keeping real plants, beginner questions

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HaileyEllen

Small Fish
#1
Feb 18, 2009
20
0
0
Cedar Park, TX
#1
I bought some plants for my new 10gal,
1 java fern
1 banana plant
1 unknown ( light green leaf with two white broken lines going down each leaf has a pointed oval shape and jagged edges)
I have them in with two balloon mollies.

-What do I need to know about maintenance for the plants?
-Do I clean the tank the same as I always have?
-I have been using Lady Bug brand fertilizer 3-1.5-2 I know it's safe for fish, I've been using it in my beta tanks for little over a year now, but is that going to be enough for the plants, or am I missing something?
-can the java fern be planted on drift wood?
-Other fish, I want to also put in kuhli loaches, upside down cats, and panda cories..... Will any of them eat my plants?
 

Stillness

Stillness

Medium Fish
#2
Feb 21, 2009
87
0
0
#2
- Although I do not know a lot about plants, it would be helpful to know your WPG (Watts per gallon.)
- Yeah, same cleaning, except prune the plants.
- I do not know about this fertilizer.
-IMO, upside-down cat fish are out. They are schooling fish that require a school of AT LEAST 3 or more. Also, with a max. size of 4 inches, this is not a good set-up for them. Unless you want to get panda cories, and have pretty much nothing in your tank, you could maybe do a school of five. Cories are also schooling fish and need to be kept with at least 5 of their own kind. Why not the kuhli and some mid to top level fish? A tank with only two bottom feeders, and then just two mollies is a little boring, IMO. But whatever you like..
 

H

HaileyEllen

Small Fish
#3
Feb 18, 2009
20
0
0
Cedar Park, TX
#3
Stillness said:
- Although I do not know a lot about plants, it would be helpful to know your WPG (Watts per gallon.)
- Yeah, same cleaning, except prune the plants.
- I do not know about this fertilizer.
-IMO, upside-down cat fish are out. They are schooling fish that require a school of AT LEAST 3 or more. Also, with a max. size of 4 inches, this is not a good set-up for them. Unless you want to get panda cories, and have pretty much nothing in your tank, you could maybe do a school of five. Cories are also schooling fish and need to be kept with at least 5 of their own kind. Why not the kuhli and some mid to top level fish? A tank with only two bottom feeders, and then just two mollies is a little boring, IMO. But whatever you like..
Click to expand...
-Is there any fertilizer that you would recommend?
-Right now I only have the little light on them that came with my aquarium, it's a 10gallon, what type of lighting do I need?
-Upside down cats.... within the next 6-7 months I am wanting to upgrade this tank to a 20gl, would they be ok until then or should I just wait to get them?
-Being Boring, I'm pretty new to this all, I really only know the fish that are at the pet shop I go to. With the kuhli loaches (I don't have them yet) I'm thinking 4-6 of them and the two balloon mollies what would you recommend?

*thanks so much!!
 

DesignsOnYou

DesignsOnYou

Large Fish
#5
Jun 21, 2008
493
0
0
#5
In a 10 gallon that would be too much. You could probably do the neons and the mollies, although you should keep in mind that mollies are live bearers and will multiply quickly given the chance. Check out some profiles for kuhli loaches. It looks like they probably need bigger tanks in general, and do better in established tanks that new ones. Hope that helps.
 

H

HaileyEllen

Small Fish
#6
Feb 18, 2009
20
0
0
Cedar Park, TX
#6
what about just balloon mollies and kuhils.... from what i read they have small bio load, do well in groups of 6+ and have a minimum tank size of a 10gl.
If i wait a couple months to let the tank establish and the plants take off, them maybe start adding 2 kuhlis at a time?
 

J

joy613

Medium Fish
#7
Mar 2, 2008
99
0
0
#7
Depending on the light you might not need to really fertilize the plants much at all so what you are using on your betta tank should be alright. The unknown plant could be some type of hydro.
Since you already have 2 mollies that is about 3.5 inches of fish. You could get 2 panda cories for another 5 inches of fish and your tank would be nearly stocked.
 

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HaileyEllen

Small Fish
#8
Feb 18, 2009
20
0
0
Cedar Park, TX
#8
joy613 said:
Depending on the light you might not need to really fertilize the plants much at all so what you are using on your betta tank should be alright. The unknown plant could be some type of hydro.
Since you already have 2 mollies that is about 3.5 inches of fish. You could get 2 panda cories for another 5 inches of fish and your tank would be nearly stocked.
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I didn't buy a special light for the plants, but the light i already have is pretty bright. Is that good, or do they need a special light, and if so what kind?
 

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Michaelh218

Medium Fish
#9
Jan 13, 2009
58
0
0
Elberta, Al
#9
Most people use T5's with a planted tank. I use them on my 37 and my 47 gal and my plants love them.

You think the light you got is bright? rofl put a t5 on it and you'll be like, "DANG!"

You can probably find a t5 for your 10 gal for like 30-40 bucks on ebay.

Most of those plants are decent for low light, well the java fern is at any rate and I think the banana plant will be okay too, not sure about the other one you mentioned.

As far as the java fern, you can tie it to driftwood or rock with fishing line and it will eventually attach but may take a while.
 

