Plants For An African Tank..

[darrel69]

Hi, i dont have much knowledge on plants but im looking into swopping my fakes for real..

So i need a plant that is more hardy, can live in hard water with a ph of 8.2, tougth against herbivorous fish, preferably to be tied to rocks rather than planted in the substrate, and not cause an algae bloom.

Any suggestions would be helpful...

Thanks.

 

[Esfa]

Anubias and Java Fern would probably work!

 

[ikongoni]

I have kept Tanganyikans for many years and the only plants I found that always thrived were: Anubias, Java Fern and Vallisneria Gigantica, and to be honest, thats really all you need for an African lake biotope.

 

[darrel69]

Great, thanks!.. would it be wise to get them off'a ebay ??, it'd be easier for me than trailing round the shops looking.. i mean, ive already had a quick look and they do look pretty descent.

Also, im thinking its a good idea to dip them in some sort of solution to get rid of any possible pests ect, yea ? Can anyone recommend one ?.. I saw a post not long back of someone who had got white 'worm' like pests in their tank from adding real plants

 

[SuperColey1]

Best just to give the plants a thorough wash under the tap. Bleaching them can damage the plants.

If you are really worried then chop the leaves off and then plant/attach the root crown/rhizome.

The plant will grow back and should have any pest on the roots.

I would doubt a white worm infestation was brought about by the plants unless the eggs were already on them. In this case a good rinse and gentle feling for eggs/jelly should do the trick.

Andy

 

[darrel69]

thanks andy

 

[rocknurworld2006]

i tried plants in my malawi tank and they eat them all, ive tried various ones hardy as well but didnt wok, and they were just babies lol!

 

[ikongoni]

Must admit that I have never kept Malawians in any great numbers, so I won't comment about them from personal experience, however I have kept many varieties of Tanganyikans and Victorians over the years and never had the slightest problem with having live plants in with them.

As long as the planting is sparse, and limited to tough, unpalatable plants, I don't think that there will be any problems at all.

 

[darrel69]

ok.. well ive ordered some Anubias and Vallisneria off'a ebay, so ill see how they go..

thanks for the replys