Help Identifying Plants

[xhan]

I've looked around several forums tying to find out what plants I have but I dont even know where to start! I've found plantgeek.net but I'm struggling! I would like to know more about my plants so I can take better care of them!

When I set up my tank I took advantage of the LFS's offer of 5 plants for 7.50!
I thought that would be too many for my small tank but actually it worked out really nicely, I'm having a few problems with 2 of them, the one at the front right now has two leaves as the rest all came off! The two leaves left are new ones though, I wonder if it just wanted a fresh start!

the one on the far left is annoying in that all the leaves come off every now and then - its very fragile hence why its stuck in the corner there away from the waterflow!

Are the two grassy ones the same!?

and is there any way to split? or do something with the large one on the right to make it so it doesn't come up as high as it does?! (the algae loves to grow on that one - I'm forever wiping it off!)

 

[three-fingers]

The one at the front is a non-aquatic Fittonia verschaffeltii, remove it before it just starts to rot. You can put it in a pot of soil on your windowsill so it's not wasted

The one at the back on the right is also a non-aquatic, Dracaena sanderiana , same goes.

The grass in the middle is Ophiopogon japonicus (mondo grass), a third non-aquatic that must be also removed.

The grass on the right hand side could be the same, but need a close up to tell.
.
Pic is distorted due to the glass, but the plant on the left is either a Myriophyllum spp. or Cabomba caroliniana. As with any stem plant, you need to take of the lead weight and foam, and plant each stem individually an inch or two away from each other . Otherwise they just rot at the base.

It's a shame most LFS staff are so terrible plants, but hey, what can you do?

 

[Davo86]

Agree with above, at least 3 of those are houseplants which won't survive longterm when fully submerged in water

 

[KittyKat]

Back left looks like either cabomba or a hygrophila, google for those two and tell us which it looks like more.. bit difficult to tell from the photo.

Back centre left looks like Ophiopogon japonicum. If it is, go plant it in your garden.

Back centre right is a dwarf sword (Echinodorus tenellus), worth putting middle to front.

Back right you should take out and put into a pot away from your tank. It's similar to a dragon palm, but is variegated.

Front right also take out and put into a pot away from water. As with the palm, it is also not an aquatic plant.

Not the best result you could have hopes for.. but don't despair! I made all the same mistakes when I first started out keeping tropicals.. Ok, I passed on the palm because I had a potted one, but the rest I attempted to keep too.. but that was many years ago, so *shh*, don't tell anyone You might want to look into plants such as elodea, anubias, crypts, java fern and java moss: I have found them all rather undemanding. (Although I am sure someone is bound to disagree with me.)

 

[nmonks]

None of the plants you've bought will do well in this tank. All except the one on the far left are terrestrial plants (essentially, houseplants) that don't belong underwater. The one on the far left needs strong light and probably CO2 fertilisation to do well.

The problem with mini all-in-one tanks is that the lighting system isn't strong enough for most plants. My recommendation here would be to concentrate on Anubias, Java fern, Java moss, and possibly a potted hardy Cryptocoryne such as Cryptocoryne wendtii. Floating Indian fern (Ceratopteris) would probably do well at the surface, and would help reduce algae problems.

It's ironic that the best plants for beginners are rarely the cheapest. It usually takes newcomers to the hobby a while to realise that spending £10 on a Java fern attached to a piece of bogwood is far better value than a whole armful of cheaper plants that won't, for one reason or another, do well in the sorts of tanks beginners tend to have. The whole thing with retailers selling houseplants as aquarium plants is a major con. You could probably demand a refund under the sales of goods act, since these really aren't "fit for purpose" but unfortunately many retailers do indeed have a sign somewhere labelling such plants as "terrestrial" or "vivarium" plants or some such, and that may get them off the hook.

Seventeen litres isn't much water. Be careful when choosing livestock. A single Betta would be an option, perhaps with a few cherry shrimps. But not much else.

Cheers, Neale

 

[AdAndrews]

I think its absolutely disgusting pet stores/lfs will pass these plants off as aquatic when they are clearly not, i have made the mistake in the past(luckily only once) of buying Fittonia verschaffeltii which did rot within a week, but i suppose its the same with livestock, dodgy lfs's dont give the right information, or just a lack of to make sure the customer buys what they are looking at, what is the world comming to

 

[xhan]

Thanks guy, your all so helpful.

I don't seem to be doing too well in the plant department!! I can't believe the lfs would sell houseplants as aquatic plants, feel a bit of a mug now!

I googled all your suggestions, I'm glad I asked because I would never have known where to start looking!

the one at the front right is definitely, Fittonia verschaffeltii.
and the tall white and green on is Dracaena sanderiana
The taller grass is also definitely Ophiopogon japonicus and I suspect the smaller is the same.

None of the suggestions matched the one in the far right though! I suspect this one is definitely an aquatic plant as it doesn't want to stand on its own out of the water. 1 out of 5!

Here is a closeup

I know this may sound silly but as these aren't aquatic plants does this mean that they don't interact with the tank as well as real aquatic plants? The reason I ask is - if they do interact somewhat would it be ok to leave them in until I get some money! They've done fine for a month without any problems! plus I can't afford plant pots! Am in my final year of uni - hence the teeny tank!

I think I'll take the Fittonia verschaffeltii out though! Could look quite nice on my window sill!

I suppose this means that when I get money at the end of the month I could do a bit of rockscaping!? I posted in another section of the forum about glueing some rocks together to make a little feature - could I also add plants to my rocks! I wonder what will work well!?

Might as well try as much as I can now before I go onto a bigger and better tank in a few years!

