A couple questions about live plants

HI all,

I'm currently in the research phase to get a tropical freshwater tank going. I wanted to get it going with live plants instead of fake. A couple questions:

1.) Do you have to cycle your tank before putting in the vegetation or do you put in at the beginning and allow to be part of the cycle?

2.) I'm assuming there are a lot of tropical fish that feed on plants and I'd need to steer clear of those species. Does that mean pick the fish first, then find plants that would agree with them?

Thanks in advance

 

1. Nope! You can add plants at any time during the cycle.

2. Actually, many in the hobby don't feed on plants. It's very easy to find fish that won't bother your plants. What fish did you want?

 

1. Nope! You can add plants at any time during the cycle.

2. Actually, many in the hobby don't feed on plants. It's very easy to find fish that won't bother your plants. What fish did you want?

See, not even sure yet. I'm in the fairly early stage. I've gotten down all the technical aspects like cycling and what kinds of equipment I'll need. Choosing fish will be the hard (but fun) part. It's a bit overwhelming. There's many things to consider, like how many fish to have, how big they'll grow, if they get along with each other, if they interact with the ecosystem. I'm doing a 20 gallon long build. So I'm not sure what is "too few" fish and when you're starting to over stock it. Is there a rule of thumb?

Edit: also, thanks for the quick response!

 

There's no hard and fast stocking rule, but if you post the species you like here, we can help you stock appropriately

 

Do you know what kind of substrate you will be using? If you get Cories they love sand! Snails and shrimps are pretty cool too!

 

Yeah I'm definitely leaning toward sand but haven't made a final decision. Most people seem to prefer it and I think it looks nicer.

 

Yeah I'm definitely leaning toward sand but haven't made a final decision. Most people seem to prefer it and I think it looks nicer.

Two of my tanks have floramax gravel and the plants really like it. The roots are able to take hold easily and it has minerals and stuff for the plants. My newest tank has beach sand and I've used root tabs because there are no nutrients in the sand. It does seem easy to suck up waste off the top but I also always seem to suck up some sand too! I haven't perfected the sand cleaning yet!