Selecting The Best Freshwater Aquarium Plants
Selecting freshwater aquarium plants for your aquarium is a serious business. Plants reduce levels of nitrate in the aquarium, make the aquarium look wonderful, help reduce algae growth, give shy and timid fish a hiding place and during breeding provide spawning areas, so altogether they have a great beneficial effect to both the fish and their environment.
Adding aquarium plants to your aquarium can be a good idea because these plants use nitrates which may be troublesome to your tropical fish if your nitrate levels are high enough. Live plants do more than that though, they always look nicer than their plastic counterparts.
Some are easier to take care of than others. The Java Fern, Hygrophila polysperma and Vallisneria spiralis are amongst the stronger aquarium plants.
You will need to check out a couple of things before embarking on your live plant adventure.
Water Parameters
Aquarium plants and tropical fish are identical in their requirements when looking at water parameters. Different water conditions are required by different aquarium plants. Make certain that you are aware of the required water conditions for the plants that you want. You need to know things like ph, hardness levels and lighting levels for each plant.
Good Substrate
You will need to have a good substrate in order for your plants to survive. You can place some plants straight into the gravel but you can also place your plants in clay planters. If you place your plants directly into the gravel you will need to use an iron supplement for your aquarium water since these plants won’t be getting the nutrients they need from the iron fortified clay.
Good Lighting
Poor lighting is the one main reason why plants do not do well in an aquarium. Generally speaking the 20 -30 watts of lighting which comes as standard with many fish tanks is totally inadequate. Each plant will require different levels of lighting, this is usually measured in watts per gallon. This measurement is most important for photosynthesis to occur and therefore for your plants to thrive. CO2 is also required for photosynthesis. The fish respiration process which goes on in the aquarium can produce enough CO2. However, if your tank is very full of plants your fish alone will be unable to provide enough CO2 for them so you may need to get a CO2 injector.
Fish Compatibility
Some fish varieties make looking after live plants a really difficult job. For instance, Silver Dollars really enjoy nibbling on live plants, likewise, Oscars and Goldfish will enjoy uprooting any aquarium plants you place in the tank. So, if you already have fish, do some research to find out any combatibility issues.
Before buying any plants you must find out their exact needs and whether you are able to provide those needs, otherwise you will be wasting money.
Finally, you should feed your plants with special freshwater plant food. I usually feed mine about once a week.
Some Recommended Plants
All of these look fantastic in the aquarium and only a few require very high levels of lighting.
- Java Ferns. pH 5.5-7.5, temp. 20-28 Celsius, Water hardness 2-15 degrees, tolerates low light levels. These do better tied to floating driftwood rather than planted in the gravel.
- Amazon Sword. pH 6.5-7.5, temp. 22-28 Celsius, Water hardness 2-15 degrees, Lighting 50 watts per 25 Galls water. These need to be planted in loose substrate and will require iron fertilizer.
- Argentine Sword. pH 6.5-7.5, temp. 16-25 Celsius, Water hardness 1-5 degrees, Lighting 50 watts per 25 Galls water. These should be planted in loose substrate and supplemented with iron fertilizer.
- Hygrophila Polysperma. pH 6.5-8.0, temp. 20-30 Celsius, Water hardness 2-15 degrees, Lighting 50 watts per 25 Galls water. Small reddish or green leaves atanding at 24 inches, they should be placed in the center back of the tank so they have room to grow.
- Umbrella Plant. ph 5.0-7.0, temp. 22-25 Celsius, Water hardness 4-12 degrees, Lighting Intense. They can be anywhere between 8-12 inches tall. They have tall, thin stems with small leaves at the top of each stem that branch out into a star shape. They are high-maintenance plants and are not actually aquatic plants and will die if submerged completely in water. What you do is submerge the roots and grow the plant on the surface.
- Vallisneria Spiralis. pH 6.5-7.5, temp. 15-30 Celsius, Water hardness 5-15 degrees, Lighting 50 watts per 50 Galls water. Vallisneria Spiralis can grow up to 24 inches in length and is like grass. Vallisneria spiralis have wide ranging water parameter needs and are therefore a good choice for beginners. These plants look best along the sides or in the back of your aquarium
- Anubias Barteri. pH 6.5-7.5, temp. 22-28 Celsius, Water hardness 8 degrees, Lighting Moderate. Anubias Barteri are wide plants with wide green leaves that grow as tall as 16 inches. They grow best with CO2 fertilization.
- Other low light options include: Cryptocoryne, Dwarf Hairgrass, Water Sprite, Anacharis, and Cabomba.
For more information on Freshwater Aquarium Plants go to my website www.freshwateraquariumsecretsonline.com
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