JGombs99
- #1
Hello, all. As the subject heading suggests, I'm a relative newbie to plants, and I need help. I have one other thread in the plant section that I started awhile ago, when I was just considering live plants, through when I very first began with them. I hope to build off of the knowledge that I learned through that thread, and become more successful in keeping aquarium plants.
First, just a little history. When I first set my tank up, I had no interest in live plants at all. Because of this, I have gravel substrate, and a light that may or may not be great for growing plants (research I've done suggests it's good for low to medium light plants, but so far, my success has been low, at best, so I don't know). The light I use is the Fluval Aquasky LED, and I use it on a setting that has the white lights and red lights (because I was told this setting would be appropriate for growing plants). I really have no interest in changing my substrate, or my lighting, so if live plants aren't for me due to either or both of these, I understand, and I will stop trying to grow plants. I just need to find out if this is the case, or if my problem is something else, because if I can grow plants with what I have, I'd really like to. Lastly, I use Seachem Flourish. I'm willing to continue to use this, or to use something else, but I'd rather not use a lot of different chemicals, and I certainly have no interest in getting into a CO2 system, or anything like that. I really want to have a set up that's relatively easy and low maintenence. Again, if this isn't possible, I just want to know that.
I currently have Anubias Frazeri, and Hygro Augustofolia. Both plants are doing the same thing, which is that they're living, but they're not growing, or thriving. I understand the Anubias is very slow growing, but I've had it in my tank for 3-5 months, and it hasn't grown at all. It's got holes (some, not completely covered in holes) in the leaves, and although it's not completely brown by any means, it has more brown on it than when I bought it. The Hygro seems to have less holes, but it certainly isn't growing at all, and it is also turning brown (again, not completely brown, but more than when I bought it). The brown on the Hygro seems to be coming more from the bottom portion of the plant. I've had the Hygro in my tank for a much shorter time (not much over a month), but it's my understanding that this plant grows much quicker than the Anubias. My goal is not to have a heavily planted tank, but I do have a goal to have some nice looking live plants. I'd like enough plants to hide equipment, and to provide hiding places for my fish. And, again, another goal is for easy/low maintenence. My 100 gallon tank is the one I'm attempting to plant, so I have Blood Parrots, Severum, a few Syno Catfish, schooling fish, etc. Please feel free to check out the info about my tanks in my profile section for the exact stocking. Thanks so much for any suggestions or advice!
First, just a little history. When I first set my tank up, I had no interest in live plants at all. Because of this, I have gravel substrate, and a light that may or may not be great for growing plants (research I've done suggests it's good for low to medium light plants, but so far, my success has been low, at best, so I don't know). The light I use is the Fluval Aquasky LED, and I use it on a setting that has the white lights and red lights (because I was told this setting would be appropriate for growing plants). I really have no interest in changing my substrate, or my lighting, so if live plants aren't for me due to either or both of these, I understand, and I will stop trying to grow plants. I just need to find out if this is the case, or if my problem is something else, because if I can grow plants with what I have, I'd really like to. Lastly, I use Seachem Flourish. I'm willing to continue to use this, or to use something else, but I'd rather not use a lot of different chemicals, and I certainly have no interest in getting into a CO2 system, or anything like that. I really want to have a set up that's relatively easy and low maintenence. Again, if this isn't possible, I just want to know that.
I currently have Anubias Frazeri, and Hygro Augustofolia. Both plants are doing the same thing, which is that they're living, but they're not growing, or thriving. I understand the Anubias is very slow growing, but I've had it in my tank for 3-5 months, and it hasn't grown at all. It's got holes (some, not completely covered in holes) in the leaves, and although it's not completely brown by any means, it has more brown on it than when I bought it. The Hygro seems to have less holes, but it certainly isn't growing at all, and it is also turning brown (again, not completely brown, but more than when I bought it). The brown on the Hygro seems to be coming more from the bottom portion of the plant. I've had the Hygro in my tank for a much shorter time (not much over a month), but it's my understanding that this plant grows much quicker than the Anubias. My goal is not to have a heavily planted tank, but I do have a goal to have some nice looking live plants. I'd like enough plants to hide equipment, and to provide hiding places for my fish. And, again, another goal is for easy/low maintenence. My 100 gallon tank is the one I'm attempting to plant, so I have Blood Parrots, Severum, a few Syno Catfish, schooling fish, etc. Please feel free to check out the info about my tanks in my profile section for the exact stocking. Thanks so much for any suggestions or advice!