what's the toughest plant around?

car0linab0y

I have some Flourish as well as Nutrafin Plant Gro w/Iron, but I haven't been using them. I figured I didn't have enough light to need ferts yet. I'm working with about 1watt/gal. It's a 65g tank stocked with 7 adult & 2 Swordtail fry, and 6 yellow barbs.

car0linab0y

65g 36"L x 24"H x 18"D
NO3 ~0
NO2~0
GH ~75
KH ~40
ph ~6.8
temp 78-80 (no heater)
substrate is dark Flourite, about 2" deep.

Byron

Thanks for the data. I see nothing wrong that will prevent good plant growth, but I do have a couple suggestions.

I would think the light is adequate for the tank, assuming the tubes are full spectrum (natural daylight usually means this or close to it); it would help to know the kelvin rating, it should be indicated at one end of the tube, a number followed by the letter K. If it is different for each tube, give me both numbers. I just want to be certain.

The substrate may need to be a bit deeper for the swords. Echionodorus have extensive root systems; the three E/ bleherae in my 115g have roots that extend out for almost a foot and are well down to the bottom with 4-5 inches of substrate. As the larger swords are usually planted in the back half of the tank, you can slope the substrate up from front to back, or use rock or wood for terraces, or simply add more substrate to the back. With swords I would have at least 3 inches, preferably 4 inches, in the areas where they are planted and this means for several inches out from the plants.

Flourite is a good substrate, but it only provides nutrients to substrate-rooted plants (swords, crypts, vallisneria, etc). Your ferns, by which I'm assuming Java Fern, won't derive any benefit from the substrate since they attach to wood or rock and the nutrients have to be in the water column. Same would apply to Anubias and floating plants. Stem plants usually need liquid fertilizer to thrive.

I would recommend a good comprehensive liquid like Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive Supplement (I use this) or the Nutrafin Plant-Gro. But not both together. Some trace elements like iron are also heavy metals and in excess can poison fish and kill plants. Nutrients have to be in proportion and carefully controlled so that only what the plants can use is added. Flourish is ideal in this respect, I would use it once a week at the recommended dose--1 tsp (5 ml) for your 65g tank is all that is needed.

The swords will have to stay in the substrate to take root; increasing the depth should provide this, but if your fish dig them out use a few smallish rocks around the plants. Once they are established they will stay put.

I think this should help you. I find plants easier than fish, but we do have to ensure what they need is provided. As background you might find the info in the 4-part sticky article at the head of the Aquarium Plant section of benefit.

Byron.

Angel079

Reading over all of this now and all your data there I really don't see nothing wrong unless the named "Natural Daylight" is actually not the normal daylight @ 6500K and like Byron said check see if the rating is on the bulb if not look for a manufacture name on it (marlinland etc) so we can figure it out together via googel. That whole set up is like the most ideal set up for plant and your fish are not to blame neither something went wrong there in the beginning when you set this up, maybe something got into the water, maybe the ferts where dosed too high but as you're describing it right now that's wonderful for plants provided that light is indeed a daylight like I said. And I'd pers not exclude that maybe the LFS your bought plats from where poor quality and often they sell plants that are indeed actually not true aquatic plants and THAT would really explain a quick dieing as well.
I had found this as a extremely good quality plant source for all my tanks http://www.sweetaquatics.com , you can gladly check out my tank's pictures under the aquarium log here tot he left under my name.

car0linab0y

They're Marineland, via Eclipse in Germany. F30T8, 36". I'll see what I come up with on the Eclipse brand. I got some Glosso's on ebay... they did pretty good at first, but the fish kept pulling them up before they could get roots established. After a while they ended up browning and dying. The Amazon's & 2 other types I got from a place called Fintastic. It's THE best fish store in town, but I could tell some of their plants weren't really kept up. I got the ferns and a few other plants from Petsmart. The swords are doing the best out of the surviving plants.

Angel079

The Marineland are the daylights you need. But one its time to replace them I'd suggest to buy the daylights at Lowes, Homedeopt or Walamrt by either GE or Phillips for one I find them a bit better then the Marineland on plants and they're about 1/4 of the price of what you pay for the "aquarium" bulbs at pet stores.

Now I donno the local store you refer to there, but Petsmart and Petco sell a TON of plants in these lil plastic tubes that are anything but aqatic plants, like ours here if I go look at that stuff and there's a 100 plants about 90-95 of them are not suited for fish tanks at all and I'm very sure this is where your issue is coming from.

I can really only encourage you to buy at sweetaquatics and then get different Swords, Vallis, Ludwigia...whatever you like just a mixture and I bet ya they'll thrive just wonderful in your set up there. I'd offer to mail some but I just recently harvested all my tanks twice for a friend so need at least few weeks to grow some stuff back for good sized clippings.