Plant question?

[Readingexcalibur]

I am intrested in what the plant brings to the Eco system in a tank. I have 4 eartheaters and 4 angelicus loachs. I have driftwood and a sand bottom. Are there any plants I can just drop in to improve the quality of life for my fish? I like the floating type, like java moss, but does it help eliminate waste that creates nitrites? Ps. I would have tried to search this topic, but the search feature wouldn't work on the phone.

 

[reefdiver]

All plants take up nitrates some more than others. You van try Anubis and java fern attached to your drift wood. You can also try wisteria or water sprite and anachris as floating plants.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hornwort is very nitrate hungry IME. It does grow fast though.

 

[Readingexcalibur]

These plants can be attached to the wood or float? I'm just not ready to buy the soil yet. That is after tax season for my new tank.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hornwort is floating. You don't need specialized plant substrate to grow plants. You can grow them just fine in gravel and plain sand.

 

[neon-tetra]

I am intrested in what the plant brings to the Eco system in a tank. I have 4 eartheaters and 4 angelicus loachs. I have driftwood and a sand bottom. Are there any plants I can just drop in to improve the quality of life for my fish? I like the floating type, like java moss, but does it help eliminate waste that creates nitrites? Ps. I would have tried to search this topic, but the search feature wouldn't work on the phone.

elodea is a good plant for a lot of setups and helps the water oxygen levels more than some other plants

 

[Readingexcalibur]

I am going to head over to petco and see if they have any of these. My nitrites are high, but I did add the loaches 2 days ago so I'm assuming it's cycling. Again, thanks for the help!

 

[Readingexcalibur]

just an update, i ended up getting Cerotophyllum Demersum (Hornwort) and Egeria Densa (Anacharis). I am hoping these plants grow well in my tank and lower the nitrites a bit. I took a lead weight and gently wrapped the stems of both plans (no pressure on the plant), placed the Anacharis on the top of the driftwood near the light, and put the Hornwort sitting on the sand as i read they dont care for high lighting. I dont think i need any additives for these plants (if someone can verify)?? Thanks again guys and gals! You all ROCK!

 

[jetajockey]

They could make use of a liquid fertilizer periodically, but in general they aren't very demanding.

 

[FreshwaterFishJunkie]

Duckweed and hornwort are by far the easiest and best floating plants to control nitrates. Th hornwort will require weekly trimming though but its a small price to pay for nitrate reduction.