8 replies to this topic

[bimmerboy]

I currently have 5 plastic plants... not sure what kind. But I want to add a very dense plant (real or fake) for the fry to hide in. What would you guys recommend?

I've seen some breeders floating what looks like a tangles ball of yarn for the fry to hide in... it's not so much for aesthetics though.... quite ugly.

[The-Wolf]

try a real plant cardamine lyrata. these are so easy to keep look great and have plenty of hiding spaces in the foliage

[gto_cowgirl]

Well i keep my fry in a seperate tank but what i have heard is that you should get both floating and bottom plants. The bottom plants for fake should be very bushy, small leaves kind of plant and for real then use java moss.

The floating can be anything such as those fake baby matted plants and just let them float instead of planting them or i bought this very long 30" planted plant that because of the longness of it, it floats and it has a planted part as well.

I had my 10 gallon so planted that barely any of the light got through which made it much harder to see the fish so i just decided to use seperate tanks but whatever makes you happy.

[GuppyDude]

some types of lilys make good hideing spots. i dont know the name of mine but they are almost inpenitrable to adult fish.

[yhbae]

Go with java moss! It is easy to keep and multiply. (works on low-light tanks as well)

[elgecko]

Hornwort works very well.

[barbiya]

I bought some plastic "aquarium breeding grass" at WalMart. It comes in 3-4 inch squares, so I attached 2 pieces together for each side of the tank. It's low and dense, and the babies can hide in it or under it. It's worked out great for me.

I "planted" it, then sprinkled some gravel over the top to hold it down.

Good luck!

[yhbae]

I have nothing against plastic plants (in fact I have some which would have demanded too much light if I went for the real ones), but real plants like java moss, java fern and hornwort also helps reduce CO2, produce more O2 and removes nitrate as well. Most of my breeder tank features zero ammonia, nitrite AND nitrates as java moss consumes all of them. It also provides microscopic food (such as infusoria) to really small fries.

[Dakota Ice]

I'd have to say that Java moss would be your best bet over any other plastic or real plant.

Java Moss can grow nicely in the mandatory lighting that most aquairum kits give you, so it dieing on you wont be a problem.

It grows fast, but not so fast it over runs your tank, adds shade, and best of all, is a wonderful hiding place for fry. The fry can dig themselves all the way inside the mass of moss, but the adults cant. It also adds I nice look to your tank.

Hope I helped,
Dakota