Dean

I'm just starting to add plants to my 55gal tank. temp 79F, all levels 0. I have no ploblem with frequent WC's. I have some gouramis, mollies, a clown loach, and carninal tetra's. I'm looking for good plants to start with. I have already added some Val and a Java Fern. What else would be good to add and whats the best way to plant them into the gravel? Thanks a lot.

agabr123

when you say all levels are zero, does that include nitrate? if so, then your tank probably isn't cycled.

to answer your question knowing the wattage on your lights will be helpful. plants are divided into three categories of low, medium, and high lighting. depending on the wattage you'll need different kinds of plants for them to grow. i'd also recommend getting flourish by seachem as a supplement if you're not going with any kind of CO2 system or anything.

if you have a low light tank, then i'd recommend java moss, java ferns, and anubias. i have all three and they're doing very well despite my complete lack of plant expertise.

as a side note, i see you have a clown loach in your 55? unfortunately the loach is going to get way too big for that tank, they get to over 12 inches long and are very deep bodied, and really need to be in groups otherwise they can stress themselves to the point of death.
http://www.loaches.com/species-index...a-macracanthus

Dean

It is cycled. All levels are at 0 including Nitrates. I've been doing WC's every other day for the last week and a half due to not soaking my driftwood long enough and the tea color water that followed. As for the clown loach dilema, I was an ignorant tank owner at first and did the they look cool and PetSmart staff telling me great starter fish that only grows to 6in thing. I have since learned a lot and have been looking for a good home or trade in for him. Thanks for looking out though.

I have two 18in floraGro lights. Not sure of the watt's and I'm not using any CO2 and don't plan on using that anytime soon. I did use a seacham product(forgot name) that is supose to aid in root growth in gravel. I was told (By LFS)to wait a month before usinf the Flourish. Is that right?

agabr123

oh wow, every other day! the tannins really aren't a problem, if it bothers you you can just boil the driftwood or pour boiling water over it (take it out of the tank first, of course!). that should help clear it up much more quickly.

i'm sorry you got such bad info from petsmart, unfortunately it happens a lot and definitely has happened to me when i was first getting into fishkeeping. i'm glad you're finding him a good home you can try posting on aquabid or in the buy/sell/trade forums here as well if you havent

yeah, co2 systems arent really necessary and are kind of expensive so i don't have them either. i think your LFS may have just told you to wait a month because of the cycle, but since you're done with the cycle then it shouldn't matter. i'll see what i can find on the lights as far as wattage, that should give you a better idea of what you can get.

Dean

Any tips for planting them in the gravel? Can they be moved? What do I do about cleaning the gravel around them? Thanks a bunch.

Shawnie

alot of begginer ones are java's whether it be ferns or moss...they are lowlight also...do you have plants in there now to have the 0 nitrate reading? did you have a 0 reading before plants? im asking because stress zyme doesnt have enough bacteria to sustain and cycle the tank... I hate it when fish stores give crappy info ..we have all been there

goggles2

java ferns and moss can usually be attached to driftwood or rocks just strap them on with an elastic band or a piece of thread and usually by time the elastic/thread gives out the plant should have attached itself already

java ferns work well at this they tend to latch on fast then once its latched on you can move it around your tank at will without stressing the plant out

as for planting them in gravel make sure theyre just deep enough to cover the roots and not the part where new growth comes in otherwise the plant will die

moving plants alot will stress them out and kill them (although plants like java fern are quite tough some are more sensitive) so make sure you know where you wanna put em choose wisely

for cleaning around them all you have to do is be gentle and dont plunge the siphon into the gravel around them simply hover it just above the gravel and let it suck up the goop

Amanda

Anacharis & anubias are also great starter plants.

Plantgeek.net is a great site.
SweetAquatics.com sells awesome plants.

Dean

Thanks for everyones help. This was my first post.

Low levels of Nitrates were present before I added the plants but not anymore. My ammonia levels went up to about .25-.50 but the nitrite and nitrate are at 0. I added the school of Carndinal Tetra's a day or two after adding the plant. One died after the first night and one more was dead yesterday(5 days after adding). Did the plant and fish combo spike the ammonia?

goggles2

plants wont cause ammonia to spike unless theyve been dead for awhile and are decomposing but they do absorb nitrates for food

fish will definately cause ammonia to spike if your cycle isnt established

sounds like your cycle might have crashed how many tetras did you add?

adding too many fish right away can crash your cycle because the bacteria cant keep up with the amount of ammonia your tetras are producing

i would add some seachem prime water conditioner to detoxify the ammonia and help keep your fish from being poisioned and give your bacteria a chance to catch up

if you cant find prime find something similar usually something that says it locks up ammonia or detoxifies it bear in mind these usually only last 24 hours

im not an expert but someone else might have some more advice for you

Dean

Thanks a lot Goggles2. Good stuff.

goggles2

no problem feel free to ask anything else lots of knowledgable people on here

Dean

Apparently so. I've gotten lots of info from here the past few day. Great idea to have a social netorking fish site. I'm hooked.

Amanda

Yeah....we have a way of turning people into fish addicts here....
I had one 5 gal. tank when I first started on this site....

agabr123

i had a bowl when i started keeping fish (november of last year)......now i have eight tanks

Dean

I envy you. I guess its a good thing I'm a poor teacher cause I get to into things and tend to go way overboard. I will get some more tanks in the furture though. Not a bad addiction to have i supose.