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planting tamks for dummies- help!

2K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  debit202 
#1 ·
I decided om a eheim 6 gallon tank for my beta. it is now filled to the rim with water and semi planted- I followed the instructions as I saw here to fill the tank 1/2 way partially with water- put in decor and plant plants. some of the plants I got at the lfs fell apart- became unbundled and were all over the tank. I cleaned thise up so back to my orig one live grass plant and a moss ball. I have 3 more live plants coming in the mail- a variety. So my question is- now how do i plant them?
spike my beta is in the tank and finally happpy!
Isthere a way to drop them plant them using chopsticks or something to put them in place so I don't have to empty the tank 1/2 way
Please help! This getting harder than I thoughy- am I making it harder? Please advise me! coming is-
a banana plant,water sprite and one other rooted/in a pot type
 
#2 ·
is there any kind of substrate? like gravel?

if there is, its as simple as putting the bottom of the planet (if its a stem plant) or the roots into the gravel gently and covering them up. You can even leave the stem plants loosely tied together, and just stuck in the gravel.
 
#3 ·
thanks for the reply-- I'm having a hard time getting the plants covered with the gravel= Im wondering if my gravel isn't deep enough- I think it less than an inch in some places- is this enough- The babana plant looks like it can get dropped on top- I think the water sprite floats,and a narrow leaf anacharis- all are suppose to be easy plants-lol we'll see.

Now it appears that to keep my plants happy I need more fish for fertilizing purposes- does this never end?
For aesthetics and the power of three- need 2 more fish- I'm thinking a mickey mouse platy(I need to check size first) and maybe some kind of loach- ideas anyone?
Thanks!
 
#4 ·
I'm afraid you don't have room in a 6g tank for any additional fish. You could only add some invertebrates likes shrimp or snails. While technically you could keep some small size fish alive ... they wouldn't be happy in such a small volume of water. You do not need more fish to 'fertilize' the plants, you can buy a liquid fertilizer for that (for example Flourish). However, with such a small volume of water you'll need a syringe probably to measure the dose (a 1mL or 1 cc one - a cubic centimeter is equal to 1 mL if you didn't know).

Plus most fish (including loaches) need to be in a school of at least 6 fish, even without the beta you don't have room for that.

Some of the plants you have chosen, mainly the stem plants, can grow to be quite large and will require regular trimming to keep them in check. They will be slow at first as the ecosystem establishes but they'll get to the point of growing a couple inches a week.

You mentioned your tank was filled to the brim? Make sure there is some space there for the Betta to breath... they get their oxygen from the air by breathing, not from the water with gills.

As an FYI, large tanks are far, far easier to maintain than small ones ;) They are more forgiving to mistakes and give you more options for everything (types of fish, plants, decor, lighting, filtering, etc).
 
#5 · (Edited)
Thanks for the reponse- the plants are for the fish so the plants will go or get repurposed if that is an issue. I don't want a larger tank this one will be just fine- so spike will have the pad all too himself:) I just want the tank to be a good tank with the least amount of water changing. Now do I clean/hoover the gravel with the plants- won't that ruin any kind of rooting system from establishing? or just the water catching any floating debry?
 
#6 ·
In planted aquariums you do not vacuum the gravel. The decomposing detritus will provide additional fertilizer for the plants. Just be careful not to overfeed. Byron, the resident plant expert here, has a four part guide about planted aquariums you may find useful, there is a lot of information in there.

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...approach-natural-planted-aquarium-part-34861/

A snail may not be a bad idea, they will eat left over food, algae, and dead/dying plant mater.
 
#7 ·
I read Byrons post- very informative thanks for pointing e there Geo and a big thanks to Byron for writing it!

J have a little zebra snail hoovering around in there as I write:)
Waiting for my online plant purchases to arrive-then I can get rid of the one fake plant I have in there!
 
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