On my way to getting my dream aquarium...

Canadian Fish

Actually, I can record with the push of a button. I really should have. Maybe next time. Lol.

I'll soon have enough live plants in there that I can remove the 5 fake ones that I started with. That is my goal with the Amazon Puffer tank as well. There are still two fakes in there.

Now I have 3 tanks with real plants and 4 without. Only one tank, the pea puffers, is exclusively live plants.

My Silver Dollar tank will obviously always be fake plants, but I think it is time to better research the fish in my 20 and 55 gallon tanks to learn if they can co exist with plants or not. We are enjoying the real plants.

Here are the fish in the 20 and 55:

20 gallon Harlequins rasboras, Neon tetras, Platies, Guppies, Cories, Nerite Snails

55 gallon Rainbowfish, Zebra Dainos, Zebra Loaches, Platies, Moonlight Gourami, Bristlenose Pleco, Striped & Spotted Raphael Catfish

Anyone know if any of these fish will eat or otherwise destroy plants? Or can I start gardening in these tanks too? Darn fishkeeping. Now I'm a hippie farmer.

I don't know if there is any point putting plants in my Betta tank. It just has a "regular" bulb in it, not a florescent one.

keeperofthezoo

Add plants to your Betta tank. I switched out and "Fred" my red fantail was estatic. I even threw in a couple of lily bulbs that actually sprouted and he sleeps on the leaves. He really enjoys swimming through the plants. When they were plastic he wouldn't go near them. I went and bought him a floating log for feeding to keep the food in one place. Hope it helps. :)

Canadian Fish

Will plants live with the non florescent, regular type bulb in my 10 gallon tank? I would have put plants in there but I didn't think there was any point. I think it just basically a regular light bulb shaped like a tube.

Bluewind

My little Julii is crazy active during the day. I feed him alternating algea waffers and sinking shrimp pellets. I am hoping to get more soon. He was the last one they had when I went to PetSmart. I couldn't leave him all alone. I keep trying to get more, but they stay sold out. My little Todo is healthy and happy at the moment though. I can't wait to get him some friends

The hampster tube thing is actually quite popular in the Betta forums. I hope when I eventually get my dream tank, I can have some of them in it. I've seen pics and it was beautiful and the fish loved it!
Posted via Mobile Device

keeperofthezoo

They make a florescent plant light bulb (found it in the light section at the pet store) here in the states for about ehhhh, $10.00. I put that in the hood. I started with a LED light, but I personally didn't like it. To each his/her own I guess. The plants grew OK with the LED, but slowly. I went to The Planted Tank forum and studied up on lights, plant and nutrients, and my plants are happier now.

Canadian Fish

I said 10 gallon earlier but it's actually 5.5

My hood doesn't hold a florescent light and I am not interested in shelling out the extra $$ for a new hood (I bought the whole thing used, a new hood costs more than I paid for the tank/filter/hood together). The Betta will just have to make do without real plants.

If there were any plants that could grow with a regular bulb I would do it.

I assume when you say you bought a fluorescent plant light bulb, that you already had a hood that used fluorescent bulbs, not regular screw in bulbs.

keeperofthezoo

No, my hood holds the tube shaped regular light bulbs. Not the long skinny things. It's made ( the florescent bulb) in a tube shape light bulb. Sorry, sometime what I write doesn't come across right. Just wanted to pass it on to you. No biggie,

Canadian Fish

Well that's cool. And it just screws in the way a regular bulb screws in?

I may have to order one, I don't think they have them at my LFS. I asked if I could grow plants with my setup and they just said no. They're always looking to sell, sell, sell so I would hope they would have told me if they sold such a bulb.

Do you know what it is called? I just tried finding one with google but had no luck.

Chesherca

I have regular bulbs in my 10g AND my 5g - they screw in. . . but they're twirly bulbs. Got 'em at Home Depot - full spectrum, and the plants love 'em.

Canadian Fish

LOL. Twirly bulbs. That terminology I can understand. I know exactly what you're talking about. We use them in all our light fixtures. So if I can find fullspectrum, small twirly bulbs that fit in my hood, they'll grow plants?