 

[three-fingers]

Ah, much better pic .

One on the left is Potamogeton perfoliatus, a UK native aquatic that's pretty easy to grow given time to adapt (it's leaves will change shape under lower light and the stems will become longer with more space between leaves). Remember to get it out of that bunch though, it will just rot if you keep it like that .

The non-aquatic plants don't benefit the tank at all, some may put out new leaves from their stored energy reserves in desperation to grow out of the water, but otherwise all they do is attract algae and begin to rot (producing extra ammonia).

Which plants will sit your tank best is pretty much dependant on the lighting as mentioned, if you can take a picture of the bulbs in the tank, we can give you an idea of common plants that are suitable. Plants aren't that expensive (where I work they are £1.50 a bunch), and in a small tank you would really only need to spend £3.00-£4.50 to completely fill the tank as long as you choose the right species and plant them properly (separating the bunches into stems).

Here is a great place to start if you intend on having a bigger tank in a few years. Have a look around the pinned topics and journals, in particular "low-tech" setups may be of interest to you .

 

[Mr Bliss]

Unfortunately they won't really interact with your tank in any meaningful way, except by producing ammonia and spoiling the water quality as they start to rot (in fact, dying leaves release ammonia before they're even visibly rotting). The Dracaena is toxic, too, which just shows how little some LFSs care about whatever happens to their customers' tanks.

 

[three-fingers]

I wouldn't blame the LFS too much.

Fishkeeping and keeping aquatic plants are completely separate hobbies for a lot of people (who dont know what thier missing ).

People still buy and then re-buy the non-aquatics after they rot, and there are plenty of true aquatics that last even shorter in the average aquarium (high light and nutrient demanding species).

At the end of the day, the LFS was tricked into buying them by the wholesaler in Singapore or wherever in the first place, and even if the LFS knows they aren't aquatic, it's my experiance that a lot of customers don't even care.

Though I agree all LFS should let customers know some info what they are buying, realistically that is never going to happen because most LFS workers don't know themselves because they aren't interested (and why would they bother spending ages researching little things like that with the wages they are paid?) and even when they know what they are talking about, customers don't always care.

Plus, in some rare cases, there are actually legitimate uses for these species of plants.

 

[xhan]

Thanks three-fingers, when you say low-tech, should I just search for "low-tech"?!

I'll get those plants out as soon as possible Mr Bliss!

Heres a photo of the lighting, its a little large - hence the link!
[URL="http/i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/therealbeanie/IMG_2540.jpg"]http/i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/ther...ie/IMG_2540.jpg[/URL]

The bulbs say 11w 220v on them! A website that sells my tank says the lights are "PL 13W BLACK MOON LIGHT TUBE and HI-PL white/blue TUBE"
I've never been able to understand light bulbs!

If you can give me some cheap suggestions that'd be great! I'll print out some photos and take them to the shop with me! Just to make sure I get the right ones!

I'm going to look at this as an opportunity to make a pretty little tank! No castle ornaments for me!

 

[xhan]

I'm really glad I posted about the plants now! I've had a complete rescape with some new plants - which I'm positive are aquatic as they wont support themselves out of water!

here is the new tank!

I hope you dont mind my asking one more time what the plants are!?

oh and as for the old plants!!

Here are some close ups going from left to right.

The grassy one second from the left. (I forgot to take a close up photo of this one!)

Thank you guys so much for all your help!! I'm quite please with how my tank looks now!

 

[Nick16]

It's ironic that the best plants for beginners are rarely the cheapest. It usually takes newcomers to the hobby a while to realise that spending £10 on a Java fern attached to a piece of bogwood is far better value than a whole armful of cheaper plants that won't, for one reason or another, do well in the sorts of tanks beginners tend to have.

so what about vallis, blxya japonica, echinodorus sp, and cryptocoryne sp to name a few. these can be picked up from 99p - £3, the same price as a non aquatic plant.

i understand your point though, some prices are intimidating, especially if you dont know what you are looking for or dont understand the need/demands of each plant.

 

[three-fingers]

Thanks three-fingers, when you say low-tech, should I just search for "low-tech"?!

Yup, it's basically the cheapest method which requires less maintenance compared to most "high tech" tanks.

I would recommend you check out the UKAPS forums for more detail on the different methods, though it can be a bit intimidating over there at first due to all the different terms and depth of involvement in plants, they are all friendly people and will be happy to help (many are members on here too).

The bulbs say 11w 220v on them! A website that sells my tank says the lights are "PL 13W BLACK MOON LIGHT TUBE and HI-PL white/blue TUBE"
I've never been able to understand light bulbs!

It's an 11W PLS compact fluorescent tube, the same type that come in the Arcadia Arcpods. Should be more than sufficient for this small tank, giving you the ability you grow low-medium light plants .

If you can give me some cheap suggestions that'd be great! I'll print out some photos and take them to the shop with me! Just to make sure I get the right ones!

Seems you have done very well so far with this second batch of plants!

The one in the first pic is a Ludwigia spp.

The second pic is hornwort, Ceratophyllum demursum.

The third one is elodea, Egeria densa.

The fourth is water sprite, Ceratopteris thalictroides.

The fifth pic is Hygrophila polysperma.

The sixth pic is a Cryptocoryne spp., which will probably need the addition of a root tab or two to thrive (since the tank is new the substrate will have very little nutrients for it. Don't be alarmed if this one appears to melt back at first, this is common while the plant adapts to new conditions, so common it gets called "crypt melt".

 

[KittyKat]

That looks much better! Well done on getting all those plants, they should make your fish very happy and your tank more stable I am very glad to hear that you didn't just give up