Plant Options

[Daleyarrow]

Hi guys,

I bought myself a new 100L tank last night, all setup and ready to go. I've out a sand gravel bottom in, and have the fish in (used all the water from my old tank) however now it looks incredibly bare...

Can anyone recommend certain plants that are relatively easy to maintain and will also go well with a Plec? He's kind of the pride and joy of the tank

Cheers!

 

[mike455555]

anubias and java fern are good they come in many types, i think you'll be ok with floating plants and maybe bulbs as well 

 

[fm1978]

I'm pretty new to aquaria and live plants and I've only ever bought 3 kinds so far. The best and fastest growing that I have is called Nymphiodes... here it is here:
 

 
It grows quick and tall with nice big leaves. The description that came with it says it will grow to 15cm in 4 weeks - it has easily done that in my tank with only 0.25w / litre of light, no CO2, no fertilizer, no nothing.
 
The other type I have which is an easy grower is Riccia, it's more 'grassy' and gets a bit bushy, too, but I can't see why either or both of these couldn't go with your plec. 

 

[haleem8777]

Nymphiodes are also know as banana plant or banana lilly they are very good and easily cared for however if you are going to have some they may block the light going to plants below them with there large leaves

 

[Daleyarrow]

Went to the LFS yesterday (unfortunately its Pets at Home, I'm struggling to find a specialist local to me) and bought myself 2 Anubias and 1 Java Fern. When I got home I decided I needed more, so bought 3 sets of Amazon Sword from eBay, as it looks awesome!
 
One issue I'm having though is that the Anubias just floats away when I take it out the pot, even after I've tried burying it into the sand. Am I supposed to leave it in the pot anyway?

 

[fluttermoth]

Anubias and Java fern need trying to a piece of wood or stone; they'll rot if you plant them into the substrate.
 
You never leave plants in the pots. Take them out, clean off as much of the rockwool as you can, without damaging the roots system (doing it under a running tap helps) and then either plant them or attach them to something; some will float until they root; put a few pebbles round the base to hold them down for a couple of weeks.

 

[Daleyarrow]

Ah I see, I knew there was a reason I've been collecting small pebbles on my dives! I'll boil them now and soak them in some tank water for a while then to get them OK for the tank
 
Thanks again Fluttermoth!

 

[fluttermoth]

No, don't boil them! If they have air bubbles trapped inside them, they could explode!
 
Just pour boiling water over them

 

[Daleyarrow]

Yea, that's what I meant...currently have some rather rosy fingers, and the rocks are now soaking in the siphoned tank water