Help Please

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barker_23

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I have been posting in the newbie section of the tropical part of the site.

Someone has questioned my plants that i have in my tank, i only got them on thursday. They are asking if all my plants are aquatic.

Heres a pic, could someone let me know if they are or not,i have 4 different ones in total. thanks


 
only one of them are aquatic, the others are terrestrial or marsh plants.
The one on the far left looks like a dieffenbacia? (bad spelling), the two long thin things next to that are Japanese rush.
On the right hand side next to the driftwood is a couple of dark green twisted things that look like twisted vallis (these are true aquatics). The plants behind them and to the far right look like some sort of juvenile palm.
 
Ok thanks for your help,

So out of all those there is only one that is true aquatic and thats the small one next to the wood.

So will the others not grow or will they still be ok? - what shall i do with them?

Also how shall i go about buying plants in the future, i actually thought that the LFS was quite reputable but now i'm starting to think otherwise.
 
As a general rule most marsh plants will start to rot after a few weeks under water. The stems and leaves will go brown and soft. They should be removed at this stage or earlier if possible. You can try putting them in a pot on the window sill :)

Most true aquatic plants are unable to support their own weight when removed from the water. This means they fall over when taken out of the tank. Marsh plants can support their own weight when removed from water and will remain standing up. There are exceptions to this rule including the Hygrophillas, Swordplants & Crypts. These are marsh plants that also do well under water.

Some true aquatic plants to try include Ambulia, Elodia, Hydrilla, Ludwigia, Hygrophilla sp, Echinodorus sp (Swordplants) & Vallis. Try to avoid giant vallis as it is harder to keep compared to narrow vallis. It also grows a lot bigger than narrow vallis and can reach 6ft in length. Narrow vallis won't normally get longer than 2ft.
Java Moss will do well in most tanks but needs to be tied onto a piece of wood or rock. Java Fern & Bolbitus are marsh plants that also do well underwater. These usually grow attached to wood or rocks and should be tied on as well.
 
I wouldn't say that by selling these plants to you they are unreputable. More unknowledgable about plants. They are fish specialists and more than likely just buy plants and plant equipment from catalogues they are given and go along with outdated theories on plant maintenance that they had understood to be true.

AC
 

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