Tropical Fish Tank and Aquarium Information

Go Back   Fish Lore Tropical Fish and Aquarium Forum > Freshwater Aquarium Fish Forum > More Freshwater Aquarium Topics > Aquarium Plants

Aquarium Plants Forum - Articles: Freshwater Aquarium Plants, Keeping Aquarium Plants, Aquarium Plants

Join Fish Lore Aquarium Forum

Search Fish Lore Facebook 
Google+
Twitter


Aquarium Forum
General
Welcome To FishLore
Using the Forum
General Discussion
Members Fish Tanks
Photos and Videos
Member Photos
Member Videos
Freshwater Aquarium Forum
Freshwater Beginners
Freshwater Equipment
More Freshwater Topics
Freshwater Fish & Inverts
Ponds
Saltwater Aquarium Forum
Saltwater Beginners
Saltwater Equipment
More Saltwater Topics
Saltwater Fish & Inverts
Member Blogs
Member Blogs
Misc. Topics
Reviews
Aquarium Fish Clubs
Buy, Sell, Trade
Fish Profiles
Freshwater Fish
Saltwater Fish
Fish Forum Archives
Closed Thread
 
Fish Forum Thread Tools
Old May 13th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
mid light plants in a low light environment?

the guy at the LFS told me to put a cardinal plant into my 20 gallon tank unfortunatly he didnt tell me that i had a low light environment (i didnt know about WPG or different lights then oops! now i do) well the cardinal plant has struggled to live but it just now has detached itself from its roots and is now floating directly under the lights. i like the plant but i dont know how i can save it. i cant get a new light. so here are my options please help me pick which one to choose. or come up with your own.
1. let it float near the light to recive more light.
2. i cant think of any more so i really need help
frogster221 is offline  
Old May 13th, 2008  
Fish Master
 
If you have not, you may want to read this first to get an idea what low-light and medium-light plants are like, and what they require in order to grow: General Guide to Low-Light Planted Tanks. Here, you'll also find info on how to plan for a low-light and low-tech tank .

P.S. I'm not sure what kind of a plant a "Cardinal" plant is
Isabella is offline  
Old May 13th, 2008  
Moderator
 
http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_...nt&type=Search
cardinal plant
Carol
Butterfly is online now  
Old May 13th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
yep i understand it all now before when i bought the plant i didnt i have less than 1 wpg in the 20 and the cardinal plant needs abot 1.5 to 2 wpg and i dont have that so i was wondering wat could i do to keep the cardinal plant alive without buying new lights. i also use flourish after each water change which are every weekend not sure if this changes anything.
frogster221 is offline  
Old May 14th, 2008  
Fish Master
 
Well, I guess just give it a try in the setup you already have. Won't hurt to try and see if and how it will grow. If it won't do well, then you'll know it's too demanding for your setup.
Isabella is offline  
Old May 14th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
could i just leave the light on longer during the day or would that possibly cause harm to my tank and inhabitants
frogster221 is offline  
Old May 15th, 2008  
Fish Keeper
 
At less than 1 wpg, about the only plants to survive will be Java Fern and Java moss so you might want to stick with those.

Fertilizing or letting the plant float near the light really won't change the fact that it needs more wpg to live. In fact, fertilizing a sick or dying plant will hasten the death of it.
Barbrella is offline  
Old May 15th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
o ill stop fertilizing then or move ir im not sure yet
frogster221 is offline  
Old May 15th, 2008  
Fish Mentor
 
I have water whisteria in a less than wpg and it is going fine. didnt know if that would help any.
angelfish220 is offline  
Old May 15th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
i think i have wisteria but it only grow near the light no deeper
frogster221 is offline  
Old May 15th, 2008  
Fish Keeper
 
I also had Wisteria in less than 1 wpg. It did fine for awhile, then ultimately started get very leggy, then to rot and die. It took about 5 months to die, so you could keep it temporarily! It's a fairly inexpensive plant (I get a huge tall bunch for about 4$), so replacing it every few months is doable.
Barbrella is offline  
Old May 15th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
mine has lived for half a year i just clip off the large upper leave and move them back to the gravel where they grow roots and make a nice mini forest for my cory. my wisteria grow fine it just doesnt grow when the taller larger leaves shade the bottom leaves
frogster221 is offline  
Old May 16th, 2008  
Fish Master
 
Why not put reflectors on your bulbs? That should bring it up to about 1.5WGP.

