Plant questions

[mrzap]

I have an amazon sword growing in my tank and it is doing great! In fact, I was thinking of adding a java fern as well.

but...I wanted to know what exactly plants do in your tank?

Do they remove co2 and produce oxygen like regular land plants?
Will they help to increase the dissolved oxygen levels in my aquarium?
From what I have read they remove nitrates? Am I correct? Do they filter anything else that is harmful?
Is anything they do detrimental?

 

[BrianNY]

This is a great question mrzap. Having plants in an aquarium is more a matter of personal preference. I enjoy the look of a densely planted tank, but I also have tanks with no plants because it makes maintaining the tanks easier.

When the ecosytem of a planted tank is in balance plants help to control algae as well as keep the nitrate accumulation down. When the ecosystem is off IME all hell brakes loose (LOL)

 

[malkore]

Do they remove co2 and produce oxygen like regular land plants?

- yes

Will they help to increase the dissolved oxygen levels in my aquarium?

- yes

From what I have read they remove nitrates? Am I correct? Do they filter anything else that is harmful?

yes they use nitrates as food, as well as ammonia and phosphates. their roots will also help prevent anaerobic bacteria pockets from forming in the substrate

Is anything they do detrimental?

not directly...only if a plant loses leaves, and you don't remove them...then they rot and cause increased nitrite/nitrates, but typically not enough to harm the fish.

 

[mrzap]

Sweet I may pick up a nice little java fern tonight to add in there as well.

 

[LowMaintenance]

Dumb newbie question, so a plastic plant is just simply decoration. Will my betta appreciate it in any way?

 

[mrzap]

Not sure, but my beta likes to wrap his fins around the longer stems of my plant and just sort of sway with it sometimes. Usually plants only cost like 3 bucks. Cheaper than aquarium decorations and they provide a practical use

I just planted the java fern in my tank 10 mins ago. Nice little addition. In the tank at Petco they had bamboo fully submerged as well. Don't bamboo need to be above water? I thought they rot if more than like 1/3 of them are under water.

 

[Fruitbat]

LowMaintenance....

Plastic plants serve more purpose than simply a decoration, though that is pretty important in itself. Most fish like some sort of structure in their aquarium and in a 2 gallon tank you're pretty limited. You're not going to get a big tree trunk in there, obviously, so plastic plants are a good choice.

mrzap...

How did you plant your Java Fern?? The leaves of the Java Fern grow from a structure called a rhizome which has dark root-like structures that it uses to anchor to the substrate or to things like driftwood or rocks. You should NOT plant the rhizome itself beneath the surface of the gravel or it is likely to rot. Many people use a piece of dark cotton string or monofilament fishing line to secure the rhizome of the Java Fern to a piece of driftwood or rock. This serves to hold it in place until the plant can attach itself. If you want the Java Fern to be on the bottom of your tank then you can weight it down a bit until the root-like structures have grown enough to hold it to your gravel.

Java Ferns do not absorb nutrients from the root-like structures on their rhizomes. They absorb the things they need directly from the water through their leaves.

Lots of pet stores will happily sell you plants that should NOT be planted in your aquarium because they are not submergent plants. These will often last a few weeks to a month before they die and foul your tank. Do your research before you buy!!

 

[mrzap]

Petco has a nice little spongy material they pack the roots of their plants in. Per the guy there you just sort of sqeeze the sponge and throw some gravel on top. Works great for my amazon sword. I "think" this is a java fern although I could be mistaken. I am a n00b

It looks kind of like a midget amazon sword with slightly more rounded leaves

 

[Fruitbat]

Actually the guy at PetCo is wrong. You should carefully remove the 'sponge' material from the plant's roots (if it has any) and then plant them in the aquarium substrate. If you indeed have Java Fern then read the post above.

 

[LowMaintenance]

thanks FruitBat, i will have to get a plastic plant when i get the heater; i'm calling around for a 25 w or less heater.

this one guy told me to just buy this 50 w heater. he's sold it for 30 years to people with 2 gal tanks. i was like uh, i'll think about it.

 

[mrzap]

Fruitbat, any reason in particular against removing the sponge?