H

HaileyEllen

Small Fish
#10
Feb 18, 2009
20
0
0
Cedar Park, TX
#10
Michaelh218 said:
Most people use T5's with a planted tank. I use them on my 37 and my 47 gal and my plants love them.

You think the light you got is bright? rofl put a t5 on it and you'll be like, "DANG!"

You can probably find a t5 for your 10 gal for like 30-40 bucks on ebay.

Most of those plants are decent for low light, well the java fern is at any rate and I think the banana plant will be okay too, not sure about the other one you mentioned.

As far as the java fern, you can tie it to driftwood or rock with fishing line and it will eventually attach but may take a while.
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t5, thanks! I can get that.

with the fern, does it do as good on the driftwood, or is better left in the gravel? How do they hold up in rough currents?
 

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Michaelh218

Medium Fish
#13
Jan 13, 2009
58
0
0
Elberta, Al
#13
I'm thinking the java would do okay in a strong current, I got a canister filter rated for 150gal on my 47 and I got some type of moss (or ferns) I usually forget the name shortly after purchase lol that are right next to the outflow and they are growing about 4 inches a day give or take (so I am pretty sure its not java).

I'd just make sure that you have it secured pretty well to the driftwood or whatever. From what I have read they seem to be doing equally well either in substrate or secured to something.

The difference between t5 and flourescent...from what little I know (relatively new to the hobby) t5 are more energy effecient and I THINK they are more lumins per watt but I could be off on that one. They are usually considered a step below MH (metal halide) and quite a bit less expensive.
 

H

HaileyEllen

Small Fish
#14
Feb 18, 2009
20
0
0
Cedar Park, TX
#14
Michaelh218 said:
I'm thinking the java would do okay in a strong current, I got a canister filter rated for 150gal on my 47 and I got some type of moss (or ferns) I usually forget the name shortly after purchase lol that are right next to the outflow and they are growing about 4 inches a day give or take (so I am pretty sure its not java).

I'd just make sure that you have it secured pretty well to the driftwood or whatever. From what I have read they seem to be doing equally well either in substrate or secured to something.

The difference between t5 and flourescent...from what little I know (relatively new to the hobby) t5 are more energy effecient and I THINK they are more lumins per watt but I could be off on that one. They are usually considered a step below MH (metal halide) and quite a bit less expensive.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info; I am still soaking my drift wood to get the coffee color out.... It is taking forever! But when it gets done, that’s what I'll do.

With the lights, is one better to use than the other, or is it just preference?
 

Avalon

Avalon

Superstar Fish
#15
Oct 22, 2002
2,846
10
0
Ft. Worth, TX
www.davidressel.com
#15
As for the plants, you will want to stay away from high light, especially if you don't plan on having a lot of plants and adding CO2. T5's have been mentioned, and to clarify, they are pretty bright and come in two varieties: normal output and high output (HO). Do not choose the HO variety. A single normal output would probably work well. Another choice would be two T8's if you can find a fixture. There are some lower powered power compact lights that will work--some people even use the spiral kind if you have that kind of fixture. The idea is to provide enough light, but not too much, if that makes any sense. Plants only need "enough", not a lot. Staying on the low side will keep you out of algae troubles.

You're using an interesting choice in fertilizers. This might help provide macro nutrients, NPK, or Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorous. However, you may not even need the extra nitrogen, and the ratio of Phosphorous is a little on the high side. If you choose to continue dosing it, I would make sure it's in very small quantities. Mix that with high enough light and you're asking for trouble. You might consider a trace fertilizer to provide iron and all the other micronutrients such as Seachem's Flourish (Comprehensive). Do not bother with Flourish Trace.
 

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HaileyEllen

Small Fish
#16
Feb 18, 2009
20
0
0
Cedar Park, TX
#16
Avalon said:
As for the plants, you will want to stay away from high light, especially if you don't plan on having a lot of plants and adding CO2. T5's have been mentioned, and to clarify, they are pretty bright and come in two varieties: normal output and high output (HO). Do not choose the HO variety. A single normal output would probably work well. Another choice would be two T8's if you can find a fixture. There are some lower powered power compact lights that will work--some people even use the spiral kind if you have that kind of fixture. The idea is to provide enough light, but not too much, if that makes any sense. Plants only need "enough", not a lot. Staying on the low side will keep you out of algae troubles.

You're using an interesting choice in fertilizers. This might help provide macro nutrients, NPK, or Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorous. However, you may not even need the extra nitrogen, and the ratio of Phosphorous is a little on the high side. If you choose to continue dosing it, I would make sure it's in very small quantities. Mix that with high enough light and you're asking for trouble. You might consider a trace fertilizer to provide iron and all the other micronutrients such as Seachem's Flourish (Comprehensive). Do not bother with Flourish Trace.
Click to expand...
I found a single T8 fixture, will that do?

What do you mean asking for trouble, will it hurt the fish, kill the plants?

thanks for the help!
 

Avalon

Avalon

Superstar Fish
#17
Oct 22, 2002
2,846
10
0
Ft. Worth, TX
www.davidressel.com
#17
A dual fixture would be better. A single T8 lamp is a little too low.

What I meant by the other statement is that high light will encourage algae growth and possibly harm the plants by placing them under unnecessary stress, with stress meaning the plants won't have the nutrients they need to grow properly. It will result in plant deficiencies.
 

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