AquaRank.com

FishProfiles.com Message Forums

faq | etiquette | register | my account | search | mailbox
# FishProfiles.com Message Forums
L# Freshwater Aquaria
 L# Planted Aquaria
  L# Easy to Care for Plants
 Post Reply  New Topic
SubscribeEasy to Care for Plants
Fishrockmysox
*********
-----
Hobbyist
Posts: 94
Kudos: 58
Votes: 12
Registered: 20-Oct-2006
female usa
I would like to know of some easy to care for plants. And I would like to have more info on the following species:

Guppy Grass
Anubias Nana
Java Moss
Java Fern
Christmas Moss
Hornwort

Any and all info and plants are welcome!

THANKS IN ADVANCE! I APPERCIATE IT!

10G- 6 Zebra Danios, 1 Upside Down Catfish
20G- 1 Goldfish
72G(maybe95)- Need Stock suggestions
Post InfoPosted 20-Apr-2007 04:47Profile AIM PM Edit Report 
jasonpisani
---------------
*Ultimate Fish Guru*
Posts: 5553
Kudos: 7215
Votes: 1024
Registered: 24-Feb-2003
male malta
You cann read alot of information about plants here - http://www.tropica.com/default.asp

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com
Post InfoPosted 20-Apr-2007 07:45Profile MSN PM Edit Delete Report 
kitten
----------
Fish Guru
Meow?
Posts: 2266
Kudos: 2194
Votes: 19
Registered: 18-Nov-2003
female usa
Some of the easiest care plants are anubias, cryptocorenes and java ferns.

Crypts are the ultimate in easy maintenance... plant them and leave them the heck alone. Disturbing a crypt will cause crypt "melt" which is basically where the plant releases a toxin with the sole purpose of killing off other crypts that grow too closely to it. In the wild, this would be a defense against over-crowding and would give the crypt the best possible chance at sunlight and nutrients by removing any competitors. In the home aquarium, the toxins aren't washed away like they would be in a stream or a like setting, so in effect, it is poisoning itself. To prevent crypt rot, soak the plant for 20 minutes or so in a container of fresh water when you move it, and once you plant it, leave it alone. Doing this, I was able to move a crypt without losing half the leaves. They're generally a pretty low light plant. Also, they can survive without added nutrients, though they do appreciate an iron-rich substrate or the addition of root tab fertilizers.

Anubias are great. As one of my fav LFS guys stated, if you can kill anubias, you've got talent. They are easily attached to rocks, driftwood or planted (leave the rhizome above gravel). They grow slowly and are generally not eaten by herbivorous fish because of the toughness of the leaves.

Java fern... can't say enough about this plant. I love it and all its varieties. Grows happily in just about any condition, probably the easiest care plant you can get. Readily attaches to gravel or rock or driftwood. One of my favorite ways to grow java fern is to plant it regularly until it attaches its roots to pieces of gravel (which doesn't take that long, anubias takes much longer to attach roots to anything) and then pull it up above the substrate. The roots will be decorated with pieces of gravel which will hold it down, but you can see the root structure, dotted with gravel "ornaments." Also, java fern is what I consider the "livebearer" plant, as it pops out baby java ferns at a consistent rate, like a guppy. When you start seeing the tiny baby java plants attached to the upper reaches of the leaves of the mother plant, it's really quite amusing. (Side note, these baby javas do have a tendency to find themselves attached to the intake of your filter, though.)

Hornwort is especially great as a hiding place for guppy fry. It also grows amazingly fast in good conditions. It's a floating plant, so it generally gets good light, no matter what your tank wattage is. However, as it grows so fast, it tends to start blocking out light to the lower reaches of the tank and it can easily take over a smaller tank. Also, I found that it doesn't much care for changes. When I started moving things around, it started dying off, creating a litter of dropped "needles" all over my tank.

Java fern is the unkillable plant. It can literally survive in no light for an extended period of time. I've grown it in small bowls of water, forgotten it in a bag for days... this plant can really take a lot when it comes to deficiencies. It is also the plant that never ever goes away. The smallest portion of this plant can turn into a thriving population. I have no idea how it got into my 20 gallon... but there it is, and no matter how much I tear it out (I've given up), it never goes away. I assume I must have had a small piece hitchhike on a java fern transplanted from my ten gallon tank, otherwise, I'm not sure how it got there.

