Live Plant Questions

[Velksfish]

Here are plants. They seem to be growing alright. But they have some dark spots on the leaves. And idea what i need to do ????

 

[Velksfish]

???????

 

[tnfinfan]

I'd suggest hitting the planted tank board. The plant experts hang out there.

 

[Rivercats]

Java ferns get dark black or brown spots on leaves when they are getting ready to reproduce. Eventually you will see baby Java ferns develop on the leaves.

 

[Velksfish]

Ok, so its nothing to worry about then. Thanks

 

[mre3810]

Moss rock

Sent from my ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Fierce using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Velksfish]

Live Plant questions??

What would be a low light plant, that gets taller and not to full or wide??? Something my Angels would enjoy.

 

[Velksfish]

????????

 

[Brookster123]

Anarchis!!

 

[Rak9378]

I would agree with Brookster. Anacharis would be perfect based on your description.

Out of curiosity how is your Java Fern doing? Did those dark spots turn into plantlets?

 

[ArtistGardener]

Hornwort might work (Ceratophyllum demersum). It is really a floating plant that absorbs its nutrients from the water column. Mine grows well under a regular fluorescent light in my goldfish tank. You can take a small bunch of it (five to seven stems) and poke it in the gravel like a rooted plant. It won't last forever like that as the bottom will kind of rot away (it won't root), but that's OK. It grows pretty quickly from the tips so you can just removed the soft lower stems and poke it back in the gravel. It is an underused, easy-care plant. The only real drawback is the needle-like leaves can become messy if your fish keep nibbling at them. I keep some in the gravel and some floating--really keeps algae down as it provides some nice shade (and gives small fish a place to hide). If you buy it, it usually comes bunched in a huge chunk--divide it up as it will definitely rot when bunched up too tightly. Here is a photo of it.

 

[Velksfish]

I would agree with Brookster. Anacharis would be perfect based on your description.

Out of curiosity how is your Java Fern doing? Did those dark spots turn into plantlets?

Still growing fine, but still has the dark spots. Haven't seen any plantlets yet. But not exactly sure what I'm looking for.

 

[Velksfish]

Anarchis!!

Thanks will look into them.

 

[Rak9378]

Still growing fine, but still has the dark spots. Haven't seen any plantlets yet. But not exactly sure what I'm looking for.

It would look like this...



The main leaf will have smaller leaves growing right out of it. The underside of the main leaf will have long brown roots. I'm wondering if the dark spots you're seeing are some time of algae. Its hard for me to tell...mostly because I'm no expert but also because when I enlarge the picture you posted it gets blurry. But if it were plantlets I would think by now you would be seeing some growth.

 

[KimAnnKitz]

Wow...I just read this whole thread because I just started with plants myself. I did a whole lot of online research and got pretty good info. I now have a pretty heavily planted 5 gallon tank and can maybe offer a few suggestions on plants. My tank is a Fluval Spec V and it came with an over-the-tank led light fixture. Not being sure what the level of light really is, I chose low light plants. They all seem to be doing good. Here's what I have. One nice Java Fern, Anacharis, 1 Anubias Nana and 2 Anubias Nana Petite, Jungle Val (which is kind of grass like with slender leaves that I hear can get very tall...you might want to look into it for height), Bacopa Carolinaian (which is also taller), Java Moss, Cryptocoryne Parva (a short variety of crypt), 1 large, 1 medium and 3 tiny Marimo Balls. Google the plants for more info or you can ask me and I'll tell you the bit I know. I get my plants from ebay and Amazon.com since I don't have a LFS and the closest PetSmart is about 40 miles. I need to get root tabs for my crypts, but so far I have not used any fertilizer. I do have some liquid fertilized that I am going to start using this week. Hope you and I both have good luck with the plants! Mine aren't amazing yet and they might never be, but so far I have kept all of them alive and looking pretty good for a beginner. I got tired of the fake plants really quick and heard it was much better for the fish to have real plants. Try to remove any dying or dropped leaves regularly and once the plants get going they might need a trim from time to time. My Anacharis (not sure I'm spelling that right) has gotten trimmed a lot already because it grows really fast. The tank is kinda short and I don't want them to get very long and shade the rest of the tank. I've cut them back and added it to other tanks. Again, good luck!

 

[Velksfish]

Wow...I just read this whole thread because I just started with plants myself. I did a whole lot of online research and got pretty good info. I now have a pretty heavily planted 5 gallon tank and can maybe offer a few suggestions on plants. My tank is a Fluval Spec V and it came with an over-the-tank led light fixture. Not being sure what the level of light really is, I chose low light plants. They all seem to be doing good. Here's what I have. One nice Java Fern, Anacharis, 1 Anubias Nana and 2 Anubias Nana Petite, Jungle Val (which is kind of grass like with slender leaves that I hear can get very tall...you might want to look into it for height), Bacopa Carolinaian (which is also taller), Java Moss, Cryptocoryne Parva (a short variety of crypt), 1 large, 1 medium and 3 tiny Marimo Balls. Google the plants for more info or you can ask me and I'll tell you the bit I know. I get my plants from ebay and Amazon.com since I don't have a LFS and the closest PetSmart is about 40 miles. I need to get root tabs for my crypts, but so far I have not used any fertilizer. I do have some liquid fertilized that I am going to start using this week. Hope you and I both have good luck with the plants! Mine aren't amazing yet and they might never be, but so far I have kept all of them alive and looking pretty good for a beginner. I got tired of the fake plants really quick and heard it was much better for the fish to have real plants. Try to remove any dying or dropped leaves regularly and once the plants get going they might need a trim from time to time. My Anacharis (not sure I'm spelling that right) has gotten trimmed a lot already because it grows really fast. The tank is kinda short and I don't want them to get very long and shade the rest of the tank. I've cut them back and added it to other tanks. Again, good luck!

Thanks this will be extremely helpful. I am also getting tried of the fake plants but going to replace them slowly.
Thanks

 

[RookieFishOwner]

My shrimp really love my moss balls and java moss, they also look nice in my aquarium. I would recommend them as good starter plants sines they don't really need much and they are not very expensive.

 

[Velksfish]

I just purchased and added to my tank: a Moss Ball and a Anubias Afzelii...!!!

Is there anything special I need to know to care for these???

 

[t4runnr]

Don't bury the rhizome of the Anubias in the substrate.

 

[Velksfish]

Oh ok. Do I need to tie it to something or???