Novice tank substrate questions

Hey! Looking to change my tank up a bit due to substrate and plant conflicts I believe. Plant is overall green but is going pale/yellow. (There's also another weird thing with the plant but still wanting to change things)

I wanted to add some substrate that would give a smidgen bit of nutrients to the plant as extra if possible. I saw posts/videos/blogs about some taking organic soil and sifting it/baking etc then putting it under a layer of sand and such. Is there a better way? Thoughts on that?

 

Hey! Looking to change my tank up a bit due to substrate and plant conflicts I believe. Plant is overall green but is going pale/yellow. (There's also another weird thing with the plant but still wanting to change things)

I wanted to add some substrate that would give a smidgen bit of nutrients to the plant as extra if possible. I saw posts/videos/blogs about some taking organic soil and sifting it/baking etc then putting it under a layer of sand and such. Is there a better way? Thoughts on that?

what kind of plant do you have? if you only have a plant here, and a plant there, you can use aquarium root tabs. sachem makes them, api makes em, there are also thrive caps, I don't know much about them, but they are probably excellent too.

 

Heya! It's an anubis or at least was listed as one. But here's the catch on it. It's pre - stuffed into this weird pot per courtesy of petco lol

It wasn't in too bad of shape at the time, but since the few weeks I've had it, more and more I think the plant is suffocating basically in the annoying little pot. Project Crack the pot was going to happen tonight but I started thinking of some small things I could do to try to improve the plants nutrients without fudging the tank levels. Makoa the fish is happy and fluttering handsomely so I'd like to avoid making him sick

But in general I wanted to rescape his tank cause he doesnt have much going on besides plant roots and this sad anubis

 

I recommend fluval stratum for planted tanks. It’s made for fish tanks so no need to bake it. Are you dosing ferts?

 

Oh, and the long term plan was going to be to add additional plants later for color and adventure for fish

 

ok, so actually Anubias feeds from its leaves. it hardly uses its roots compared to root feeding plants. a water column Fert would do you good.

 

I haven't yet. I considered it. Some things I read suggested it could just be a dying leaf. But recent closer observations show that the other leaves were subjected to it too, just not as advanced. I'll show a picture of the weirdness though lol

But any suggestions where to buy it? Any good sites for tank supplies?

 

Is the Anubias rhizome under the stiff in the pot? If it is then the plant is slowly rotting. The rhizome (bottom of the plant) needs to be out of the substrate. A lot of people attach them to drift wood or a decoration.
example: here’s my Anubias on my driftwood

 

Guess possibly Iron deficiency .-.

But the picture (ignore the tree spirit) is hiding the leaves in the back that are exhibiting very pronounced yellow leaves but the one on the right is a good example. But the pot is annoying and bothersome.... no room to grow roots imo
In the pot... it's weird But I got some driftwood just for that. Recommendations to hold it down til it secures?

 

Is the Anubias rhizome under the stiff in the pot? If it is then the plant is slowly rotting. The rhizome (bottom of the plant) needs to be out of the substrate. A lot of people attach them to drift wood or a decoration.
example: here’s my Anubias on my driftwood
View attachment 777471

that's a cute fish, is it a convict?

Guess possibly Iron deficiency .-.

But the picture (ignore the tree spirit) is hiding the leaves in the back that are exhibiting very pronounced yellow leaves but the one on the right is a good example. But the pot is annoying and bothersome.... no room to grow roots imo
In the pot... it's weird af. But I got some driftwood just for that. Recommendations to hold it down til it secures?

you can glue it to anything with super glue gel.

 

Guess possibly Iron deficiency .-.

But the picture (ignore the tree spirit) is hiding the leaves in the back that are exhibiting very pronounced yellow leaves but the one on the right is a good example. But the pot is annoying and bothersome.... no room to grow roots imo
In the pot... it's weird af. But I got some driftwood just for that. Recommendations to hold it down til it secures?

I use krazy glue to attach mine.

that's a cute fish, is it a convict?

you can glue it to anything with super glue gel.

Polar blue blood parrot. (Convict x blood parrot hybrid)

 

Very cute! I saw something similar to him but different shade. But he might've been sick. He was at a 45 degree angle against a tank mate. Very odd.

But cute fishy. And Ok! Crazy glue I can do!

