PLants and Gravel?

Can I start planting in my tank with just a basic gravel substrate?
Are there certain types of plants that would do better with it than others?
I don't plan on updating my lighting for a while, so would Anubais and Java Fern or moss do ok?
Do you need to add fertlizer with just a few real plants and few fake?
Do any of my fish eat plants: Cardinals, Lemon Tetras, Zebra Danios, Pepper corys, Roseline Shark, Red Honey Gourami (which I don't have but they got a bunch in over the weekend, so Ive been thinking about adding one)

Thanks for any advice!!

 

HI there, welcome to Fishlore
First of all, it really depends on what you call a basic gravel substrate. Like, natural/industrial, how big it is, etc.
Plus, we need to know your light's wattage. That will help a lot determining whether you can plant low-mid or high light plants. Different plants require different light levels.
And third, there are plants that don't need to be planted on the gravel at all, so you don't have to worry about that.
Plants such as Java Ferns and Anubias really like to be tied to a driftwood. You can do that using a cotton thread, rubber band or a fishing line. Rubber Bands and cotton threads are better because they will dissolve over time and the plant would have attached itsself to the driftwood/rock with it's roots until then. So you can basically tie them easily to decorations. This works for the Java Moss as well.
There are other plants, however, such as the Amazon Swords that need to be planted on the substrate. Here is where others will come, as I have no experience with these kind of plants lol .
So if you want to grow Anubias, Java Ferns and Java Moss, you don't have to do that on the gravel, you can tie them to a rock/driftwood.
Fertilizers are a good addition, with the plants I stated above ( J.Moss/Ferns, Anubias ), you won't have to dose fertilizers, the plants will feed theirselves through the fish poop, anyways the fertilizer will boost their grow.
About the fish, I'm sorry but I can't help you here, I am not familiar with the kinds that inhabit your tank :/ .... hopefully someone will come in and give some advice to you.
Hope I helped, live plants are always a great addition to a tank ^_^!

 

Welcome to Fishlore Julie,
I have 3/8 inch gravel in one tank that I'm growing Amazon swords and Aponogeten Undulatus (a bulb plant). Very small plants have a tendency to slip up from between the gravel. Once they have a fairly good root system they stay where I put them. I use API root tabs to fert and they're doing great. Stock lighting that came with the tank is a two foot, 17 watt fluorescent bulb. Just today in another tank I've begun trying DIY C02. (no Co2 bubbles yet, but we'll see).

 

Thanks HenrI and Fall River!

I looked up my gravel and lights - should have done that first, sorry! My gravel is CarbriaSea and the website says its 3-5mm and suitable for planted tanks, so that is certainly a good thing!
It looks like my lights (I have 2) are either 14 or 15 watts (I can't remember if they are 15" or 18") T8 '8000°K full spectrum daylight lamps perfect for everyday use' according to their website. Not the best but maybe not to bad?

I'm excited now! I will hit up fave LFS on the way home from work and see how their plants look, and maybe the Red Honey Gouramis too

Other than tying them to driftwood, how do you get them to stay in the gravel when they are still new?

 

Thanks HenrI and Fall River!

I looked up my gravel and lights - should have done that first, sorry! My gravel is CarbriaSea and the website says its 3-5mm and suitable for planted tanks, so that is certainly a good thing!
It looks like my lights (I have 2) are either 14 or 15 watts (I can't remember if they are 15" or 18") T8 '8000°K full spectrum daylight lamps perfect for everyday use' according to their website. Not the best but maybe not to bad?

I'm excited now! I will hit up fave LFS on the way home from work and see how their plants look, and maybe the Red Honey Gouramis too

Other than tying them to driftwood, how do you get them to stay in the gravel when they are still new?

That's great to hear!
How big is your tank? Unfortunately, the plants I mentioned ( Anubias, Java Ferns, Java Moss ) can't be planted in the gravel because they will rot and die. They have to be tied with their roots exposed to the water column because they'll die otherwise, they get their food through the water.
Plants such as Amazon Swords can be planted in the substrate, it will be tricky the first times but until they expand their roots they will stay in the place you've planted them in. Be sure to plant only the roots in the gravel.

 

I have just a basic gravel substrate in my 29 gallon with a T8 17 watt 8000k bulb and my sword grows like a weed as does my rotala indica.

I use easy-life pro fito universal plant fertilizer once a week even though both of these would be better suited to root tabs.

The rotala does get uprooted easily when you first plant it, but after a week or two it becomes pretty firmly planted.

 

So you've got low lighting & this will limit you with what plants you can have. When selecting plants you need to check lighting requirements & that they are fully aquatic. There are some crypts that do ok in low lighting and do better with root tab inserted.

Amazon Swords do better with medium light or higher , co2 and are heavy root feeders.

Low light = slow growth = slow nutrient uptake

So dosing a liquid fertz once a week will benefit the plants especially the plants tied to driftwood or ornaments. Its a trial & error kinda thing. Gotta start somewhere & adjust. Remember it all starts with the light or what plants you want to keep then get the appropiate lighting etc.

I use fine gravel in my planted tank.

 

more

I like vallisneria and the experts here can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think they're too fussy.

 

Vals are easy plants to grow. They just need root fertilizers. Corkscrew vals, in the picture, tend to not do well in very low light. But other vals should do well.

 

Good morning,

To my knowledge, none of the fish you have listed in post #1 are herbivores. They should do fine with plants. One fish to stay away from if you have a planted tank is Silver Dollars. I tried it, it doesn't work.

I have all of my anubia's and Java Fern attached to driftwood with 100% cotton string and are doing great.

Check out these links:







Best of luck with your plants!

Ken

 

Thanks for all the great advice! I picked up a Java Fern, a small amazon sword and a rotala last night. I figured I would start with small, cheaper plants, they were all less then 5$. I will see if they are still where I left in the tank last night when I get home from work. I tied the java fern to my driftwood, so we'll see how they do! I put the sword in the front where I know some morning sun hits my tank so maybe that will help it grow a bit. I will pick up some fertilzer this weekend, is there any that are better the rest?

How difficult is it to move them around eventually? I want the sword, if it survives, to evenutally be in the back but since its only 4" right now.

 

I love vals too. very easy...and yes, love root tabs, as i'm sure the sword will like those too. and you *can* plant anubias and java fern...just NOT the rhizome part....the little roots are fine to be planted, if you'd like. I have all mine in substrate...and they do very well.

most of my tanks are low/med light and I grow
-vals
-crypts
-java fern/moss
-microsword
-dwarf sag

I like seachem products, like flourish comprehensive and their root tabs. just don't use too many in the tank, because your nitrates could spike.
have fun with you new plants your fish will thank you too

if the sword thrives and grows, you can move it pretty easily. they're not as fussy about being moved...as crypts are.

 

So hears another question then, if I only have a few plants to start should I assume I still need to do some gravel vac? Obviously staying away from the real plants and their roots, but as I get more plants then I can vac less and less right?

Thanks again for being so helpful!

 

You'll still want to vac a couple times a month to keep everything nice and clean. Remember where you put your fert tabs though and don't vac too much near them or they go down the drain with your water! (learned the hard way) lol. As for the plants, I just vac a little less deeply around them so as not to disturb the roots too much.

 

So hears another question then, if I only have a few plants to start should I assume I still need to do some gravel vac? Obviously staying away from the real plants and their roots, but as I get more plants then I can vac less and less right?

Thanks again for being so helpful!

you're right, the more plants you have, the less areas there are for you to vac. I don't gravel vac my 75 anymore, because there are plants all over. and everything is happy and healthy. it's been set up for almost a year and a half.