Too many plants

[Fishyfanatic]

Can you put too many plants in a tank? I just moved my crypts from the 10 gal to the 5 and bought a Java Fern (The fish store FINALLY got them in). So the 5 gal Betta tank has 3 Crypts, 1 Java Fern, and 1 Anubus. I'm trying to revitalize the Crypts and I see hope in the future for them. I just don't want to have too many plants in the tank. The Fern is in the back corner, the crypts are in the mid-ground and the Anubus is in the front. It's starting to sprout another stem and leaf.

 

[greenmaji]

As long as the plants are not shading each other from your light source I really dont think you can have too many plants in a tank..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

anyone else?

 

[An t-iasg]

Well, I'm sure there can be too many plants in a tank, lol. But it sounds like you have a good mix of plants, and they are arranged so that they don't run into each other. I have more plants than what you are describing in my 5 gallon tank. Malkore said once that if the plants are not shading each other, and the light reaches them all, then you should be ok.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Thanks An t-iasg. I didn't think that it would be too many, but I wanted to double check. I'm kind of concerned about the Java Fern because it's only a 5 gal hex and I don't want it to grow too tall to where the leaves just float ontop of the water. I'm going to take pics after the tank settles and I get the 55 filled with sand. So expect some new pics in my gallery.

Also, I did read somewhere that you can over plant a tank. But the plants were planted very close together and it had something to do with the roots. I don't remember, it's been a couple months since I read it, but that's what triggered the thread. I may have read it about crypts, not planting them too close together.

 

[An t-iasg]

This is your hex tank -- I see why you were wondering. You don't have as much gravel space as a regular 5 gallon. I agree that the root overcrowding may be another concern, and in a closed system the roots could intertwine. When I removed a small crypt from my regular 5 gallon tank once, to do some re-arranging, I was surprised at how long the root was from that little plant. But your setup sounds fine. Anubias will get new leaves, but slowly. If it's a petite or small anubias, it probably won't overgrow the tank. I have seen an anubias, variety "coffeefolia" that is beautiful but very big.

My crypts got a new leaf every two weeks! They are C. wendtii or walkerii. Even though you can't tell for sure between wendtii or walkerii until (if) they flower, I'm pretty sure I have walkerii. Mine have not been growing leaves as fast now, but my light isn't the greatest, and I'm trying to get my husband to get or make a better light. I was having some problems with my one betta being very skittish, so I decided to get some medium-light, tall plants (Asian ambulia) to give him more hiding places. He loves the ambulia! But I planted it in the area of the tank that gets the most light, and the crypts are not shaded, but they aren't in the best light right now.

In my 5 gallon hex (which is not up at the moment) I took out the 10 watt bulb that came with it and looked online and got a 7 watt, 5000K bulb. The betta in the tank back then liked that light better because it wasn't as bright, and he stayed in his moss bed near the top of the tank. This 7 watt bulb grew the plants nicely. One of my favorites in that tank was Rotala rotundifolia. I don't think this plant would do well in the 5 gallon tanks I have now because it needs a little more light, but when I set the hex back up, I'll get some Rotala in that tank again. It is a nice plant for a hex tank because it was tall and not really bushy.

 

[malkore]

If the plants start to choke themselves out, that's when you have too many. From the sounds of it you're not overstocked on plants at the moment.

crypts will pretty much grow in how they want and won't choke out. java ferns under high light can get over-bearing though, needing to be thinned out.

i really doubt the anubias gives you trouble unless it starts growing into the crypt 'cluster'

 

[Fishyfanatic]

My favorite plant is the Anubus. It has nice big dark green leaves. I got my first patch of algae on the leaves last week so I wiped it off and now the plant looks VERY healthy. The tank has 2 wpg. Currently it has an incandescent bulb because I can't find a plexiglass shield to put between the water and the bulb. When I can, I'm going to screw in the cf.

The crypts weren't doing too well in my 10 gal sanded tank. So I am going to give them a shot in the 5 gal gravel. Hopefully this will perk them up. I took off the leaves that were brown. The betta seems to like the plants. He has become a little more active since I put in the fern. I just hope the plants don't grow so much that I can't find the little guy. j/k.

Is there anything that I can do to help along the crypts? Nitrates in this tank are non-existant. I've tried not doing water changes, but the betta just doesn't produce alot of waste. I'm going to test the phosphate tonight. This tank gets quite a bit of direct sunlight during the morning hours because it is by a window. But I haven't had an algae outbreak on the glass. Am I right in assuming that is because of the plants?

I don't plan on adding any more plants. In fact, I wasn't even planning on the fern. But when I went to the lfs and they had it, I couldn't just leave it there. They are next to impossible to come by around here and plus they gave it to me for 50% off.

