Do Gouramis Destroy Plants? =|

[MewMew42]

well my 33g is mainly gouramis - 1 pair of blue, 1 pair of gold, 2 dwarf, 5 honeys

I had this beautiful bushy plant in my tank, it looked awesome, but now its a bit...bare =[

so could they have destroyed it?

is there a way to stop them?

 

[gregswimm]

What other fish do you have? Do you know the plant species?

 

[MewMew42]

i havent a clue on the plat species sorry =[ i can get a pic if itll help....

otehr than that i have odessa barbs, yoyo loaches, 1 pair of angels, 1 albino longfin bristlenose, pair of kribs oh and a featerfin syno, but i never see him!

 

[Mr Bliss]

Blue gouramis will occasionally nibble on fine leaved plants and algae (even BBA). Maybe one of yours really likes his or her veggies?

I've once had a bristlenose go on a plant eating spree for no obvious reason, but that's pretty uncommon. Usually they just accidentally damage plants while looking for algae.

Making sure they get enough vegetable food should prevent this. (edit: and varied food too. I think the bristlenose mentioned above got bored with always the same food.)

Kribs, like most cichlids, can destroy plants if they don't like them, particularly when breeding or getting ready to breed. I've been told this is because sometimes they don't feel safe in their territory when they can't see what's lurking behind a plant. I don't know if angels do this too.

 

[MewMew42]

thanks =]

ill get some frozen food and see how that goes

if now my plants are really screwed lol so much for a planted tank, ill have to find some more robust species!

 

[Mr Bliss]

Was the plant new, by the way? How long did it take for the damage to happen?

Some plants have been grown emersed before coming to the LFS, and will lose some or all of their leaves some time after planting in a tank. Most "bushy" plants don't fall into this category though, although there are exceptions (water wisteria comes to mind). Generally they'll recover after a while.

 

[kelly528]

My dwarf would 'steal' leaves for his bubblenest-- cute, but annoying! Once I gave him some floating plants for construction, the thefts came to a total halt.

From what you describe it sounds like your plant isn't getting enough light though.

 

[MewMew42]

the plant is the one behind my blue gourami!

i have 2 t8 bulbs [not sure of the wattage but its in the roma 125] i also used plant food once a week as well as ferropol 24

 

[Mr Bliss]

That's water wisteria (Hygrophila difformis). It is sometimes grown emersed and can lose its leaves when converting to submerged lifestyle. It's also a favorite of all plant-nibbling fish. I have it too, and my emperor tetras keep chewing the newer leaves, so the plant always looks a bit ragged.

Gouramis have tiny mouths and not much in the way of teeth though, and I'm not sure if they can damage the wisteria. I'd blame the angels. Then again, it's hard to tell from the picture if the plant's been damaged by fish or if it's just growing a bit "leggy". They'll do that (more stem, less leaves) if they're not receiving as much light as they'd like. You can make it bushier by cutting the stem and replanting the top of the plant next to the old stem, or just nip off the very top of the plant (this will force the plant to grow branches as it can no longer grow straight upward).

 

[gregswimm]

i havent a clue on the plat species sorry =[ i can get a pic if itll help....

otehr than that i have odessa barbs, yoyo loaches, 1 pair of angels, 1 albino longfin bristlenose, pair of kribs oh and a featerfin syno, but i never see him!

i have herd of bristle nose Pecos eating amazon swords and other leafy plants. IF he is not getting enough food he could be the one to blame

 

[theshadowinc]

the plant is the one behind my blue gourami!

i have 2 t8 bulbs [not sure of the wattage but its in the roma 125] i also used plant food once a week as well as ferropol 24

wisteria (Hygrophila difformis), your gourmis would tear it apart to make a buble nest but normally they would pick on something more smaller for them to , but if its just disappearing I would look at the angles, they will eat dying plant matter and so will bristlenose Plecos they tend to eat the dying leaves kinda uncommon but they do. roma 125 I am not familiar with names like this how many gallons and t8s are usually not enough light what wattage etc?? Wisteria requires alot of Light and if I am right it also needs co2 with lots of ferts, I grow this plant in my aquarium and its an amazing plant when given proper conditions the main stalk will grow forever and the main part of the plant(Surface Material) Will be bigger than your hand from just one stem check out my 55 gal planted and look for the picture of the wisteria they get huge! 5 steams took over the top of my aquarium on the right hand side and blocked out light!

 

[mbsqw1d]

YES! Dumb, my Dwarf Gourami, makes a right mess of my Elodea Densa!! I'm constantly finding bits floating here and caught up there. They definitely haven't been uprooted or come lose because the chewed off stumps of the plant are still there
AND it's definitely him because I've watched the little blighter at it!
Wish there was a way of preventing it, so far all he gets is an occasional shouting at

Grrrr