I looking at to see them appear healthier, any advise to make them healthier is appreciated. Also is my lighting sufficient?

Current residents:
1 male betta (cycling him his own 5gal)
5 neon tetras
2 male guppies (just seen ones tail is shredded!-so advise there may help)
2 albino algae eaters
5 black kuhlis

Thanks

 

[Tim Wheatley]

The betta is probably the reason why the male guppy has a shredded tail. It will see him as perhaps a target.

Someone else will advise on other things. I have plants but it's trial and error for me, what I have now works but I don't know how.

 

[zach_1_6]

what type of lighting are you running? how many watts of it? is the tall grassy like plant a type of vallisneria? the 6500k is fine for plants, anything between 6500-10 000 k is good, hope this helps goodluck.

 

[fort384]

So, I recently bought some live plants for my 55gal. I bought java fern, anacharis, something labeled aluminum?, and some tall grassy like plant that I can't remember for the life of me. Anyways, they seem to be doing ohk, the anacharis started a really dark color but I think they are turning green, and my javas are a bright green but have some brown spots on them. Reading random threads I was worried about lighting when I bought them, so I bought a daylight bulb, 6500k to see if this helped. Might be helping, it's very hard to tell. I think they are greening out but it may be my hopeful imagination I also bought liquid ferts. I'm just wondering what kind if timeline am I looking at to see them appear healthier, any advise to make them healthier is appreciated. Also is my lighting sufficient?

Unfortunately, you made some common beginner mistakes... the aluminum plant (Pilea cadierel) is non-aquatic. It will not survive submerged. The other grassy plant is probably Ophiopogon japonica
(Mondo Grass). I am only guessing... need to see a picture to be sure. Unfortunately many aquarium and pet stores sell plants marked as aquatic that are not truly aquatic plants. They will eventually rot and die, and pollute the tank.

Need more info on the lighting -- you certainly got the right color spectrum, but what kind of bulb and how many watts is it? How long is it on per day?

As far as the ferts... it all depends on your lighting and your plants. What kind of fertilizer did you buy? There are several nutrients that plants need to survive... most of which are naturally occurring in an aquarium. So, not all liquid ferts are created equal... they contain many many different nutrients that you may or may not need, depending on your tank.

 

[jespenguin]

So if my pictures don't work I apologize. The lighting is just the standard long one bulb that comes with the tank, so I have a 48" 40 watt (thats what the sticker said to use, and I don't remember a lot out of my physics course but not following the rules can lead to fire lol) 6500k 3050 lumens cooler daylight bulb from Wally world (they had aquarium & plant but they were like 3000k and that's the main thing I remember reading about). Anywho, the liquid ferts are nutrafin plant gro, it says add once a week, and the bottles already half gone (one dose when I put them in and again a week later with my PWC). I plan on getting the sea chem brand when its out because that seems to be the top choice around here, and also root tabs. Lastly, with these semi aquatics, are they half in water half out like you see in vases? It was only 3$ so I'm not really out anything but I'd like to make an attempt at something with it. Can't get a good shot of the anacharis because the brown tint doesn't pop off the black background, but that's my grass and aluminum.

 

[fort384]

ok... so the mondo grass and the aluminum plant are both non aquatic. They would do better in a pot next to the tank...

The lighting... you might have enough to sustain the anacharis and the java ferns... 40W of T8 over a 55gal is not much, unfortunately. If you eventually want to grow more demanding plants, you will have to look at upgrading that fixture. However, there are some other choices that may survive and are commonly available:

lower light crypts
anubias
java moss

The nutrafin plant gro... what variety is it? They make a lot of different mixes. Most likely, with the amount of light and the varieties of plants you are growing, it won't make a whole lot of difference.

 

[jespenguin]

Got it, I'll go pot shopping this weekend, I was gonna get some terra cottas anyways for the tank The bottle just says nutrafin plant gro? So I'm not too sure, but I do know I want to stay low tech, so I'll look into some anubis because I want a larger leafed plant. Also, I've seen algae balls, I read they thrive in high lights but I don't want them to ball off, just stay green and happy. Would this be a good option? Thanks much for the input? Oh and are root tabs pointless then?

 

[jespenguin]

*input. No ? Lol

 

[fort384]

the root tabs might be of some benefit. I am guessing the fert is just their trace mix with potassium. It won't hurt to add it, but like I said it probably it not a requirement either. You may want to read up on ferts... most folks in the fish stores have no idea what is involved and recommend whatever they sell, not knowing that there are different nutrients and different requirements in planted tanks. Seachem is a good liquid fert if you decide you need to dose something... but again, they make several varieties... Supplemental, Trace, Excel, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Iron... most of these will never be of any real benefit to a very low light setup.

 

[jespenguin]

Is there anything specific I would look for in a fert. Oh and my Algae eater loves the anacharis, does this mean they are covered in algae or they're just tasty? And the moss ball, yay or ney?

 

[fort384]

oh sorry, forgot the moss balls... I have never owned any of em, so I am not sure on that one.

As for ferts--yes... but what you are looking for depends heavily upon what plants you have, what deficiencies they are exhibiting, etc.

For now, I would just read up on them... there are lots of useful posts regarding ferts, and lots of articles you can google. The root tabs might be beneficial... but beyond that I doubt there is much of a requirement in your tank given your lighting and plant selections.