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plant arrangement?

4K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  Byron 
#1 ·
So lately, ive been trying to get my tank tidied up and get my plants nice and green again as they were really starting to wilt over. In my tank i have Anachris, Java Moss, Java Fern, and Anubias nana. I'm not too worried about the java moss as its always grown like a weed. The ferns though i'm not so lucky with...I've read and been told not to plant the roots in substrate but to tie it down, i have two tied down to a rock in my tank and it seems like they just don't grow at all, the roots are all over the place in the water and it just looks like an eyesore. The anachris has been looking brown but I've started using Leaf Zone liquid fert about a week ago and i've trimmed up some of the brown stalks and nice bright green ones are already coming in. My anubias seems to sprout a new leaf every month or so but i think its starting to get shadowed over by my java moss...should i replant it somewhere farther in the center of my tank to get more light to it? or trim the moss back? the moss isn't out of control and it looks good, so id rather not trim it back. My apologies for a lengthy wall of text and thanks in advance for any questions answered :roll:
 
#3 ·
Anubias is a low light plant, very much so, and jave moss will not stifle its growth. Anacharis is the opposite, fast growing which means high light and nutrients; the fertilizer will benefit.
 
#4 ·
Alright, i'll probably pull my fern out and try and get all of its roots down around a rock, it's just hard to tie it down to something already in my tank, and if i pull the rock up i know all kinds of crap is going to be stirred up everywhere. As for the Anubias i'll probably leave it, obviously the fern isn't shadowing it too bad as i've just noticed a leaf is sprouting.While i'm here i may as well ask, a couple of my neon tetras out of the group of 15 seem to be lacking color and/or are a little pale...what could this be? When i first got them those two kinda kept to themselves and i thought it may have been neon tetra disease? but now they're swimming around and participating in feeding time with everyone else, and have gotten a little bit of color...but it just seems like they're pale.
 
#5 ·
Just realized I was thinking of Java Moss, not Java Fern, previously; sorry for the oversight. But in any case, yes, Anubias can tolerate considerable "shade" so I wouldn't worry. Especially if you see new leaves. I had a single Anubias nana in the back corner of my 90g, it was there for 10 (maybe more) years, very little light due to other swords and floating plants, and when i pulled that tank apart last October the Anubias had 3 feet of additional rhizomes thick with leaves. [Yes, not a typo, 3 feet.]

Re the neons, could be several things, hard to diagnose fish ailments. If they seem more colourful now, they might be slowly adjusting to new conditions; some fish take more time it sems. At the same time, I find all the "neon" varieties [neons, cardinals, false (green) neons] highly susceptible to more frequent problems than other fish, and "fading" is often a symptom.
 
#6 ·
Alright, I'm just curious because the other 13 of them look great especially against a black backround now that i finally got one. It almost looks as if they're growing and its just hard not to notice the ones that are lacking color and/or a bit pale. As i said it's only two of them. and they tend to stay off by themselves but then at random will swim and play with the rest of the pack so who knows. maybe they're a little less social and/or still breaking into the tank.
 
#7 ·
Thats good to hear about the anubias, mine is doing the same, just sprouted a new leaf. My Anacharis was fairly brown but its almost all vibrant green since I got my lighting system and started dosing two fertilizers once a week to supplement each others lack of certain nutrients. My problem now is some brown black algea on the plants and some green on the tank which I just posted about. My flame moss is just starting to take root I think and my ava fern is tied to a rock but not yet had to worrry about the roots. I have a slight problem with my wisteria, since the new lights and fertilizer the new leafs seem much more vibrant and thicker but some of the older leaves look wilted. Also I had a few pieces of hornwort and anacharis float to different areas, thinking I'll have to remove them before they start to grow in unwanted places lol. The Anacharis almost seems to have rotted or died at the bottom so it breaks and the new green growth at the top floats off or falls over.
 
#8 ·
My anachris is a little bit leaned over too, but now that i've started dosing with leaf zone the last couple weeks there are two brand new green chutes growing pretty quickly. I'd say trim/cut off any of the real dead looking anachris and let it grow back in, it tends to grow like a weed. I don't know much about lights though, I'm pretty sure i just have the normal flourescent 20 watt that came with my aquarium which is an all glass/aqueon i think?
 
#9 ·
Assuming your light basically extends across the tank length more or less, it will be adequate, but I would get a full spectrum tube. Life-Glo by Hagen is very good as a single tube light because it provides the necessary blue and red for the plant growth but balances it with the green so the fish and plant colours are true. It is 6700K and equivalent to the mid-day sun. The Zoo-Med series is also good, less expensive, but they don't have one to match the Life-Glo in terms of colour rendition. Their "Tropic Sun" is a good light, a bit more red than the Life-Glo at 5500K rating. Either of these will provide good plant growth in my experience, although I prefer the Life-Glo when a single tube.

Stem plants grow fast and the bottom leaves regularly fall off which is one reason they need constant trimming or they get leggy and the parts floating on the surface will be the only ones with leaves. Higher light and nutrients are usually required to keep stem plants healthy and thriving. I have managed to grow Pennywort with my setups, but even so I have regular weekly pruning to keep them looking good.
 
#11 ·
Depends upopn how it grows. I generally allow the Pennywort (my stem plant) to reach the surface, then that week during the pwc i pull it all up, cut off the bottom piece (length depends upon how long you want each piece) and stick the cut ends back in the gravel. By next week or more likely two weeks, have to repeat as it is back across the surface. This keeps fresher looking leaves all the way down (unless you can't see the lower ends, doesn't matter).
 
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