Help With My Plants

[superjonboy]

I had another topic regarding my carbon sponges, algae and a couple of fish deaths.

I'm wondering if it has anything to do with my plants.
I know I have some Java Ferns and what I think is purple stricta. I also have some floating salvinia natans.
I asked my LFS for advice on plnts and he picked some out for me. This was before I knew not to trust them.

I'd really appreciate an expert opinion on what plants I have and if they are ok.

Here is a couple of images of my tank.

 

[CeeJayy]

The big bushy ones are Cabomba. The ones on the left side of the castle are amazon swords i think! Im no expert but thats my thoughts, and every little helps!

 

[Goodygumdrops]

The green and white ones are,I'm fairly sure,non aquatic and will eventually rot and die.The java ferns,at the back (they'll have little babies growing off the leaves),look like you have them in the substrate.While they look healthy just now,they really like to grow ON things,ie,tie them to bogwood etc,so the roots are free.
I can't see how any of these would cause the death of any fish though.

 

[superjonboy]

Thanks for your replies.

I think i'll take the green/white ones out before they rot and replace them with some proper aquatic plants.

Also i'll take the advice and look at putting the Java Ferns onto the rock/get somemore rock.

I read somewhere that some plants which are not true aquatic plants can alter the water chemistry.

I was gutted when the fish died as I thought I was doing everything right. Test results fine. Water changes weekly.

Could the guppies just be weakly bred? I've also lost a dwarf gourami but this I understand is unfortunately all too common.

My Neon Tetras and Corydoars look absolutely pristine.

Kind Regards.

John.

 

[Murphee]

Yes, those non-aquatic ones will alter you're water chemistery if left in too long.

 

[superjonboy]

I'm going to get rid of them then and get some true aquatics in there.

I think the one in the middle of the cabomba is purple stricta. This is only through looking at pictures on the net and comparing though.
If it is purple stricta i'll get rid of that too.

In the future i'll get my plants online I think and spare the LFS picking what they want, rather than stuff that is actually going to die, rot and see me back in the shop waving my cash. This is the same place that told me I culd have 70 fish in a 125l aquarium.

Thanks for your reply.

John.

 

[Goodygumdrops]

MOST fish shops haven't got a clue about plants.If you've got a Pets at Home near you,they are great for plants (not fish!!),they sell Tropica plants which are some of the best and they usually have deals on them.

 

[three-fingers]

The one with purple underneath its leaves at the back on the left is also non-aquatic .

 

[mixmaster jay]

the wight and green plants look like wheatgrass to me a few lfs sell it near me

 

[superjonboy]

Thanks very much for your replies.

I'm going to scrap the non aquatic ones and get down to pets at home. We have one close by.

Someone told me a while ago not to get fish from there but if the plants are okay then i'll give them ago.

Thanks again.

 

[Goodygumdrops]

Well they could all be different,but nearly every tank in my local one has dead or dying fish in,but the plants are good,same as the ones some of the big online places sell but much cheaper.

 

[waterdrop]

You can grow the non-aquatics in a jar in the kitchen window. You might actually enjoy the experiment of growing them in a jar emergent (shallow water, plant mostly in air, which is probably their true habitat) and trying your aquarium fertilizers in the water. Emergent plants receive many times more CO2 and grow more strongly as a result.

Agree that the ones at left of castle are java ferns, wanting to be attached to things (Do they like wood much better than rocks or ornaments, or does it not matter, anybody know?) and not swordplants.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[superjonboy]

I'm contemplating a bit of a move around.

Some other info I got (LFS) was to not bother using a substrate under the gravel. I should just put my plants into the gravel and then feed them.

From what I've read on here thats not the case.

My favourite fish are neons and corydoras, so i'm thinking about putting in a proper substrate, and replanting the tank with aquatic plants relevant to these fish.

I have another small tank which is 25l, which I could use to house some fish while I do the upgrade. This is running at the same temp as the larger tank, and test results are very good, so I don't envisage too many prolems.

Will doing this upgrade start a new cycle or will I be ok with my filter/filter media being mature?

Kind Regards,
John.

 

[arobinson1984]

You should be fine if your filter is cycled and is mature.

Your gravel / substrate does contain some beneficial bacteria but its that little of an amount thats its not even significant compared to your filter (less than 1% in the gravel I think)

Andy

 

[superjonboy]

Cool.

I'll give it a whirl then I think.

I'll probably leave the tank as it is for now and do it when I get back from holiday.

I don't want to get the new layout done and then be away from it for 2 weeks.

I think i'll go for the tetra complete substrate with some more attractive gravel over the top.

One thing I've always fancied doin is creating a varying bottom. So it's part gravel and part sand. I read that corys like a really soft bottom.

I need to read up on the article I saw on here about using sand.

Thanks for your advice.

John.