I have a 20 gallon with mollys and fry. I am interested in trying out to add a live plant into my tank. Just one for now. Could someone recommend one? Is it difficult to keep? Will it kill any fish? I saw some at Petsmart under the Top Fin brand. should I try one of those?
Want to add a plant into my tank
- Thread starter HopeGR
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What are your water parameters? pH do you have harder water lots of mineral deposits, or softer water?
Do you know what kind of light you have? LED, bulb some lights are made just for lighting the tank, and some others better for plants.
A plant which is usually easier to care for would be Anubias nana petite. And another would be green, red or bronze Cryptocoryne.
Do you know what kind of light you have? LED, bulb some lights are made just for lighting the tank, and some others better for plants.
A plant which is usually easier to care for would be Anubias nana petite. And another would be green, red or bronze Cryptocoryne.
Java fern is bullet proof. Like anubias it doesnt even need substrate. Just attach to a rock or piece of driftwood to stop it floating around.
I like both above. Java fern does well in low light (I assume as no mention of algae haha).
Ambulia, foxtail and other fine leaf plants another thought.
All aquarium plants are fish safe that I know of so just a matter of trying them.
Ambulia, foxtail and other fine leaf plants another thought.
All aquarium plants are fish safe that I know of so just a matter of trying them.
Thanks for the suggestions. My water parameters are as follows: the calcium is quite hard due to the area I live, around and/or a bit over 200, the ph hovers around 7.6, nitrites zero, nitrates around 20 (I've read I'm fine until 40) but I do water changes every week, the alkalinity seems to be low like in the 50 -70 so I'm thinking to buy alkalinity up.
I have an LED light that I can switch to as I had the option to turn to LED and regular lighting.
Do I need to 'feed' the plant as well? Should I purchase two or does it matter?
I have an LED light that I can switch to as I had the option to turn to LED and regular lighting.
Do I need to 'feed' the plant as well? Should I purchase two or does it matter?
I use a liquid fertiliser, just a general purpose one. But honestly if you are going low demand plants like anubias or java fern they probably dont need ferts as long as there are fish in there. I have kept java ferns without ferts, but definitely better growth with, although the constant trimming and removing of plantlets is a pain. I probably remove and throw away about 1/3 of the plant growth every 5 or 6 weeks to maintain them without it becoming too overgrown.
I keep saying this, but i think i could keep java fern alive in a bucket of water in the shed.
Put as many or as few plants in as you like. They dont need company. In fact, get one and you will be able to cultivate (is that the correct word?) more plants from that one in the future if you wish. All of that growth i mentioned as throwing away would be viable new plants.
I keep saying this, but i think i could keep java fern alive in a bucket of water in the shed.
Put as many or as few plants in as you like. They dont need company. In fact, get one and you will be able to cultivate (is that the correct word?) more plants from that one in the future if you wish. All of that growth i mentioned as throwing away would be viable new plants.
Thanks, I'll look into it the first chance I get.
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