Cardinal plant (Lobelia cardinalis):http://www.tropica.com/productcard.asp?id=053C

Leaving the light on longer will encourage algae. 8-10 hours is fine.

Good luck!
Blub is offline  
Old May 16th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
ok thank you for all of the help
frogster221 is offline  
Old May 19th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
Like a lot of plants sold from pet stores cardinals are not true aquatic plants and do not thrive underwater. If they do not have optimal conditions they just rot away in your tank polluting your water.
LetDiceFly is offline  
Old May 19th, 2008  
Fish Master
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LetDiceFly View Post
Like a lot of plants sold from pet stores cardinals are not true aquatic plants and do not thrive underwater. If they do not have optimal conditions they just rot away in your tank polluting your water.
Lobelia cardinalis is an aquatic plant? Dracaeneas and that aren't, but it's listed all other the place as aquatic. Are you thinking of something else?
Blub is offline  
Old May 20th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
I am not a expert although I've discussed some of these things with people that grow plants. It is my understanding that cardinalis is a "bog" or amphibious plant, and that plants in this category are generally unsuited for low-light aquariums. Generally a true-aquatic plant with low light will just grow slow, but a bog plant will decay. But again, I may be mistaken or mis-applying a generalization. Anyone, please correct me if I am wrong, I am still trying to learn.
LetDiceFly is offline  
Old May 20th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
when i bought it it had a tag that said aquarium plant but o well live and learn
frogster221 is offline  
Old May 27th, 2008  
Fish Master
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LetDiceFly View Post
I am not a expert although I've discussed some of these things with people that grow plants. It is my understanding that cardinalis is a "bog" or amphibious plant, and that plants in this category are generally unsuited for low-light aquariums. Generally a true-aquatic plant with low light will just grow slow, but a bog plant will decay. But again, I may be mistaken or mis-applying a generalization. Anyone, please correct me if I am wrong, I am still trying to learn.
Well, Lobelia cardinalis is an aquatic plant (or rather, grows underwater in med-high light) and a terrestrial plant. It can be grown above and below... My research says. I've seen it at the garden centre as well.

What are you doing with yours anyway Frogster? You never said.
Blub is offline  
Old May 27th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
i let it float around the tank for awhile then i finally figured out that my other tank had a higher wpg so i put it in that tank o and it does grow well under water now
frogster221 is offline  
Old May 27th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
I was just trying to say that amphibious plants generally decay under low light underwater. There are many plants available that do fine, you just have to research first. Depending on what you have, often you can find 6700 daylight bulbs that will make plants grow much better with the same limited number of watts.
LetDiceFly is offline  
Old May 28th, 2008  
Fish Master
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by frogster221 View Post
i let it float around the tank for awhile then i finally figured out that my other tank had a higher wpg so i put it in that tank o and it does grow well under water now
Really, it depends on the WPG on the bigger tank. If it's higher than 2 WPG, then it should be good. Lower - well same as before.
If it does not fit in your tanks, what about your garden? You could try planting it up in compost, and planting it out in the garden space?

Next time you go looking for plants, pick out these: Java moss, Java fern (They must be attached to rocks/driftwood with string or fishing line), Anubias species (Can be tied to rocks/wood or planted in the substrate as long as the rhizome is above the substrae) Hornwort and Cryptocoryne species. They are all plants that would do very well in your low-light set-ups. I am a real fan of the anubias and Crypts.
Blub is offline  
Old May 28th, 2008  
Fish Addict
 
i like the anubias spacies alot im hoping to get more of them
frogster221 is offline  
Closed Thread

Fish Forum Thread Tools

Fun Fish and Aquarium Games!
Fish Tycoon
Fish Tycoon
Insaniquarium - Insane Aquarium
Insaniquarium
Insane Aquarium
Jenny's Fish Shop
Jenny's
Fish Shop
FishCo
FishCo!


Similar Aquarium Fish Forum Threads
Thread Fish Forum
Some Low-Light Planted Tank Light Questions Lighting
Don't know what kinda light my plants need Aquarium Plants
How much light is enough for live plants Lighting
?will red light grow plants? Lighting
Guide to low light plants, and how to spot bad plants Aquarium Plants



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2012, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
LinkBacks Enabled by vBSEO 3.3.2 © 2009, Crawlability, Inc.
© Fish Lore.com - providing tropical fish tank and aquarium information for freshwater fish and saltwater fish keepers