Need help on plants

[Katie19882010]

I will have a 75 gal tanks with a pleco,electric blue demasoni, tiger Oscar , and a jack Dempsey what live plants that look cool would you suggest to put in my tank ?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Those fish aren't compatible with live plants. I've even seen a few oscars and Dempseys chew up fake plants! The south Americans also have different water requirements than the demasoni. Look up each fish online for their profiles. You can find a lot of great info.

 

[tat279]

C.A. Is correct those fish don't work we'll w/ live plants. That said I've had luck w/ Anubis attached to driftwood or a rock

 

[Katie19882010]

Well I already have them all in a tank together but it just looks boring there isn't anything but gravel ... so when I put them in the big tank I was hoping to make it look nicer :0/

 

[CorallineAlgae]

C.A. Is correct those fish don't work we'll w/ live plants. That said I've had luck w/ Anubis attached to driftwood or a rock

I've also seen people growing java fern on rock or wood with some largish South Americans. It may be that they don't like hard leaved or waxy leaves as much as the tender plants. It's also up to the individual fish. Some seem to be ok with tough slow growing plants while others eat anything, even plastic plants.

Maybe get one anubias and one java fern to see how they react. If they leave them alone then you can try to add more, if they don't then silk plants would be the way to go. The good thing is these plants are easy to find and even easier to keep. No special lights or substrates are needed.

 

[Katie19882010]

Ok Ty for the help I'll try that and see what happens :0)

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Well I already have them all in a tank together but it just looks boring there isn't anything but gravel ... so when I put them in the big tank I was hoping to make it look nicer :0/

You can try going to a stone yard to find some rocks or order some nice driftwood online. I ordered driftwood from one of the forum sponsors and I couldn't be happier!

Stone yards sell stone for much much less than anywhere else and they always have big pieces for tanks your size. Just don't get anything that's composed of calcium like limestone. You can test the rocks with muriatic acid. Some people use vinegar but that isn't always reliable. If it fizzes it won't be suitable. If somebody in your family has a swimming pool you can ask them for the acid. You only need a little and it's cheap stuff.

That said, it's hard to beat driftwood. It's easy to order and actually makes the water a little softer and a bit tinted, which is healthy for soft water fish and can improve their colors. Plecos actually need wood to stay their healthiest. They'll gnaw on it like food. Yum!

 

[Katie19882010]

What's a good site to order the drift wood from ?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Manzanita-driftwood.com is where I got mine. They have buy 2 get 1 free and you can see a picture and the size of every piece. Beautiful wood with great packaging and prices, plus they're a sponsor of this site so be sure to mention that you are a member here. He may give you a nicer free piece if you order 2 and say you heard about them here. I ordered from them because they had the type of wood I needed at the best price. Some fish shops sell wood too, so it's worth checking them out, at least by phone, just to see if somebody has wood nearby.