looking after aquarium plants

[tailbarlionfish]

Hey, i was wondering if someone could give me some tips on keeping my plants in tip-top shape. Normally, my fish destroy the plants by eating most of the leaves but i've just got a new bunch of plants and they don't seem to be so keen on ripping them to shreds!
Some of my plants in the past just go yellow and die. I know thats supposed to be because theres not enough iron in the water for them to digest but i do put plant food in occasionally.
Top tips would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[travis simonson]

As far as your fish eating your plants goes, there's not much you can do if a fish decides he likes the way a plant tastes except to try a different species of plant. Some fish will eat plants if they have algae on the leaves in order to get at the algae (my African cichlids do this) so keeping algae down might help. You should read the stickies at the top of this forum for some great info/tips on nutrients, lighting, and keeping healthy plants

 

[jrp1588]

I know what your saying, my clown loach loves the new leaves from my amazon sword. He totally ignores the old leaves and tears up the tender young shoots. But he usually leaves it alone if I put in some zuccini.

 

[tailbarlionfish]

thanks for some replies. My fish have now already demolished 3 leaves from one of my nice looking plants...its only been there for 2 days now!!!
Once I bought a plant collection from www. java-plants.com . There were around 55 plants/cuttings...and now i only have about 5 left!!!

 

[Steven A]

I am thinking about getting a discus collection from there. What are the quality of the plants like and do they grow well in the tank ?

 

[tailbarlionfish]

yup they are good when they arrive...its just my fish decided to eat most of them before they even had a chance to start growing!!!

 

[tailbarlionfish]

oh and jrp1588 i think you shud consider getting some more clownloaches as they prefer to be in groups...i have 4

 

[jrp1588]

I know, but isn't my tank pretty much maxed out fish wise? I don't want to overcrowd.

 

[tailbarlionfish]

u have a 30g tank and only 14 fish. I think you could have at least 2 more clowns!!!

how big is ur plec? i want to get a plec but dont ya need a massive tank for it coz they grow to 60cm?

 

[mr86mister]

true that they like to be in schools, but they also grow up to a foot

i just wish they didnt get so big, i would love to have them in smaller tanks

 

[jrp1588]

A foot? 8O I need to research things more before I buy them. I expected more like 6 inches! I guess I'll just keep the loach and the pleco until they get too big for me, then try to sell them back to the LFS...or give them back if they won't buy.

 

[tailbarlionfish]

no seriously dont worry. They wont outgrow their aquarium and it takes them ages to grow anyway. I've had mine for a few yrs and the biggest one is about 7-8cm long