Are Live Plant's Good For Tank?

[oscar1995]

i was woundering if live plant's helped fish better while living in my tank. i have a 30 gallon tank and i always wanted to put live plant's in it because it look's nice. but i have bin told some plant's have diseases and cause alot of algey and it can make the tank really dirty. should i put live plant's in my 30 gallon tank or not and if so how many should i put in.

 

[notg2009]

i was woundering if live plant's helped fish better while living in my tank. i have a 30 gallon tank and i always wanted to put live plant's in it because it look's nice. but i have bin told some plant's have diseases and cause alot of algey and it can make the tank really dirty. should i put live plant's in my 30 gallon tank or not and if so how many should i put in.

I was reading about the N cycle as I am preparing to transfer my fish from a 10 USG to my new 29 USG. There was a diagram showing that the plants absorb nitrAtes as food. If this is a true claim, then it might help with a slower increase in the level of nitrAtes in a tank. (http/badmanstropicalfish.com/start_up/start_up4.html)

Could a fish-pro comment on our posts please

 

[Whitey_144]

i was woundering if live plant's helped fish better while living in my tank. i have a 30 gallon tank and i always wanted to put live plant's in it because it look's nice. but i have bin told some plant's have diseases and cause alot of algey and it can make the tank really dirty. should i put live plant's in my 30 gallon tank or not and if so how many should i put in.

I was reading about the N cycle as I am preparing to transfer my fish from a 10 USG to my new 29 USG. There was a diagram showing that the plants absorb nitrAtes as food. If this is a true claim, then it might help with a slower increase in the level of nitrAtes in a tank. (http/badmanstropicalfish.com/start_up/start_up4.html)

Could a fish-pro comment on our posts please

i think as long as there is enough light and the plants have some sort of growth they actually compete with the algae for nutrients. i guess if the plants start to die, or you allow old leaves to rot in the tank then this could raise nitrate etc and feed algae, but comes down to maintenance again

Personalyl i also think they look a lot better and i imagine makes the fish feel more comfortable (if same as their habitat). i had plants in a 30 gallon and will do again soon, i never had problems, they grew very slowly, but they grew!

They're also good for fry to hide in...depends if you are breeding any fish

 

[Uriel]

As long as the plants are healthy and growing they use ammonia,nitrite and nitrate as food. This helps keep your tank water cleaner.

 

[oscar1995]

i was woundering if live plant's helped fish better while living in my tank. i have a 30 gallon tank and i always wanted to put live plant's in it because it look's nice. but i have bin told some plant's have diseases and cause alot of algey and it can make the tank really dirty. should i put live plant's in my 30 gallon tank or not and if so how many should i put in.

I was reading about the N cycle as I am preparing to transfer my fish from a 10 USG to my new 29 USG. There was a diagram showing that the plants absorb nitrAtes as food. If this is a true claim, then it might help with a slower increase in the level of nitrAtes in a tank. (http/badmanstropicalfish.com/start_up/start_up4.html)

Could a fish-pro comment on our posts please

i think as long as there is enough light and the plants have some sort of growth they actually compete with the algae for nutrients. i guess if the plants start to die, or you allow old leaves to rot in the tank then this could raise nitrate etc and feed algae, but comes down to maintenance again

Personalyl i also think they look a lot better and i imagine makes the fish feel more comfortable (if same as their habitat). i had plants in a 30 gallon and will do again soon, i never had problems, they grew very slowly, but they grew!

They're also good for fry to hide in...depends if you are breeding any fish

what are some good plant's that i could put in my tank?

 

[Whitey_144]

[/quote]
what are some good plant's that i could put in my tank?
[/quote]

depends what lighting you have? if you have strong lights, you will need more CO2 etc too

I'm guessing you will have low lighting and the majority on here suggest Anubias, Swords & Java Moss for low lighting (i think generally darker leafed plants rather than red or bright green)

 

[oscar1995]

what are some good plant's that i could put in my tank?
[/quote]

depends what lighting you have? if you have strong lights, you will need more CO2 etc too

I'm guessing you will have low lighting and the majority on here suggest Anubias, Swords & Java Moss for low lighting (i think generally darker leafed plants rather than red or bright green)
[/quote]

thank you for the fast reply. and is it good do put a catfish in with the plant's to maintain algae

 

[Curiosity101]

No fish should ever be used exclusively to maintain algae. Alot of them actually prefer meaty diets anyways but are miss sold by pet/fish shops.

Most algae maintenance should be done by you/ having the tank set up properly.

Having said all that, if you like the idea of shrimps and/or snails like apple and nerite snails then a mixture of those will tend to browse on algae around the tank and are useful to try to keep algae off of the slow growing plants. But they will never do the job perfectly, and you will always need to scrape the sides of the tank yourself if you want it properly algae free.

 

[Aqua Tom]

As a newbie to the planted side of things I have found that good plants for the novice are

Vallis

Cabomba

Crypts

Java Moss

That is what i currently have in my tank. They have only been in a few days so fingers crossed.
The live plants look much better than any artificial ones i have had. Its quite relaxing watching them sway gently in the current.

 

[waterdrop]

To add in my drop of comments to your original question, I think live plants are one of the most wonderful parts of the aquarium hobby and should be considered by all hobbyists at some stage of their hobby career. If you are still cycling your biofilter in a new tank then it's sometimes good to hold off on plants for a while, but otherwise, once you have fish, many many setups can be enhanced by live plants.

Like many skills though, if you can discipline yourself to go slow and gather information and detail, your first attempt at plants is likely to go better. The members have had some good suggestions for beginner plants and you'll want to understand a little more about the right wattage and overall hours of light, the types of carbon and other nutrients that should be in the water prior to introducing plants and the types of maintenance habits that will help plants thrive, along with fish.

Good luck and I'll try to check back in along with the other members to answer some of your questions.

~~waterdrop~~