Noobie To Freshwater Plants, Need Help

[Jeff Lange]

So after several months I finally opted to remove 80% of my artificial plants and add some real plants.
I added an amazon sword plant, approx 10-12 " and a few other small ones. My subtrate is gravel and I just basically planted them in the gravel as advised by the LFS. 2 were potted ( they told me I did not need to remove the pot ). I am also using the Seachem Flourish and Flourish Excel.
It's been 2 days now and my Amazon sword with the big leaves has holes in the leaves. I also have 2 paired angelfish that lay eggs every 12-13 days. They have been cleaning the swordtail leave ( larger one) which may have contributed to the holes.

I need the forums help and advice to make sure I have planted these correctly.

Why is my Amazon swordtail getting holes in it ( In the event the Angels are not causing it by cleaning the leaves) ?
How do I know if my plants are healthy ? or if they are lacking something and dying ?
Should I add some form of subtrate above my gravel bottom specifically for plants ?
How do I vacume my gravel now ?
Do I need to take the plants that come potted out of the pot and plant them or are they ok in the pots ?
How long do I leave my lights on ? Currently I have them on 7 1/2 hours with 5 hours additional lunar.

After my initial dossage of 6 caps of Florish Excel I am adding 1 cap every other day as recomended on bottle.
I also added 1 cap of Flourish when I added them to tank and plan on adding 1 cap every week.

Thanks for your help.

Tank / Fish & Equitment

65 Gallon Freshwater
2 Rena XP3 Filters running. ( 1 Rena has all filter media w/ Ceramic Rings & Bio-Chem Stars, the 2ed has the same and also Bio Chem Zorb in it )
the circulation is at the top the returns are just below the water line pointed up to agitate the surface.

Coralife TurboTwist UV Sterilizer
Aquarium Temp: 79 - 80 Degrees.
Orbit Compact Flourescent Lunar Light ( 36" 192 Wat. 2-96 watt, Duel Daylight 6700k/10,000k and Duel Actinic 420m and 460m bulbs) w/ lunar
lighting.

Fish Load:
2 paired Lg angels ( lay eggs every 12 days )
2 Clown Loaches
6 Coradoras
1 BGK 4 1/2 "

 

[Phage]

I am not a plant expert as I am just starting and experimenting myself.

But I think it would be better to remove plants from their pots. It let's their roots spread out and grow more. Amazon swords take in most nutrients through roots from the substrate so if you don't have a special type then you would need root tabs. They also make huge root systems which is another reason to take it out of the pot.

I've read Excel is 'a watered down version of plain Flourish' and there is no real need for it.
Can't help with holes but here is a little type of guide: http/www.aquabotanic.com/diagnose.htm

My angels lay eggs on my sword, it seems to get a little wear but no huge holes. Probably not them?

What other plants do you have? Any pictures?

 

[Jeff Lange]

I am not a plant expert as I am just starting and experimenting myself.

But I think it would be better to remove plants from their pots. It let's their roots spread out and grow more. Amazon swords take in most nutrients through roots from the substrate so if you don't have a special type then you would need root tabs. They also make huge root systems which is another reason to take it out of the pot.

I've read Excel is 'a watered down version of plain Flourish' and there is no real need for it.
Can't help with holes but here is a little type of guide: [URL="http/www.aquabotanic.com/diagnose.htm"]http/www.aquabotanic.com/diagnose.htm[/URL]

My angels lay eggs on my sword, it seems to get a little wear but no huge holes. Probably not them?

What other plants do you have? Any pictures?

Well the Amazon sword did not have a pot, I planted it in the middle of my aquarium. The main big leaf did not have any holes this morning, the angels have been between it and their usual intake tube cleaning it. They laid their eggs as usual on the Intake tube. But this afternoon I noticed small holes in the amazon leaf so I was figuring it was from them poking at it cleaning it. I also got 3 Java ferns that were not planted, just put their roots slightly below the gravel surface.

I don't exactly know the plants names I got 2 others at PetSmart but the potted ones I did not remove them from pot yet. One is a bundle of grass approx 12" high and thin the other was another plant. I guess during my next water change I can remove the pots and plant them in the gravel. I will take pictures, but I'm not sure how to post them here but will try in the next few days.

Question: I have 2 rena XP3s running. My outake/ return is at the top, I moved both further below the surface a bit to ripple the water a bit milder than it use to be. Do you think this is ok or should I put them further under the surface? I always kept them at the top to aggitate the surface . I don't know if I need a CO2 system but really dont have any room for it as I have the 2 Rena XP3's and a Coralife UV sterilizer, and a AZoo batery backup under the cabnet. Not much room left.