What Plants

[fishyman]

Hi all

Im an experienced fish keeper but in previous fish tanks i have had Malawi's so have never bothered with plants. I am looking at doing a dwarf puffer fish species tanks and wanted some sugestions on plants that will grow well and are easy to keep. my tank is 4ft x18 inch x 18inch.

Any sugestions on a list of plants and quantity that would do well

 

[EddieW]

Tricky one to answer - you need to have an idea about the look you want to acheive and also look at the water chemistry you are going to need for the type of puffers you will have (soem need brakish I think).

THe best bet is to work out back, mid and foreground plants to give plenty of areas for fish to hide and make the tank look lush yet retain enough open swimming space for the fish (and let you see them ).

A good place to get information about plants and their needs is Tropica's web site - they give very clear information and are generally very accurate.

You may not want to end up buying from Tropica as they can be quite expensive, but I personally think it is worth it as I have used their plants every time except in one tank and that one is now over run with snails.

If you get a planting scheme together and post your ideas here I am sure people will be able to give you an idea whether your choices will work together and will be OK with your fish.

Cheers, Eddie

Oops, just remembered - you should defintely look for at least one type of fast growing or very fast growing plant as this will help to mop up nitrates and phosphates in the water which will help to keep the algae under control.