Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

There is a lot of discussion in the forum about having planted tanks, and some dynamite pictures of them, but little discussion about what varieties of plants work best with shrimp. What I'm looking for are inexpensive plants that grow well, and are little trouble, but give the shrimp a low stress environment. Anything that requires a Co2 injection system can be rulled out.

I'm looking to make the shrimp happy but not drive me crazy or into the poor house.

Hi badflash,

5 words... Java moss and Java fern

TKD

i just added 2 bamboo shoots i guess there called im going to see how they do in the "prawn tank" i have 2 15 watt ge plant / aquarium bulbs going arround 10 hrs a day . im wondering if they will take or grow fast .

If CO2 injection is out, you will be on the low side for lighting, since high light and no CO2 can be bad for some plants. Low light plants that have done well for me are Java Moss, Java Fern, Water Sprite and any Hygrophila or Nomaphila. Of these, Java Moss would probably be the best for spawning/hiding. Riccia might also be a good medium, but I haven't tried it.

Also, you can substitute co2 without resorting to yeast or a pressurized system by just using Fluorish Excel. Works really well for smaller tanks.

Without co2 or dosing, your best bet would be java moss and java ferns.

Thanks! I'm going with the Java. I have Riccia already (boy do I have Riccia). But they do like the java moss a lot more. Riccia gets too dense for the adults to get into.

prawnman88 wrote:i just added 2 bamboo shoots

Those "lucky bamboo" plants that are being sold are not bamboo at all and do not live in water. The lower leaves are cut and they are grown in a way to resemble bamboo. They will die off in water after a while and should be grown just like any other potted plant in soil. The plant's scientific name is Dracaena sanderiana and it usually looks like this if grown properly to adult size and not mutilated to resemble bamboo:

I use Najas sp. in all of my tanks. It grows very quickly and helps with the excess nutrient intake better than slower growing plants. Plus, it does not need to be anchored, branches out enough to create a "bush" for shrimp to forage and hide in. Najas sp. is not grown commercially but must be obtained from other hobbyists.

Another plant that is similarly useful (although I favor Najas) is hornwort. However, I the hornwort that is usually sold in stores or on aquabid is the tough, coldwater kind, which does not do well at all in home aquaria. There seems to be a strain of hornwort in aquaria that is exchanged among hobbyist, which is much softer, more gracile and does very well in aquaria.

Finally, Egeria densa is also a great plant for the shrimp tank for similar reasons as Najas sp. although it does not branch out quite as much as the Najas, but is also not as brittle as the former (Najas tips can break off to form new plants by mere touch).

All three plants can live in soft to very hard water and thus are suitable for all shrimp species.

Sounds like a good idea for the ***Shrimp Store***

Your advice is something that is ignored at our shrimp's peril.

My shrimp also like najas. It's a great plant for shrimp and fry tanks. I even have some growing in a vase with only light coming from a tank that's next to it.

My shrimp really seem to like marimo moss balls, too. The amanos seem to like combing them for food. They do fine in low light.

The baby shrimp seem to like floating riccia, too. Every time I take some out of the tank I have to rinse lots of babies out of it. It does fine floating in a medium-low light tank. It only needs high light and CO2 if you tie it down.

Mustafa wrote:

prawnman88 wrote:i just added 2 bamboo shoots

Those "lucky bamboo" plants that are being sold are not bamboo at all and do not live in water. The lower leaves are cut and they are grown in a way to resemble bamboo. They will die off in water after a while and should be grown just like any other potted plant in soil. The plant's scientific name is Dracaena sanderiana and it usually looks like this if grown properly to adult size and not mutilated to resemble bamboo:

Agree,
that so called "Happy Bamboo" is in fact Dracaaena sanderina. It does not live in water, but can can grow some time "form water" only. Leaves haven't to be under water.
I don't know how for shrimps, but some Dracaaena are poisoneous.

badflash wrote:Sounds like a good idea for the ***Shrimp Store***

Your advice is something that is ignored at our shrimp's peril.

I might actually start selling some Najas soon. The only problem with selling Najas to novices is that they expect a long stem plant to arrive, not realizing that najas is brittle and arrives as a collection of several stem partitions. All those parts grow into several branched out plants again but I guess it's irritating for beginners to see a bunch of plant parts arrive in the mail.

Najas can be hard to ship, as it's so brittle and delicate. When I first received mine, it was mostly squashed and dead, with only a few stems still green. Luckily it bounced back and eventually took over several tanks. Whenever I have shipped it, I have always warned people about this, and not to give up hope as long as there are still parts that are green and firm. I found the best way to ship it is with little water and a lot of air for cushioning.

I agree with Lotus in regards to shipping the Najas. One of the aquarium-hobby dealer sold me some Najas. He placed them in a small plastic bag with some air in it and some water. The Najas arrived in perfect condition and of course it took off from there in my shrimp aquarium like the same for most people.