I don't have any personal experience with guppy grass or christmas moss, so I can't comment. And I'm running late, so I should stop typing and get out the door, anyway.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~
Post InfoPosted 20-Apr-2007 13:25Profile Homepage AIM MSN Yahoo PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
**********
---------------
---------------
-----
Moderator
Tenellus Obsessor
Posts: 2790
Kudos: 1507
Votes: 1301
Registered: 26-Mar-2004
male usa us-northcarolina
you covered the easy to care for plants there, not much to add to that. They all need only low light to survive. I'd maybe steer clear of hornwort though, as it likes to shed its needles and can be a nasty mess. Anacharis is kind of a similar plant that you can replace it with. It's easy to grow and floats, but doesn't have needles.

That link jason provided is a great resource on plants. Check it out.



Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients
Post InfoPosted 20-Apr-2007 13:29Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
Fishrockmysox
*********
-----
Hobbyist
Posts: 94
Kudos: 58
Votes: 12
Registered: 20-Oct-2006
female usa
Wow, that, as djrichie says, all this information is like having college fish classes

10G- 6 Zebra Danios, 1 Upside Down Catfish
20G- 1 Goldfish
72G(maybe95)- Need Stock suggestions
Post InfoPosted 20-Apr-2007 22:41Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
fishmonster
*******
----------
Big Fish
Oh My Heck!
Posts: 329
Kudos: 88
Votes: 73
Registered: 11-Apr-2007
male usa
I was reading this post and I went to the link given but the site gives the non-common name to the plant and so I am not able to figure out which plant i need to be looking at. Is there another link that could give me the common names then the official name for the plants?

Thanks

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html
Post InfoPosted 21-Apr-2007 00:29Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Fishrockmysox
*********
-----
Hobbyist
Posts: 94
Kudos: 58
Votes: 12
Registered: 20-Oct-2006
female usa
Sorry, but is this a response to help me with my question or are you just posting so that you can have your own question answered ? I'm not trying to be rude

10G- 6 Zebra Danios, 1 Upside Down Catfish
20G- 1 Goldfish
72G(maybe95)- Need Stock suggestions
Post InfoPosted 21-Apr-2007 02:45Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
kitten
----------
Fish Guru
Meow?
Posts: 2266
Kudos: 2194
Votes: 19
Registered: 18-Nov-2003
female usa
Another good site is PlantGeek which refers to both common names and scientific names. Also, often doing a google search on the name of the plant you're looking for will give you the latin name.

Other good sites are Arizona Gardens]http://www.azgardens.com/newaquar2.php[/link] and [link=AquaBotanic. Both are sites you can order from, and give some info on the plants. Aquabotanic in particular has several categories you may want to look at, Fishrockmysox. I believe there's a "hard to kill" category as well as "low tech" and the like. Pretty much what we've mentioned here, but showing more varieties and the like.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~
Post InfoPosted 21-Apr-2007 04:51Profile Homepage AIM MSN Yahoo PM Edit Delete Report 
fishmonster
*******
----------
Big Fish
Oh My Heck!
Posts: 329
Kudos: 88
Votes: 73
Registered: 11-Apr-2007
male usa
No I understand, I was reading your post and I too was in the same boat as you looking for low light plants and so I went to the site but I had a hard time reading so i wanted to know if the person that posted the link had a different one with common names. I thought that might also help you as well. I didn't mean to hijack your thread.

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html
Post InfoPosted 24-Apr-2007 00:19Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Fishrockmysox
*********
-----
Hobbyist
Posts: 94
Kudos: 58
Votes: 12
Registered: 20-Oct-2006
female usa
Well, it's fine.. I shouldn't have been rude and said that. After all, everyone needs help and at one point will "hijack" someone's thread x] lol

10G- 6 Zebra Danios, 1 Upside Down Catfish
20G- 1 Goldfish
72G(maybe95)- Need Stock suggestions
Post InfoPosted 24-Apr-2007 15:34Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
Post Reply  New Topic
Jump to: 

The views expressed on this page are the implied opinions of their respective authors.
Under no circumstances do the comments on this page represent the opinions of the staff of FishProfiles.com.

FishProfiles.com Forums, version 11.0
Mazeguy Smilies