Aquatic Plants

[Cowfish13]

Just got a new 2ft fish tank and want to make it a nice environment for my fish and crustations (got a few rainbowfish (basically feeder fish;)), shrimp and a big Yabby:))

Was just wondering, do aquatic plants need sunlight to survive. At CIW, there are alot of cool little plants that rest on the surface of the water, with only 2" of roots and a few of these would be cool to have in a tank, but I won't bother if it requires direct sunlight or a special lamp

Thanks guys:)

[Smiderman]

Hi Wll its a trade off..

Natural Light is good but with it comes algae.!

A UV light from pet city or similar will help..

The other issue is that you yabby will harvest the weeds on a regular basis during the night..

we used to a have a lobby of some sort (a blue one 7 inch head to tail) and between eating the expensive tropicals & eating all the weed it wore out its welcome.

[Cowfish13]

Yeah, the Yabby does like to eat the good fish. Scooped a cool Cresent Perch in a small freshwater ck. And he's munching on it right now:(

The plants I was thinking of float on top, so the Yabby won't be able to reach them

So do the plants definately need one of the two to survive?

[Feral]

Stick one in and see how you go.

[planetfonz]

theres a newer style of fluoro lighting for fishtanks and plant growing - T5 fluoros they are called .. higher kelvin rating than normal lights

(warm white fluors are around 2500k - cool white/daylight fluoros are around 5000-6500k and t5's are over 10000k)

they put out a wonderful array of blues which is good for plant vegative growth...normal ebay has piles and for good prices ..

i have cichlids (my old yabby gary died not long ago after destroying his last plant) and they will chew and wreck anything plant like without a second thought. so as long as the fish are suitable and the light is good you'll have a lush looking aquarium...

algae can be an issue .. but theres an easy solutions .. just clean your tank often

[rayke1938]

. At CIW, there are alot of cool little plants that rest on the surface of the water, with only 2" of roots and a few of these would be cool to have in a tank.

Just make certain that you identify the plant there is salvinia in CIW and you dont want to propagate that stuff.

Cheers

Ray

[Bommie]

alot of the plants that float on top that you get from our waterways are fast growing and can quickly cover the top of the water in your tank if you don't remove it often

[ellicat]

I have found the best plant to have with crayfish is algae.

True story.

They will attack anything that floats or is planted - even plastic ones.

I brought about five loads of this much weed back from Texas one time, and between the two 3 inch crayfish and the Barcoo grunter it was gone in about 6 weeks.

Since making the switch to algae (fed by a stdrd aquarium fluro) I haven't had to clean my tank either.

[Dazzamcgee]

Don't take anything from the wild!

Your better off buying java fern from the pet store as its a low light plant thats tough as nails and its perfect for aquariums without a light source.

[shortie]

Dazzamcgee wrote:

Don't take anything from the wild!

why

[Dazzamcgee]

shortie wrote:

Dazzamcgee wrote:

Don't take anything from the wild!

why

Why? well you could be getting more than just an aquatic plant! Nasty critters ie bacteria, parasites could be introduced into the tank from wild aquatic plants.

[planetfonz]

Dazzamcgee wrote:

shortie wrote:

Dazzamcgee wrote:

Don't take anything from the wild!

why

Why? well you could be getting more than just an aquatic plant! Nasty critters ie bacteria, parasites could be introduced into the tank from wild aquatic plants.

yeah we fought a crazy battle with some weird green sludge growth that came into the tank from mudgereeba creek and gambusia were were catching to feed to a barra ...

[roobs]

sounds like spyrogira. be thankful we don't have didymo.