plants

Mordaki · Post by **Mordaki** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 12:16 pm

i have tryed having plants a couple of times in my tank but evry time i put them in the tank it messes up my water and i generally have to remove the plant(s) and do a larger water change to try and fix the problem. Im going to get some java moss and would like to know if anyone else has had problems with plants? evry time i had tryed i washed the plants in treated water so there was no amonia and stuff. if they have had any problems how did they fix the problem,could it have been the wrong kind of plant say a cold water and not tropical freshwater plant or maby i just got bad plants(the places i got them from had healthy fish and stuff and thair plants looked healthy no rotting,holes or discolouration). any input apretiated

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 1:13 pm

I have riccia, java moss and java fern, horwort and have never had water quality issues due to the plants. Did yours have enough light to stay healthy?

The only issues I've had with bring in plants is hitchikers like scuds, planaria and hydra. I now treat new plants with potassium permanganate. I use 1/4 teaspoon to a 5 gallon bucket. The water turns deep purple. I leave the plants in for a few hours, then rinse & treat with a declorinator. There should be no purple left when you put it in your tank. You need to be careful with this stuff as it is a stong oxidizing agent.

YuccaPatrol · Post by **YuccaPatrol** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 3:43 pm

Maybe you could explain how the plants "mess up" your water and we could help find a solution for you.

I've never had plants do anything but improve my water quality, so I am a bit stumped about what they are doing to your tanks.

Baby_Girl · Post by **Baby_Girl** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 5:00 pm

it sounds to me like Mordaki is having problems with plants dying and rotting, resulting in a mess and an increase in nitrogenous waste products. Is the issue that you can't keep them alive?

Mordaki · Post by **Mordaki** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 12:47 am

they seemed healthy to me but they seemed to alter my ph and if i remember either nitrate or nitrite but that was after a while. so maby leaves got stuck in the filter as after i removed them then washed the filter there was alot of small plant parts in the filter. they have plenty of light as the shelf unit i made is about 6 inches off the windowsill so with that and the light in the tank i think they have plenty of light allthough the first attempt diddnt rince them, and second time i used treated water. Im planning to get java moss and if that goes well i may try some more of the above listed plants. and will try treating the plant like stated above. thanks for the advice. I hope it goes rite this time as i would love a heavily planted tank

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 5:58 am

Natural light is very hard to predict & control. I use artifical light on a timer. Sunlight also can overheat a tank.

Mordaki · Post by **Mordaki** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 9:25 am

badflash wrote:Natural light is very hard to predict & control. I use artifical light on a timer. Sunlight also can overheat a tank.

i have a light aswell in the tank and i keep the blinds closed unless im in the room with the tank in

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 2:20 am

I used to keep hornwort but my shrimp would pull pieces off that would clog the filter. I keep java ferns, java moss, riccia, elodea densa and moss balls with no clogging problems.

Mordaki · Post by **Mordaki** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 3:02 pm

forgot the name of the plant i got but i also got myself a bamboo shrimp and 6 apple snails. i thaught i had a bamboo shrimp before but it was resmaller and went dark brownish d with no white stripe or stripes on it dont know what it was if it never died i could of tryed to take a pic of it. my father also decided he wanted some guppies so i told him to get 2 males and 2 females so they can breed instead of 4 males

. only got the snails for tank cleaning but there intresting aswell and they move faster than i imagined they would and my red nose shrimp like to sit on top of them and get a free ride around the tank

the place is going to phone me when they get some java moss in stock, also they said they may be able to get some shrimp in for me if i state what i want they will put it in thair order

Mordaki · Post by **Mordaki** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 2:58 am

well my smaller shrimp love the plant (so do my snails) my ram is alot more healthy looking now he has more places to hide and it seems to be ok. i have some java moss comeing aswell that should be in my tank about wedensday ish and slowly add a couple more plants if my water stays fine (have to take lots of pieces of plant out the tank tho my shrimp and snails must be ripping bits off.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 10:12 pm

You are going to like the java moss, they are great for the shrimp to sit on, swim through and just be around! It is one of the easiest plants to take care of needing only minimun light and no fertilizer.

By the way, what kind of smaller shrimp do you have? Hope you enjoy the new plants and keep us updated