 

[malkore]

crypts will benefit from root tabs.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Since the tank is so small, would 1 be sufficient or should I have a couple?

 

[An t-iasg]

Do you have the Eclipse hex tank? I think so, but can't remember for sure I looked on the website where you can buy replacement parts, but to buy the acrylic shield,you have to buy the whole hood. You could call and see if they could help out somehow.

I put a root tab about every 6 inches, approximately, among the crypts. I think in my hex, I had 2 tabs. I have 3 in my regular tank. I have C. petchii also now and they are big!

I add 1/4 teaspoon of Seachem Flourish Nitrogen twice a week, and my nitrates are still too low. You know how those test kits can be hard to read, but I think my nitrates are between 0 and 5 ppm. I have to keep working with the nitrogen fertilizer.

I don't know why you don't have algae but that's good! My hex got some sunlight in late afternoon and I had lots of hair algae.

There's no trick to crypts, really, other than the root tabs. I do remember that you had them in the sand before. It's my observation that they grow better in gravel than sand, and I just have regular gravel, not any of the specific plant gravels. The crypts will fill in their area of the tank nicely.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

It's not an Eclipse tank, but it's the same idea. It never had a cover for the light. I got it at Wal-Mart.

So maybe 2 root tabs?

And I should be dosing Nitrogen twice a week? I have only done that once and it looked like it helped my Anubus.

I did have the crypts in sand, but moved them to the gravel. Hopefully they will be happier.

 

[An t-iasg]

I think 2 root tabs would be good, about 6 inches apart. Be careful with the gravel vac that you don't disturb them because they make a "cloud" and you may get an algae bloom with the release of all the nutrients. I don't push through the gravel anymore with the gravel vac. I skim on the surface just a little, and then just finish removing the water until the line on my bucket.

Try dosing Nitrogen twice a week and measuring your levels. You should get between 5 and 10 ppm on your test kit. I don't think I'm quite up to 5 yet. Since you have fewer plants than I do, start out with 1/8 teaspoon twice a week and increase to 1/4 tsp. if you need to. I'm going to try slightly more at my next dosing. I got a cheap plastic teaspoon set at the drugstore. If you keep in mind that one teaspoon is 5 ml. that will help you convert to the ml measurement in the directions to the teaspoon. Although the Nitrogen bottle that I bought has a little pipette in it, I don't know if the company is providing that in the bottles anymore.

 

[An t-iasg]

How big are your crypts? I just re-read the first post. If you only have 3 small ones, use one root tab for now until they get bigger. Then you could put another tab, in another part of the tank, since the roots do spread.

Your pics are in the gallery!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Thanks An t-iasg. I tried to take pics of the 5 gal, but there is so much glare. I'll post on below though. Just to give you a feel for the tank.

The crypts are small.

I don't really gravel vac in the betta tank because it doesn't appear that he is pooping. I know he is, but it's not like it's a buildup of it. I will try the Nitrogen. I got a baby medicine syringe that I've been using for the Prime. It has the ml and teaspoon measurements on it so that should be easy to determine. Thanks!

 

[An t-iasg]

You're welcome! When I vac my betta tanks, rarely does any poop come into the water change bucket. Before the tanks were planted I was kind of amazed at how much I got out! Now there is rarely any. The plants are doing their job! I don't push the vac into the gravel anymore either, because you don't know where the roots are. I just vac along the surface of the gravel. You're lucky to have a medicine syringe like that! I had one at one time, without the needle, of course, and the black rubber thing swelled up somehow and it was much too hard to push down or pull up.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I actually just got it last week. My nephew had to be given an anti-biotic and when I picked up his meds from the pharmacy they asked me if I needed one (Dustin and Mandi have about 20 of them at home) so I said sure, of course. So I just kept it. It's the baby kind, so no needle.

I'm going to do the dosing tonight. That way I don't have to have James dose them during the week, I can just do it again when I get home. We'll see how they look when I return.

 

[travis simonson]

What kind of Crypts do you have? I'm guessing they're probably a C. wendtii variant, which are pretty hardy. Often Crypts will take some time to "break in" when placed in a new environment. C. wendtii is very adaptable and will usually have no trouble doing so, but it may take a few weeks before it adjusts to the new water/substrate conditions and gets comfortable. Don't expect it to perk right up when moved to a new tank, just give it some time

 

[Fishyfanatic]

When I got them they seemed to go down hill fast and they have been going that way since. I'm going to dose right now and see how they look on Friday. Hopefully something happens. And you are correct, they are C. Wendtii.