What Plants For My Livebearers

[guppy_man]

hi redecorated my livebearer tank today and thought that they would like some plants to dive into but i dont know what kind im not an expert on plants.

what plant is easy to look after and is under £5 and does not grow particularly big, its for a 20gl

thnx for reading

 

[Lateral Line]

Found on mod queue in the Fish Index. Moved.

 

[Annastasia]

I'd try asking in the Plant section for that.

Java Fern, Java Moss, and Hornwort are good off the top of my head, along with any floating plant. I'm not sure how much any of that would cost over there though.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

There are thousands of suitable plants for livebearers like guppys, but as a general rule of thumb for useful ones, you should try to get densely/finely leaved ones that make good cover for the females when they want to give brith or the males/females to hide in when they get themsleves into trouble with other guppys. Densely leaved plants or densely planted areas in the tank also make good cover for fry to hide in and survive.
As a general rule to buying aquarium plants, you should follow these tips, as many plants sold for aquariums are not actually true aquarium plants;
a. Can the plant support itself out of water? If so, this is most likely not a true aquarium plant, plants that are meant to survive completely submerged under water should not be able to support their stems out of water.
b. Are the plants leaved varigated/patterned? If so, this is most likely not a true aquarium plant- you would be suprised at the amount of plants sold for fish tanks that would actually rot/fall apart if they stayed for more than a couple of weeks under water .

 

[fi$hys]

Java moss or hornwort

 

[Weaver]

Adding my vote for hornwort.I find it invaluable in my livebearer tank providing hiding places for the fry and pregnant livebearers

 

[nmonks]

Ditto. Hornwort is cheap, prolific, and tolerates a range of water conditions and light intensities. It is one of the few floating plants that does well with 1 or 2 full-length lights in the hood (i.e., ~ 1.5 watts per gallon). I have found it to be very useful for halfbeak fry, which nestle within the fronds quite safely for at least a few days, giving me enough time to find them and remove them to a breeding tank.

One caveat: in the UK at least there are tropical and pond hornwort varieties. The pond variety is very cheap (~1 UKP per bunch) but seems to only last a few (6 or so) months in tropical conditions. Provided you accept this as a temporary part of the tank, and clean it thoroughly to remove things like damselfly larvae, it's very useful.

Healthy Cabomba does the job well, too (see below) but it is a bit more temperamental and tricky to get established. Once growing though, it quickly covers the surface.

Cheers,

Neale