From Plastics To Live Aquarium Plants
General July 21st. 2008, 10:49amAs we have discussed before, tanks and fish are both healthier with live aquarium plants.
But what if you already had artificial aquatic plants, and want to move up to the real thing? The process isn’t difficult, and can be completed in a short period of time. Live aquarium plants are certain to make your tank more appealing to both outside observers and to the fish who live with them. Go ahead and pull the artificial flora out of your tank, to begin with, and we’ll look at how to replace them with living aquarium plants.
The first rule of adding live aquarium plants is to make sure that the existing fish are healthy in the tank. This will tell you some clues that the nitrate level is under control, likely with very frequent water change. It is hard to strike ecological balance in a tank without plants. Aquatic plants require, among other things, phosphorous and nitrogen which are best delivered via live fish.
Assuming that you began with a tank with fish and fake flora, and the fakes are now removed. On the other hand, let’s look at the fish involved - it needs the presence of live aquarium plants as much as the other way round. The water is considered “poisonous” to the fish, if the nitrate level induced by the untreated fish waste are getting too high. It affects the water parameters, including pH value. Live plants are able to moderate the situation.
Tropical fish are more inclined to prefer tropical aquatic plants. Live aquarium plants which are poisonous are no good, as are aquatic plants that are too appealing (they’d get eaten right away). With a little research, you’ll be able to find out which aquatic plants are safest for and with your fish. A mixture of aquatic plants that fish will eat, and ones that are merely decorative is a good choice, since it covers all the bases. Anyways, it’s what works best for us.
David
AquaticMagic - Grow Happiness
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:12 pm
So do you think it is a good idea to have live aquarium plants for both fresh and salt water fish?
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:57 am
Nice tips, I had never heard of live plants in an aquarium before. I have always had fake ones that seemed to do fine. I would like to try it though and see if my fish like the live plants better. Thanks for the tips.
July 28th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
From Plastics To Live Aquarium Plants:
This is amazing. Very much informative blog. I would like to request you that keep writing these type of blogs and sharing with us here
Regards,
Termpaper
July 30th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Ya definitely. But having a saltwater planted tank is a whole different story - and plant will not be the major factor for your water parameters in the salted water tank.
July 30th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Does anyone know about the correlation between using live plants and longevity in fish? If live plants are really healthier for fish does it help them to live longer?
August 1st, 2008 at 4:29 am
I am not experienced enough but sometime in the future will try a saltwater tank. Just want to say I only use live plants. The fish in their natural environment would not find any confusing plastic plants. If you like your pet fish, go live. I found some great plants that come from far away but are reasonably priced and always were healthy when I got them. My fish love to nibble once in awhile. They propagate too which saves you money if you grown new ones on your own. Toss out the plastic guys, give your fish a break.
August 1st, 2008 at 4:30 am
Oh I forgot to tell you that there are lots of great deals available online. Just do a search on Google and lots of them will appear. I like Java moss, easy to grow.
August 3rd, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Hmmm… I’ve somehow always thought that when you have just bought your aquarium, you first need to buy and set all the tools, put in the sand and plants, then you pour water and leave it standing with water and plants for a couple of weeks before letting fish in:( And in your articles everything is absolutely vice-versa:))) Fish - first… am now confused a bit…
August 4th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Polina,
Thanks for the comment. I have rephrase the article and it should now make sense - this article is talking about upgrading the tank with plastic plant, to live aquarium plants. So when I was writing it earlier on, I was assuming that there are fish in the tank and they have been surviving for some time.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I will definitely agree with your this statement “The first rule of adding live aquarium plants is to make sure that the existing fish are healthy in the tank. This will tell you some clues that the nitrate level is under control, likely with very frequent water change.”
August 8th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
I must quote your this statement “ssuming that you began with a tank with fish and fake flora, and the fakes are now removed. On the other hand, let’s look at the fish involved - it needs the presence of live aquarium plants as much as the other way round.”
August 21st, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Definitely this point has much weight “Assuming that you began with a tank with fish and fake flora, and the fakes are now removed. On the other hand, let’s look at the fish involved - it needs the presence of live aquarium plants as much as the other way round.”