Tio

i have a 55 gallon tank everything is running good the fish are healthy .i have platties tetras and mollies and i want to add some real plants.how do you add plants to an tank without empting the water?are their plants thati could add that would not require a substrate under the gravel?one last question,do you need to treat the plants before adding them so not to add some unwanted critters?thanks from bradford.

jsalemi

You could add live plants pretty much anytime. It's easiest to do when the water level is lower, so you could do it when you do your regular water change.

If it's an established tank, there's probably some nutrients in the gravel already that the plants can use. If not, you can add some 'root tabs' that will give them extra nutrition until they establish themselves.

susitna-flower

Hi Tio, WELCOME to FISHLORE, I haven't seen any official welcome yet, so just wanted to say HI and let you know 1967 wasn't THAT long ago. Do you REMEMBER that far back

Main thing that you will need to do before adding plants is REASEARCH, the plants. www.plantgeek.com is a good site. You have to buy plants according to the light requirements of the plants, and the lighting you have for your tank.

Check out Isabellas planted 75 gallon tank, you can see some pictures she just posted with her angel fish. Her tank is SOooooo lovely, you can see the black eco-complete she uses for substrate, it is coarse black sand, packed with minerals and nutrients for plants, as well as beneficial bacteria to help cycle your tank. Of course this is a whole different issue of tearing your tank down if you added it, but just thought you would like to see some great tanks to give inspiration.....

fordtrannyman

Yes, you can add plants to plain inert gravel without emptying the tank.
As long as the plant does not require a nutrient rich substrate.
It's also possible to change the substrate using Eco Complete without tearing down tank.
If you get the plants from a reliable source then (known members) then it's usually no worry. Besides a few snails are actually viable contributors to a healthy planted tank.

Take a look at plantgeek If you haven't already

Tio

thanks i was all over plant geeks already saw anothe post here refering someone there(great site would never found it on my own).i bought 3 small plants for now (they have very large names)that the employee at Big Als recomended would be a good plant to start with.they can be planted right into the gravel.the plants are doing well but my 2 plecos i got a the same time both died 3-4 days latter they were doing well they clean most of the tank it looks spotless.trying to figure what happened to them.the rest of my fish are doing well and breeding even,have baby platties swimming arond in the new plants.

fordtrannyman

Do you know the short common names? How much lighting do you have?

As for the Pleco's, it's hard to say. IME when first starting out with tropical fishkeeping. I couldn't keep a pleco alive for more than two weeks to save my life. I've since learned that there are several different species, along with cold water species. There are also some very unhealthy breeding practices among farms. I would suggest just doing a little scientific research into the species you like and acquiring that species from a reputable LFS, not a chain store.

Tio

they are low light plants ,right now i have just 2 ,2 foot white lights.i am in the process of making a custom canopy for my tank with 2 four foot plant and aquarium lights and the 2 two foot white lights plus a couple of blue leds for night time.not sure of the common name for the plants were,was told they are a good to start with.one looks like Cryptocoryne walkeri i beleive that is the name and Cryptocoryne x willisii (Lucens) i think is the common name.the plecos were albino chocolate plecos