Questions on live plants?

Question

Hi! First off, I have a 55gal tank, two 15 watt flourescent bulbs (one on each side), a ph of about 8, 11 fish, including 2 gouramis, a pleco and a cory. It's a fairly newish tank, and has only been up and running a couple months now. I don't have any yet, but I have live plants on the way, which are some corkscrew vals, and 4-leaf clovers.

Will my gouramis or plecos eat these plants? Will this be enough light for the plants to survive? Will I need co2 or fertilizer?

More questions for the plant lovers - Would Repens or Arcuata survive the way my tank is now? Is Ophio Pusillus a real plant name, and how good would THAT do in my tank? I also want colorful plants that could withstand the minimals that my tank can offer.

If you have any other ideas on low-light plants, especially colorful ones, please don't hesitate to answer!

Thank you!!!

Also, do Corkscrew Vals, or either Repens of Arcuata need driftwood to attach to?
I don't have any driftwood in the tank...

Answer 1

Your lighting is a bit low for growing plants - it should be at least 3 watts be gallon for low-light requirement plants, and at 30 watts for a 55 gallon tank, you're only at less than one watt per gallon. The high pH may be a problem for you as well.

Vallisnaria is a moderate-light plant and should have at least 4 watts/gallon. The four-leaf clover (Marisela sp., which is actually an aquatic fern) is a higher-light requirement plant and can form thick mats in the tank. The "repens" and "arcuata" are probably both Ludwigia as Carl S said, and will need moderate lighting. And the "ophio" is probably Ophiopogon, which MM has already told you isn't a true aquatic.

For something a little easier to care for without too much of a lighting upgrade, try one of the Anubias varieties, banana plant, Crypotcoryne, Java fern, and Crinium (onion bulb).

With fish in the tank, you shouldn't need a fertilizer, but occasional iron supplements (like Flourish) will keep the plants from yellowing.

http://faq.thekrib.com/plant-list.html

Answer 2

There are plants that will do OK in low light, however the Ludwigia Repens or Ludwigia Arcuata need a more light than you have (also the type of bulb makes a big difference as the watts per gallon rule is a VERY inexact science at best). These plants also need a rich substrate such as Azoo Plant Grower or ADA. As for CO2 these plants also do better with at least some CO2, however you can add it via SeaChem Flourish Excel and/or the Sanders Floramat CO2 generator which is much simpler than the yeast based units (cheaper too) and is used by many aquarium maintenance pros because of this.

As for fish nibbling, I have Gouramis in my personal tanks and (and also clients tanks) where with healthy plant growth they have not been a problem.

As for the Ophio Pusillus, I am not familiar with this one, so I will not comment, however I can suggest some good plants to start with such as Java Fern, Anubias, and Amazon Sword.
The Anubias will also tolerate your high pH well.

I would suggest reading this article about plants (a lot of good information), there is also a link to a good article about lighting that goes beyond basics:

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumPlants.html

Answer 3

Typically 3-5 watts of light per gallon is a general rule of thumbs with more needed for certain species or types of plants. For example, red plants generally require more light than similar green plants. You hav less than 1 watt per gallon and to be honest your new vals will probably suffer for it. I learned that lesson the hard way myself. I didn't have good luck with most vals until I go the lighting up to about 8 watts per gallon. Which was a real trick on a 135 gallon tank.

As for the repens... it depends on which one you mean, there are several plants that bare that specific or species name.

If by arcuata you mean Ludwigia arcuata, then I wouldn't suggest it really. It's a red leafed plant that requires TONS of light. A good choice for an outdoor pond or a tank with lighting in the 7-10 watts per gallon range.

Ophio pusillus is short for Ophiopoton pusillus to many sellers, but is probably refering to Ophiopogon pusillus. I don't see any good references readily available on the net, I'll look it up in a few plant books and edit my answer shortly.

The best bet for color in your tank will be using various shades of light to dark greens. The minimal lighting isn't going to support yellows and reds.

You may want to look into high output bulb as well as very reflective materials to place in the hood to help deliver even more light to the plants than a typical white lined hood will be able to do, but if you are serious about plants, you will really need to upgrade your lighting significantly I'm afraid.

I wouldn't expect that you will need CO2 or fertilizers at least at first. With plants all these things need to be in balance and with low lighting, they won't use as much CO2 or Fertilizers.

Feel free to email me if you have any follow up questions.


EDIT: It appears that Ophiopogon pusillus i a real plant name, but that it's not an aquatic plant. I can't find it listed as an aquatic plant in any of several good plant references.

MM

Answer 4

I have gouramis and they eat my plants like crazy! Pleco hasnt done much damage to my plants if any. I have gravel with a plant substrate on bottom. I dont have a co2 bubbler. I hope some one can answer your more specific questions about certains types of plants. What other kind of fish do you have for your ph being so high?