Any sites or such though that can be recommended for aquarium supplies? Looking for stuff is annoying as most places selling at the local level either haven't an idea what it is/does/use or they are arrogant >.<

 

Very cute! I saw something similar to him but different shade. But he might've been sick. He was at a 45 degree angle against a tank mate. Very odd.

But cute fishy. And Ok! Crazy glue I can do!

Any sites or such though that can be recommended for aquarium supplies? Looking for stuff is annoying as most places selling at the local level either haven't an idea what it is/does/use or they are arrogant >.<

What type of supplies are you looking for?

 

Basic stuff really. Plants, decoration cave things, etc.

Driftwood was something I really wanted to get as I saw a lot say it looks/works well with anubis, but it was a bear to find one that didn't cost 30$ for a tiny piece ._.

But also maybe a place to get the other stuff that you mentioned, Fluval stratum. I would like to check more into that. But having a good place to look at it and the other stuff I'd like to get would be nice.
I did finally find one, but it was still a hunt. If possible, a site or place with links to where to find what would be nice if possible.

 

Basic stuff really. Plants, decoration cave things, etc.

Driftwood was something I really wanted to get as I saw a lot say it looks/works well with anubis, but it was a bear to find one that didn't cost 30$ for a tiny piece ._.

But also maybe a place to get the other stuff that you mentioned, Fluval stratum. I would like to check more into that. But having a good place to look at it and the other stuff I'd like to get would be nice.
I did finally find one, but it was still a hunt. If possible, a site or place with links to where to find what would be nice if possible.

Here’s where I get my stuff

Plants: Home
I order here all the time. Really nice plants plus you usually get a few extra and use code 10OFF for 10% off. They also have some other things besides plants but not much

driftwood: petco or lfs (local fish store). If you get some from petco get it in store not online because all the pieces look different.

caves/ decor: I personally make my caves out of rocks I find outside. If you do this then make sure to do the vinegar test to make sure it’s safe. If you put a drop of vinegar and it fizzes then it will change your ph. If it doesn’t fizz it’s safe. And about ph to save you in the long run dont chase a specific ph it just stresses out the fish. A stable ph is more important than a perfect ph. If you don’t want to make your caves or decor then Amazon is a good place to look

 

decorations some nice caves here

 

The petco and stuff that are close by either were terribly expensive, or had these massive pieces that I don't have a place for to even breakdown. (Renting room, not my place sadly)

But caves can do too! I just have to find rocks big enough for it :3
Any recommendations for the substrates? LFS only have the basic stuff and there's not one (i have found at least) that is around me.

 

But caves can do too! I just have to find rocks big enough for it :3
Any recommendations for the substrates? LFS only have the basic stuff and there's not one (i have found at least) that is around me.

There’s the nutrient rich substrate such as fluval stratum but plants can grow just as good in sand. Just make sure to add some root tabs since sand doesn’t have any nutrients for them

 

I will keep that in mind and look around for it! :3 Thank youuuu

 

If you're looking for plants, Marcus Fish Tanks (as suggested by AggressiveAquatics) is the way to go. They have big, healthy plants at a good price and their shipping is next to nothing for 1-3 day (depending on where you live in relation to them). If you use the code 10OFF you can get 10% off the plants.

 

That'll be the way I roll. I think some background plants is in my future but we shall see! Gotta situate my tanks :3

 

sorry, my link got taken down for whatever reason.

 

weird.... I wonder why

 

How you tried taking the anubias out of the pot? Its a rhizome plant and will die if the rhizome is buried in any way. As far plant as plant goes substrate, I've used UNS controsoil in a previous tank. That tank was always an algae filled mess. Currently, I'm using seachem flourite(inert substrate) and root tabs. You could also look into using something like Eco Complete. Just Remer with inert substrates, you will need to use root tabs.

I actually prefer the inert substrate over the aquasoil.

 

So for all you folks that were amazing and lent me your knowledge, the tiny leaf anubis roots were slowly rotting in the pot lol it was buried in rock wool in this lil pot (had a hole at the bottom but the Rockwool had it blocked tight)

Dug it up and I'm letting it freely float in my aquarium at the moment cause I forgot my crazy glue. But seems much better now :3

Also Marcus plants are great, healthy and well packed ^_^ got some moss and tiny things that I forgot the name but they were in great shape :3

Oh and little cholla wood :3 and I'm ordering 2 stumps since those are also back in stock
Fun fact though, your little fish I saw someone had similar on a reddit blog I joined. They can be so colorful! @aggressive aquatics