New plants+new black neon tetras!!!!

NoaDon12

hi, i know i haven't been on for a while, but that's because everything has been running smoothly. YAY! so i decided to move up a level and get real plants!!! and i also got new black neon tetras which contrast beutifully against the new plants!!! it all costed me $40, :( , but it was sooooo worth it!!!! :D question, what can i feed a fish that was sold to me but won't eat flakes? :'( i am worried!!! and any tips about keeping plants? i have 1x amazon sward, 1x african Anubias, and three other mytery plants!
-NoaDon12

Byron

Congrats on the acquisitions.

Don't worry about the fish not feeding; newly acquired fish frequently won't show much interest in any food for sometimes a few days. Black Neon Tetra will accept most prepared foods. Having said that, it is good to provide variety, say 3 or so different prepared foods (flakes in this case) made by different manufacturers. This way there is variety for the fish, plus probably some variance in nutritional properties of the different foods. Most contain the essentials, but some fish seem to prefer some foods over others.

On the plants: the sword you plant in the substrate (gravel, whatever), deep enough to cover all the roots, they have extensive root systems. The Anubias you attach to rock or wood, don't bury the rhizome (root) in the substrate or it will rot. The other 3 I can't say, as I don't know what mystery plants they are. A photo would help us there.

What light is over the tank? And do you have any liquid plant fertilizer? I can recommend some if not, you will need one.

Byron.

JohnnyD44

I have black neons in my planted tank, they do offer a great contrast against the plants. What size tank do you have? Have you decided on lighting??

You'll most likely want to use two ferts, one for the rooted sword and one for the stem plants

NoaDon12

ok! thanks alot!!! umm, i have a 15 gallon tank, the lighting is good, it's wicked bright! i didn't know i was supposed to attach the Anubias onto something!!! oops, but it's still alive... so i'll get to that as soon as possible!!!
-NoaDon12 :D

Byron

Anubias are shade plants, they tend to get yellowing leaves in bright or direct lighting; floating plants are useful. What exactly is the light? Give me whatever is printed on the tube or bulb.

JohnnyD44

thats the best description of a light I've ever heard!

I hope everything is working out well for you Noa Dan, do you have any pictures of your "mystery plants" we can help recommend some ferts based the types of plants

NoaDon12

it's too bad that my local pet shop runs out of floating plants so quickly.... i'll start looking for those soon. and the wattage i'm using is 15. and for some reason, my computer won't let me upload pictures onto this sight! :( but you guys have been such a big help! and one more thing, how do you do a CO2 injection?

Byron

On the CO2, I would not recommend you go down that road with the plants you have; they do not need it. Even with all the plants I have I do not have CO2 and have no intention of ever trying it. That sets up a whole new "balance" with light and nutrients.

A 15w tube (is this fluorescent?) would be a lot of light if it is T5 HO. A regular T8 tube is manageable.

Byron.

Calmwaters

If you want to post your pictures you have to upload them first to a site like Photobucket, you can set up an account for free and it is easy to use. We would all love to see your pictures.

JohnnyD44

you don't need to use photobucket to uploads photos to our forum....

you can use the 'go advanced' and attach photos that way...

although photobucket allows for re-sizing and you can type between pictures...